And just like that…the 2023 Arden Park Youth Triathlon: Splash and Dash has hit the finish line. This year’s race was a huge success with the help of an incredible planning committee, generous sponsors, and an enthusiastic community. It’s great to be able to continue this tradition for the kids in our community.
This year the planning committee made an executive decision to scrap the bike portion of the race when we learned about the construction on La Sierra. Keeping the safety of our participants in mind, we decided to revisit the 2021 Splash and Dash version of this event. We hope to bring back the traditional format of the triathlon next year barring any unforeseen obstacles. Stay tuned for a save the date and more information to come.
That being said…the most important element to keeping this community tradition alive is the help from our dedicated volunteers. This event would not have been possible without my Dreamteam planning committee…Christina Joyce, Ron Salvatori, DJ Waldow, Mauricio Buchner, Matt Ramey, Jeremey Horan, and Leah Lind. I appreciate all the time and effort each of you put into the planning of this event and hope you enjoyed some laughs along the way. I really enjoyed getting to know each of you and I look forward to working with you in years to come. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Steve Buzzard for bringing the FUN to this event as the most amazing MC with the best beats.
I would also like to take a moment to recognize and thank our generous sponsors who continue to support this event year after year. First and foremost, Dan Gibbs and Teichert provide all the delineators we need to create a race course that is safe and easy to navigate for even the smallest athletes. Without this generous donation this race would not happen. Swansons Cleaners returned as our title sponsor and Nicole Swanson ran a great transition area to keep our kids moving between each leg of the race. Szymanowski Orthodontics returned as our run course sponsor and, as always, Dr. Damon and his team showed up with the utmost enthusiasm. Little Whale Swim School returned as our swim course sponsor and Anya brought all the swag and bubble fun to the finish line! Dr. Lisa Laptalo returned as our bib sponsor this year, The Gray Group hydrated our athletes with much needed electrolytes while Raley’s and Fat Cat Bakery kept the kids fueled with some tasty treats and fruit. Jackie Malhotra with House Realty provided us with some great lanyards for the medals our kids wore proudly at the end of the race. Thank you to Bean from Urban Flex + Flow for leading our kids in a pre-race warmup. Finally, Starbucks provided much needed coffee to keep our volunteers moving all morning long.
Last but not least, our committee would like to thank the dedicated parents who volunteered their time to set up, clean up, count laps and make sure this was a fun, seamless event for everyone. I know we all put in tireless volunteer hours for school, sports and community events throughout the year. Your time and energy are valuable, and we appreciate you taking time to make this one of our community’s greatest events. If you love this triathlon and want to take on a bigger volunteer role in the planning committee, please reach out to us at [email protected].
On a personal note, after being on the planning committee for 3 years, this was my first year as race director. I could not have asked for a better, more fun, and exciting experience. Sunday far exceeded my expectations and I’m looking forward to bringing another successful race in 2024.
Kellie Rushton
Race Director
Arden Park Youth Triathlon
[email protected]