SkiAtholon

Irish National Skiathlon Championships 2011:

Question:

What do get when you cross Triathlon, Skiing and Shooting together?

Answer:

Skiathlon – is the phrase that Simon Bewley of Alive Outside and Adam Kelly of Zest Fitness, coined as appropriate for a seemingly whacky idea, discussed over a pint after the Bray Aquathlon in July last year. Biathlon is already a huge sport run in Nordic countries which combines Shooting and Cross Country Skiing as a Winter Olympic Sport.

Ireland actually had a Cross Country Skiing entry in the Winter Olympics, with former Olympic rower, Paul Griffen, narrowly missing out on a place in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Canada, and losing his place to PJ Barron, a Scot who declared for Ireland last year under the parentage rule.

Simon saw the opportunity of promoting this new sport of Skiathlon to Irish Triathletes and multi-sport enthusiasts as means of Cross Training, and keeping up their conditioning, coming into the triathlon season. The group also planned on incorporating some down hill skiing / snow boarding into the programme on alternate days throughout the week.