Triathlon sparks appropriate use debate
Posted By Larissa Barlow
Posted 3 months ago
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By Larissa Barlow
Larissa@thecrag.ca
A proposal to host a triathlon in Banff spurred a two-hour discussion on appropriate uses of a national park.
LifeSport Coaching and Events, which organizes several triathlons in British Columbia, is applying to host one on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2010 in the park.
They’re looking for a multi-year permit from Parks Canada that would allow them to run a triathlon with two different race lengths, one an Olympic distance and one a shorter sprint distance.
They’re proposing the swim take place at Johnson Lake, the bike race around the Minnewanka Loop and then into town, with the run taking place inside town boundaries ending in Central Park.
LifeSport Coaching and Events director Paul Regensburg presented to Parks Canada’s Special Events Public Advisory Committee (SEPAC) on Oct. 22, saying they would cap the event at 1,500 participants, but estimated the first year would draw around 500 to 750 participants.
“Basically that allows us to show we can put on an event with very little impact to the community,” he said.
With 750 participants, Regensburg estimated 200 spectators would be at the starting line.
While it brought up some questions on how spectators for 1,500 participants would be managed, Parks Canada external relations manager Ann Morrow said there was more concern about the use of Johnson Lake.
“Johnson Lake becomes problematic from the regulatory end of things,” she said, noting it brought up the larger question, “Do we want large scale events in the park, and what is large scale?”
While there was no opposition to the event from the public attending the meeting, Mike McIvor submitted a letter from the Bow Valley Naturalists that Morrow read, expressing their opposition to the triathlon.
In the letter, McIvor wrote this was a classic example of an event that “could be held anywhere” and “there is little demand for the distractions of special events.” He also wrote, “we are surprised and disappointed Johnson Lake has been targeted.”
Regensburg said of all the triathlons they’ve organized, they’ve never heard they damaged the lake by having swimmers in it.
“Swimming is not a highly disturbing activity in a lake,” he said.
Parking wise, they recorded the number of vehicles at Johnson Lake this year, and found while it was busy on a Friday afternoon when event set up would take place, but was virtually empty Saturday morning when the race would take place. While the topic of displacing other visitors was left open to debate, there was also concern having cyclists riding along the Lake Minnewanka Road.
There’s no shoulder on the road and Morrow said, “obviously we want to avoid a road closure.”
During the proposed time frame, the Two Jack main campground had 100 sites occupied this year, while the lakeside campground was full, prompting questions of traffic flow.
“I think what’s more of a concern is traffic on the Minnewanka Loop,” Morrow said.
During the race time, 1,400 cars could be on the road.
“That’s a concern to us,” Morrow said.
Regensburg said cyclists would only be on the road for 85-95 minutes, and would be clear by 10:55 a.m. on the event day.
“I truly believe if you see this event happen the fist year it’s very low impact,” he said.
Richard Leavens, executive director of the Association for Mountain Parks Protection and Enjoyment (AMPPE), spoke in support of the event as something that goes hand in hand of what Parks Canada is trying to accomplish by encouraging more people to visit national parks. Millions have been invested in TV ads to promote national parks to Canadians.
“The reason I support larger scale events is because it’s the direction Parks Canada is going,” he said.
Regensburg said the local community wouldn’t be alienated from the event, and while the Olympic length race could attract high level athletes, the sprint event is aimed more for locals and those who have never been in a triathlon before.
“There’s a high local community involvement with all our events,” he said.
SEPAC will make its recommendation to park superintendent Kevin Van Tighem, who has final say on special event approvals.
