Like many clubs across the country, Chippenham Tri have made the most of virtual opportunities to carry on training and racing over the past year and are now making the safe return to in-person activity.
“We used Zwift on a weekly basis,” said Chris Maxwell, chair and coach at the club. “We used the ‘keep everyone together’ function so everyone felt included and discord so we could talk to each other.
“Not everyone is on Zwift, so it wasn’t fully inclusive. We did try some zoom virtual turbo sessions, but to be fair, it’s not quite the same as the very good Zwift option.”
On top of the club sessions, Chippenham members entered into the Zwift Racing League and SLT Arena Games London Club Championships Powered by Zwift.
“This year we entered a mixed team in the Zwift racing league, World Tactical Racing Leagues Season 2, a highly competitive cycling league of 1,900 teams in 126 divisions,” Maxwell added.
“We finished 12th overall in EMEA W2 DIVISION B-2. The event entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest eSports league.
“Members also took part in the Arena Games Club Championships where our women came 13th overall and our men 7th. Everyone really enjoyed the event and the virtual atmosphere around being part of Super League. We got to wear the Super League kit as well which we got to ‘keep’, and it’s quite cool to cycle around Zwift in.”
The SLT Arena Games Club Championships saw 981 members from 127 British Triathlon Affiliated Clubs take part in three weeks of cycling and running races on Zwift, with Tri-Anglia Triathlon Club crowned winners of the men’s championships and GreenlightPT winners of the women’s.
“The fact that everyone got at least one point really helped generate some team spirit and all felt they were contributing to the team score,” Maxwell commented.
“Competing against other tri clubs felt great after such a break. The field was also several hundred deep and the competition was fierce and when it came to watching the pros [at the SLT Arena Games London Powered by Zwift] we all felt like we’d in some way experienced it.”
With restrictions easing and a return to in-person activity possible, the club will carry on making use of virtual opportunities but are keen to get back to the great outdoors for training.
“I think we’ll likely continue to use virtual/zoom options for administration activities like committee meetings, coaching meetings as it’s so much easier to get people together,” said Maxwell.
“I think most people are desperate to train outside now though with real scenery and real people, so we’re unlikely to use virtual training options all being well until the autumn/winter. Zwift group workouts will no doubt return then as they have been well received and so much easier than driving a bike and turbo to a village hall like the old way.”
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