Interview with Émilie Attanasio, president of the Waïmea Triathlon Club

• Hello Émilie, can you start by presenting for our readers?

I have been practicing triathlon since 2008 and I have been licensed in Waimea since 2013. I was elected President of the Club in December 2017. I practice triathlon mainly in the S and M formats and I participate in competitions with the friends of the division 3 team.

• Can you present the Waimea club in a few words?

We are a small club with a very family operation and at the same time very structured.

We have registered 74 members for the 2021-2022 season, including 34 women, or 45%, so we are not far from parity, which is quite unique in triathlon or cycling clubs. Of these 74 members, there are 22 young people (from the pupil category to the juniors) and 19 are part of our triathlon school labeled 1 star by the French Triathlon Federation.

Members are divided into 3 separate training groups:

– The triathlon school for 8 to 15 year olds who train on Wednesdays and Saturdays in the 3 triathlon disciplines.

– The competition group accessible from 16 years old which offers 4 swimming training sessions in the pool per week, 3 running sessions, and 1 bike outing on Sunday between members.

– The Sport-Health-Leisure group which trains on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. outdoors with a variety of activities: Nordic walking, bike and run, mountain biking, muscle strengthening, stretching… and training in the swimming pool.

• Howwas the start of the year at the club?

The year has started very well. The club was present in the regional rounds by teams in division 3 of triathlon and duathlon and the women's team will participate in the semi-final D3 in duathlon in Bordeaux.

We organized our 3^th Lunel Duathlon in March which was a success.

On an individual level, our members have performed really well:

– Alain Filippi qualified for the Ironman World Championships thanks to a very good performance in 11h25 during the Ironman of Aix-en-Provence.

– Armel Le Floch was French Aquathlon Master 2 champion in July and more recently bronze medalist at the Aquathlon Master 2 World Championships.

Myself, this summer I was able to win a silver medal at the French Cross Triathlon Championships in my age category.

This year we have 2 Ironman Aix en Provence finishers, 2 Ironman Nice finishers, 1 Ironman Thun (Switzerland), 1 Embrunman, and many finishers and podiums in all other distances (70.3, M, S, XS, youth).

At the team level, four participated in the Codolet triathlon on July 14, with a victory for the mixed team involved. Our youngsters competed in rounds of the regional triathlon, duathlon and aquathlon challenge. In short, the club was well represented, and the season is not over with yet great challenges.

• How does the rest of the year look like for the club, what are your main objectives and what are your hopes for the last months to come? 

So, we will already be present for the start of the school year at the associations of Lunel on Sunday September 04 to discover the club. We will organize discovery sessions and a day of cohesion is scheduled in October to integrate our new members.

We then organize our first Bike & Run on 10/23/2022 hoping to welcome many participants. We are doing everything we can to make this event a success.

The club will of course be present at many races, including the regional mixed relay triathlon championship in La Grande Motte at the beginning of October, as well as at individual races. Finally, courses will be organized as every year during the different school holidays: All Saints, February, Easter, for young and old.

• Can we follow the news of the club somewhere?

We have a website waimea-triathlon.wev.fr which includes all the information about the club and our organizations (Duathlon and Bike and Run).

• What do you want to say to newsletter readers to make them want to join your club?

Interview conducted in August 2022