The Fund Her Tri UK community get a taste of the London Royal Docks!
Founded in 2022 by women who love triathlon, Fund Her Tri UK‘s mission is to inspire and empower more women and non-binary people to experience this life-changing sport.
From setting goals and pushing our limits in training, to forging strong bonds with fellow athletes and celebrating our efforts at the finish line, we cherish all aspects of the swim, bike and run journey.
But we don’t see enough of us at the start lines. And we are here to change that.
Our initiatives aim to reduce some of the barriers faced at entry level to the sport and create a supportive and inclusive community, helping to make triathlon a more diverse sport and allowing our supported athletes to have their lives changed by it like ours have been. These include our sponsorship programme where we support first time triathletes by covering their race entry, our community, a safe space where no question is a silly question and support and encouragement is given, our mentoring programme where a mentor supports mentees who have been in the sport for less than 3 years and the event series which explore all things triathlon to help demystify the sport. We also provide coaching and a series of in person events and virtual webinars.
The latest in our event series was a coached open water swim session at Love Open Water London Royal Docks. Over 30 athletes from the Fund Her Tri UK community attended the event with 2 coaches, 2 lifeguards and 6 confident swimmers volunteering. Coaches Courtney Hyde and Lily Caunt aimed to create a session where all the athletes built on their skills, whether it was getting in open water for the first time, to refining triathlon skills such as sighting and mass wave starts.
Swimming in the London Royal Docks is such an amazing experience, made even better by the weather we had on the day! From the location, with planes and cable cars flying overhead, to the team who supported the event, we loved every minute and saw progression in each and everyone of the swimmers. This is beautifully summed up by an email we received following the event:
“I wanted to thank you for the great open water swimming coaching session last night.”
“I’ve experienced some very frustrating panic attacks during the swim sections in some of my triathlons. Yesterday’s session allowed me to face my demons in a very safe space.”
“More than anything I want to congratulate you on what you’ve managed to achieve with Fund Her Tri UK. I have never been part of such an inclusive and diverse group of female triathletes. You’ve managed to create a magical community of women. Well done.”
NOWCA were generous in their support of the event, from facilitating the booking of the venue, to talking us through the facilities and safety considerations ahead of time.
Check out the future Fund Her Tri UK events on the website.
CLICK HERE to find out more about supporting Fund Her Tri UK.
Fund Her Tri UK would like to thank Love Open Water, NOWCA and the RBC Communities Together Fund for their support, without whom this event would not have been possible.
Written by Lily Caunt for Fund Her Tri UK
