Holly Elementary students raced their version of the Delta Triathlon last Wednesday.
For the second year in a row, Grade 6 and 7 students from the East Ladner school trained for this Saturday's Delta Triathlon, but because of scheduling conflicts many of them can't compete in the race, so teacher Colleen Grounds organized their own event ahead of time.
Grounds said she started getting students into 10kilometre runs and the triathlon after the provincial government implemented the Daily Physical Activity initiative, which requires schools to provide 30 minutes of physical activity per day for elementary students.
"I was like, I'm not going to waste my time doing nothing, I'm going to do something big with this," said Grounds, who had 24 Grade 6 and 7 students train this year.
"The thing I love about the triathlon is it's three different sections of your body that you're using," she said.
The students began training in September by biking, running and heading to the Ladner Leisure Centre once a month for swimming classes. According to Grounds, everyone was very enthusiastic.
"They're so motivated to do it."
Last Wednesday, the students started at the pool where they swam 300 metres in 12 lengths. They then transitioned into biking gear and raced 7.5 kilometres around Ladner, the same route as the youth version of the Delta Triathlon.
Grounds had parents set up along the route to ensure they stayed on course.
"I couldn't thank my parents enough," she said.
After the bike portion, students again transitioned at the leisure centre before taking off on a two-kilometre run around the hospital grounds.
"I prefer running the most because I feel more confident in it," said 12year-old Julia Dejong of the three events.
But fellow Grade 7 student Denver Fatt disagreed: "I like biking because it's faster than running."
"My favourite part was coming in off the run with everyone cheering," said 12-year-old Payton DeLuca.
Grounds is excited to see six of her students participate in the Delta Triathlon on Saturday.
