The following email went out to all Cotswold Classic 2020 competitors tonight:
Cotswold Classic – Covid19 Update #4
Good evening all, I hope everyone’s well ?
We’re a little over a month now from the August 2nd event, so I wanted to bring you all up to speed on what’s been going on here and to bring you some more info on the race. Thing still appear to be improving largely, and we are still very much planning on holding the event on August 2nd. If you missed our last newsletter with an update on how the day might look, you can find that HERE
I’ll keep this email relatively short, and will cover the following;
– Last chance to Swap to virtual 113 or make changes to your entry
– Camping and Accommodation update
– Race info pack ETA and info for on the day
Last chance to Swap to virtual 113 or make changes to your entry
As we have to fix all the start lists 4 weeks out from the race, if you would still like to Swap to the Virtual version fo the race for an £80 discount to use with us next year, or to make any other changes to your entry, we will need to have that done this week please (ie before Midnight on Saturday 4th July)
The uptake for the Virtual 113 has been pretty good and we’re now over 100 of you that have chosen to race that way this year. We’ve had a few last minute name changes, and we’ve waived the normal admin fee for that this year, so if you still want to make name changes etc, that also has the same deadline please.
This also applies to our offer to refund or defer any NHS staff, and this offer of course still stands until Saturday
After Saturday, we have to fix the start list with insurers, get numbers etc printed as these all have to be posted out to you, so we can’t easily make changes to entries from that point onwards without incurring more costs.
Camping and accommodation update
As I’m sure many of you will have seen, the UK Gov have allowed accommodation and camping to restart again on July 4th. Assuming this decision doesn’t get reversed, that means overnight stays on the night of August 1st are ok again.
Bev at the Campsite next to our race site dropped me a mail this week and asked me to update you all on their Covid-19 rules for their site. You can see those HERE
If you have a booking, or want to make a booking, you can contact them directly at http://www.go-by-cycle.co.uk/camping.htm
If you’re looking for alternative accommodation in the area, the postcode for the race location is GL76DF
Race info pack ETA and info for on the day
Over the last few weeks, we have had numerous Zoom/Skype conferences with the BTF and all the other stakeholders in the event to go through our proposal of how we feel we can run the race in a way that both ensures complete social distancing and the highest level of hygiene, and the proposals have all been met positively so far and everyone is happy with how we are planning to go ahead.
It may feel like we’re being a bit belts and braces with our approach, but as this is unchartered territory, not just for us at 113, but for the sport and the world as a whole, we want to be 110% sure that both you guys, our team, and anybody else even remotely involved in the event is completely safe and we’re not putting them in the line of any unnecessary spread of the virus. We’re also very conscious that we want to leave a positive shadow on the area in the good name of Triathlon as a sport.
Over the next couple of weeks, we will finalise all our discussions with the various stakeholders and permission granters to complete our plans of what you can expect on the day, but please be rest assured that should you want to do a fully timed 1,900m Swim, a 56mile bike and a half marathon and then cross the finish line to a medal and a goody bag, that will still be completely possible and that we’re not detracting from the sport of Triathlon. We will, as outlined in our previous mail (linked above), also have an option to instead start on the bike, or complete a shorter alternative Swim course if you feel this suits you better due to the lack of Swimming many of you will have done until recently when Open Water Swimming lakes reopened. Both of these alternative options will still get an official finish time and medal etc, they will just have separate results. You don’t need to make your mind up on these options until race morning, so there’s no immediate rush to decide.
As this review process goes on, there will of course be tweaks and minor changes, and once these are all finalised (these are not big changes for you all, and are mainly things that happen behind the scenes that you’d be otherwise oblivious to on race day), we will put together the final race information pack and email it out to you all. Realistically, I expect to have this done at the latest in two weeks time. At around 1 week out from the race, we will put together a video version of the briefing, and I would like you all to take the time to watch it in full as it will explain everything that you will need to do both in advance of August 2nd and on the day itself.
It’s going to be strange not having you all there on the Saturday, where you can typically familiarise yourself with your settings and getting your bearings for Sunday morning, but the briefing will explain all of this, and we would ask that everyone does take the time to read it as Sunday morning will be a little hectic as we’re going to be temperature checking everyone on arrival, and we don’t want any unnecessary delays on top of that.
We will, as always, just be on the end of a phone if anyone gets any questions, and we relish the chance to interact with competitors in the run up to the race too, so don’t ever feel that you can’t just give me a call.
Right, that’s it for this update, so I’ll leave you all to get on with your Wednesday evenings.
If any of you have any questions, concerns, need help with anything or just want some advice, please just give me a ring – 07595 591612
Thanks and happy training
Graeme, Nicci and the 113 Events Team
graeme@113events.com
07595 591612