Transition Area

What is the Transition Area and What Happens There?
In the sport of triathlon the Transition Area is like the hub in the center of a wheel with the swim, bike, and run like wheel spokes. The athlete passes through the Transition Area twice in the event. In the Transition Area the athlete moves from swimming to biking and then from biking to running.

Every athlete has a spot in the Transition Area (by age-group) where his/her bike, helmet, shoes/socks, shirt, shorts, towel and other needed stuff is located. The triathlon begins with an ocean swim. Following the swim the athlete moves to the Transition Area where he/she removes any swim equipment such as goggles, quickly dries off, puts on what is needed for the bike ride, takes his/her bike and (walking the bike) exits the Transition Area following the sign that says Bike Out. Volunteers will be available to help athletes remove their bike from the bike rack. Bathing suit removal is not permitted. Athletes put on a shirt over their bathing suit with their. Some athletes choose to put on shorts as well, but they are not required.

After the ride the athlete returns to the Transition Area and (walking the bike) goes back to where his/her equipment is located. A volunteer will help place the bike on the rack. The helmet and other riding equipment are removed, and the athlete prepares for the run. Generally young athletes ride their bikes in their running shoes so after removing the bike stuff they are ready for the run. Runners may jog to the Run Out sign in the Transition Area, watching for bikes and other runners. The triathlon finishes at the end of the run at the finish line.

A few notes on the Transition Area:

1. Get to the race early so that you can set up your young athlete's Transition Area location. Look for signs designating the age-group of your athlete. Locations are not reserved but there will be enough for all athletes. The race starts with the 6-8 year old age group starting at 9:00am. After the 6-8yr olds complete the entire triathlon the race will then begin with the Oldest and progresses to the youngest approximately at 9:30 am. The transition area closes at 8:45 for set-up. After that time, only race participants are allowed in the transition area until the last racer leaves for the run and permission is given to enter the area to remove gear.
2. Bring two towels, one of which should be old. Put the old towel on the ground beside the bike at your child's location and place his/her race stuff on it. The other towel is for drying after the swim. It is recommended that you have a full water bottle there so your athlete can grab a quick drink before exiting the Transition Area. The time spent in the Transition Area counts towards the overall time so it should be as fast as is reasonable but not so fast that your athlete forgets to put on his/her helmet or ties his/her shoes. We will have volunteers in the Transition Area to assist athletes so we ask that parents stay out for the safety of the participants.

The Transition Area will be guarded by volunteers. To remove the bike from the Transition Area you must show a race number and match it to the race number on the bike. Your race packet will have a numbered a numbered bike tag and a small stick-on race number for the helmet. In addition each athlete will have their race number marked on their body by volunteers using pen. All of these numbers must match.