THE Portland Y-Tri Club has been running triathlons since the 1980s but is calling on the community to keep the club alive and kicking for future generations.

After suffering setbacks due to COVID and administrative changes, the club is weighing up its options to either continue or disband, depending on interest from the community.

The triathlon season typically includes five different events throughout the warmer months with different distances and options available for athletes at all levels.

Triathlon is a race that includes three legs: swimming, cycling and running.

Portland was at its triathlon peak in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s with the sport proving heavily popular across 10-15 years.

The club has become an entry level organisation where triathlons can be for a bit of fun and fitness or a steppingstone into more elite pathways.

Triathlon boom

The club’s formation (then known as the Portland Triathlon Club) in the 1980s kicked off with a group of smelter workers who were keen to give the sport a go.

During this time triathlons were becoming more popular across the country, with athletes transitioning from marathon and running based events to get involved in the sport.

“It was in the ‘80s when the Portland club began and the smelter had a few people that were keen on triathlons and during the ‘80s it got up really big and the groundswell of people wanting to get involved made the late ‘80s early ‘90s really big for the club,” club member Tony Curran said.

“Bob Meek, Stewart King, Mark McLean … there was a big amount of people who wanted to have go at it.

“We ran some pretty big events here and that went for a while and then there was a spell at the early 2000s and then it was revived about 10-15 years ago under the auspices of the YMCA (hence the change of name to Portland Y-Tri Club) because we didn’t have an incorporation and we can’t run our events without that.

“The first revival was sort of for elite athletes and international competitors coming and then the second revival was virtually recreational and just an attempt to get locals involved in a different sport. We got people from Mount Gambier, Hamilton and Warrnambool but it’s mostly been locals who supported it.”

Riding the wave of the triathlon boom was Portland born and raised Joanne King-Hudson, who became an eventual two-time world champion and was inducted into the Triathlon Australia Hall of Fame.

“I grew up as a runner and doing Little Aths but I always wanted to try triathlons, dad was involved and so we would sometimes do it as a team,” King-Hudson told the Observer.

“I don’t think it was until year 12 before I did one, the club was super supportive and it’s a great grassroots club, so it was the perfect place to start.”

A community club

While the club began with a real drive for performance, it has evolved over the years to become a fun, family-based place to try something new or set a goal for fitness.

“We have kids and families involved, if you really want to go elite you’d probably be heading to Warrnambool so we view ourselves as a bit of a stepping stone to have a go and see if you enjoy it,” Curran said.

“We feel like it provides a good service for health and wellbeing and that’s what we do but we don’t know if people are out there wanting that.

“If we get at least 20 people saying yep we want to be a part of it then we’ll get going, but if not then that’s it, which would be disappointing because I was involved in those early years and so was Stewart and we want to see it keep going because we think there’s a great purpose for it in the community.

“You don’t need to have anything, as long as you want to give it a go – we’re flexible, we have relays so you don’t have to do all sections of a triathlon, you can do bits and pieces, as long as people want to participate we can make it work.”

Despite being an elite athlete and competing against the world’s best triathletes, King-Hudson said the grassroots nature of the sport is just as important as the world stage, which she says Portland provides in a unique way.

“There’s not a lot of people and it doesn’t feel too intimidating,” she said.

“It’s so important to have options, if things aren’t accessible then it’s hard to get exposure and give kids the opportunity to try everything.

“But it’s also just good for people and their general fitness, they’re good distances so they can be a way for a footballer to do a bit of preseason or for someone to give some sort of running a try, whatever it might be.”

Where to now?

With a six-member committee that has been keeping the ship afloat for years, Curran says some fresh enthusiasm behind the scenes and expressed interest from people who want to participate is what the club needs to keep offering events.

“The numbers were gradually dwindling but then COVID hit and we lost the incorporation and have had six people on the committee and we don’t know what the groundswell is like,” he said.

“The committee members are hitting their twilight zones mostly, Louise Abraham and Greg Mitchell came across from Mount Gambier and gave it a bit of a lift about two years ago but it’s a big job to drive the club.

“We had a meeting recently and we need competitors and someone to help drive it. We’re here and happy to help and stay on board but we can’t drive it, it needs someone younger who is involved and keen to push it and also need to know that there are people who want to compete.

“We don’t know if there are people who want to help out a bit and also keen to compete and if we hear from them we’ll soldier on but if we don’t we’ll probably shut the doors and that’ll be it.

“As long as you can hold a sign – we’re happy to have anyone who is keen to help.”

King-Hudson, who regularly returns to Portland with her family down to compete in the local triathlons, echoed the sentiment from Curran.

“My son is 10 and he wants to do his first triathlon and we were hoping to do it in Portland because it’s really good entry level,” she said.

“I know it’s so hard for clubs and small community clubs to be able to put these things on and you really need the support so I hope people get on board.”

For anyone who wants to express their interest to either help behind the scenes or to participate, you can contact Curran directly on 0417 132 052.