Salterford Guide to Triathlon

Championship Countdown

This Week at Salterford guide to Triathlon

A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves  swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances.
This week, 12 members of Salterford got to experience a triathlon.  At an event ran by http://www.britishtriathlon.org/take-part/events/tata-kids-of-steel the children swam, cycled and ran with gusto and completed the course and were awarded a medal and goodie bag for their efforts.

Triathlon is an Olympic event.  At London 2012 there will be two triathlon races (men/women) and Great Britain has an excellent chance of a medal - even Gold.

Men's and Women's Triathlon
1.5km Swim
43km Cycle
10km run

These will take part at Hyde Park.  The largest of London’s Royal Parks, Hyde Park has been open to the public since 1637.

In the men's event, GB will be represented by three athletes.  Two are these are likely to be brothers.  Jonnie and Alastair Brownlee are two of the top triathletes in the world.

Alistair Edward Brownlee (born 23 April 1988) is an English triathlete who is the reigning, and back-to-back, ETU European Triathlon champion and a two time Triathlon World Champion having regained the title he first won in 2009 in 2011 in Beijing.

Jonathan Brownlee (born 30 April 1990) is a professional English duathlete and triathlete. Brownlee is the two time and reigning World Sprint Triathlon Champion and is the former Under 23 Trathlon World Champion (2010). In 2011 he finished second in the world following the conclusion of the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series in Beijing.

Helen Rebecca Jenkins (born 8 March 1984 in Elgin, Moray, Scotland), is a British professional triathlete and the 2008 and 2011 ITU World Champion.

Championship Countdown

Focus on Swimming

One of the main sports of the London Olympics will be swimming.  Swimming has been in every Olympic games since 1896.  Men and women swim a variety of distances using the four main strokes.

Freestyle

Backstroke



Breaststroke

Butterfly

Did you know?

The first Olympic swimming took place in the Mediterranean Sea!

There used to be an underwater race.

Swimming goggles were first allowed in 1976

The tumble turn was first seen in the 1952 Olympics

They only started swimming in lanes in 1924

Until 1956, you could swim butterfly in the breast stroke race!

The swimming pool for the 1908 Olympic games was 100m long and was in the middle of the athletics track.

If you live in Nottingham, you will have heard of Rebecca Adlington.  In 2008 Olympics, she won two gold medals.  In over one hundred years, GB has only won 15 swimming gold medals.   To win two golds is amazing! 

This summer, Rebecca will try to add to that total.

Olympic Countdown Begins

Championship Countdown

Every week until the end of term, thisweekatsalterford.blogspot.com will be counting down to the Olympics 2012.
You will be able to find out more about all the sports and watch some classic moments from past Olympics.

The Olympic Torch

The Olympic Flame or Olympic Torch is a symbol of the Olympic Games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, where a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics. The fire was reintroduced at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, and it has been part of the modern Olympic Games ever since. According to legend, the torch's flame has been kept burning ever since the first Olympics.

The most amazing lighting of the Olypic Flame was in 1992 at the Barcelona Olympics.  The flame was lit by an archer firing a flaming arrow into the air.

46 Things

46 Things we found out on our trip to Normandy


1. There are no icebergs in the English Channel

2. Rosie B makes an excellent face pack out of mud

3. Jessica K can be passed off as a French girl.

4. If you sit near Lois, be prepared to have a ringing in the ears for the next two hours (Just ask Mr Britten.

5. Remy enjoys nothing more than watching a DVD in the bathroom!

6. It is cheaper to send a postcard from France to England than it is to send a postcard from Portsmouth to Nottingham!

7. Alex H thinks sucking sweets on a ferry stops your ears popping!

8. It is impossible to take a bad photo of Faith.

9. Ben W can learn a foreign language in two days.

10. James S refuses to pay to use a toilet – quote “I’m not paying to do my business!”

11. Dans tu fas! = In your face!

12. Rohan can make a bed sheet out of email messages.

13. You can never be too wet or too muddy.

14. “Joan of Arc had big boobies!” Ben W

15. “She should be called Booby see her!” James P

16. Victoria will eat absolutely anything.

17. Isabella can make a skirt out of newspaper.

18. Isobel is never happier than when shopping.

19. Francesca will put nail varnish on everything but her nails.

20. Miss V is unsteady in the mud.

21. Mr B can survive a week without a towel!

22. Mrs Birdi will be tackling Mount Everest next year – as long as it’s sunny!

23. Cameron is the inventor of the cottage pie sandwich (patent pending)

24. Jessie P has developed a taste for cider.

25. Katie M will swim anywhere.

26. Anna W is hoping to represent GB, in canoeing, at the 2020 Olympics.

27. You can never have enough sockets.

28. Children can communicate with the aid of an electronic gadget.

29. Tatziana hates being cold.

30. Amelia will store her clothes anywhere except her drawers.

31. During the week, Anushka ate more snails than croissants.

32. Money burns a hole in Sarah Sunman’s pocket.

33. Annabelle’s leg has the same properties as a mood ring.

34. Lewis has a dream that all bread will be snowman shaped.

35. George knows the difference between a French and Belgian moustache.

36. Harvey is a clothes horse.

37. Don’t stand in front of Remy when he has a bow and arrow in his hand.

38. Diesel is cheaper than petrol in France.

39. Wine is cheaper than beer, cider and PowerAde.

40. Pip is determined to prove that “Man can live by bread alone!”

41. Maddy has a future in the army due to her ability on the assault course.

42. The French birds love William D

43. Georgia is a name that no Frenchman can spell.

44. Alana would rather crawl in mud than eat another snail.

45. There is not enough space to describe the adventures of James P. Here a few key phrases – airfix buying, coat losing, photo taking, card trick performing, snail eating, snail spitting, canoe capsizing, nightmare tidying…

46. David Walliams got to France quicker than we did and he swam!

Day 6

Day 6


Last day of activities 

The day started with the usual breakfast. Each meal at the chateau is accompanied by a question and answer session. It is essential to be able to name, in French, all the items on the table. The children also need to be able to say the phrase “Please may I have some more bread/water/milk please.” The children have to then bravely walk to the kitchen staff and return with their request to the table. By now, all the children are able to do this. In fact, most tables are eating and drinking more than usual so that they have the excuse to go to the kitchen and ask for more.

This morning, two groups went climbing and the other group (Mr Britten’s) went canoeing. Canoeing takes part in the Chateau’s lake. The lake is surrounded by trees and has a small island in the middle. On the island there are two crocodiles called Snoopy and Pikachu. They are perfectly safe as long as the children don’t go onto their island. Apparently, they are very old, deaf and blind and can no longer swim. However, they will not refuse a good meal if it wanders into their lair!

*If you believe any of the previous paragraph then you are as gullible as 99% of the children at the Chateau!

During the canoe session, the children had to make a raft, collect balls, race and paddle the canoes in the style of a Venetian gondolier. The last activity described was the most difficult. Most children fell into the water. Rohan enjoyed the experience so much, he did it twice! At the end of the session, the children were given the opportunity to jump into the lake. Most jumped at the chance (ahem!). James S then convinced Mr Britten that is was “like a Jacuzzi”. Mr Britten subsequently jumped in and agreed with James S. It was just like a Jacuzzi, apart from the cold, the sludge on the bottom and the pond weed on top! Note to self – Don’t ever believe a word that comes out of James S’s mouth.

Lunch – Potato salad, lasagne, cheese, bread and fruit.

In the afternoon, the children in Miss V’s group went canoeing while the other groups made bread. Bread making was a lot of fun. The children measured, mixed, kneaded and shaped their ingredients into a variety of different shapes. Spiders, snails, sumo wrestlers and jellyfish (amongst others) went into the oven and the children will be able to eat their own creations later this evening.

Tonight is the Talent Show!

Day 5

Day 5


Mr Britten’s least favourite day (Shopping Day)

After the fun of French night and snail eating, most of the children were late getting up this morning. They did, however, all manage to crawl into breakfast at 8.15am and consume the usual mix of breakfast items.

Today has been spent away from the Chateau. The morning was spent at Dinan Market followed by a trip to France’s number 2 tourist attraction – Mont Saint Michel.

The children were required to spend time at the market finding out the price of various items and recording the names of certain shops. There was also a quiz sheet to fill in. After that, the spending frenzy began. A wide variety of high quality souvenirs were purchased for various family members and I’m sure they will all take pride of place either at home, in your ears, your handbags or around your wrists. All was going well until Faith discovered a sweet stall and all altruistic feelings went out of the window. The stall owner knew Christmas had come early and grasped the opportunity with both hands. Mrs Birdi was even given a complementary bag of sweets. Isobel H declared she was finally at home and looked quite the gall about town complete with crepe and Coca-Cola.

After what seemed like an eternity (45 minutes), the children retired from the market for lunch. Ham, tuna, cheese or egg baguette with crisps, biscuits and a drink.

The afternoon was spent at Mont Saint Michel. It is a significant historical site and is an impressive site. Unfortunately, it is also jammed packed with shops. It did, however, give the children the opportunity to buy a postcard and a stamp from the post office. The post office in France in very similar to the post office in England – slow. One harassed member of staff with a line of 31 children all desperate to ask for une timbre and hand over 77c.

On the way back to the Chateau, we called in at a supermarket. It gave the children the chance to spend some more Euros on some of the food they have been missing. With bags packed of various fruits, vegetables and whole grain cereal, we returned to the Chateau for dinner, exhausted and with lighter wallets/purses.

This evening we are promised an evening of sport including basketball, volleyball and aeroball.

Day 4

Wednesday


A great start to the day for a certain Ben W. At 7.00am this morning all was quite in the boy’s room. Young Ben was woken by a YouTube clip of Chelsea’s Torres scoring a goal which sent his beloved Chelsea to the final of the Champions League.

Breakfast was the same as usual with an added twist. Next door to the dining room is a conservatory. In the conservatory lives Jam – an African parrot. He likes his breakfast in a special way. Collette, the Chateau secretary, chews his food up for him and then he eats it out of her mouth. Surprisingly, she doesn’t think this is bizarre. Personally, I think you can love your pets a little too much.

Today has been spent at the Chateau. Two groups (Miss V and Mr B) have had a French lesson and an archery lesson. It was quite windy this morning and hitting the target proved a big challenge for some. Isobel is now called Isobelo which incorporates her name and score. We also have a Jameso, a Rohano, a Maddyo and a Georgiao. We don’t have a Remyo. He would have scared the life out of King Harold with his accuracy. He was only beaten by the sharp shooting of a certain teacher. Modesty prevents etc. etc.

A group of year 5 girls completed the assault course. It is often said that bravery comes from overcoming fear. A very impressive, brave group of girls. Special mention must be given to Victoria who was frightened of everything yet still completed the assault course with a satisfied smile.

Lunch was cottage pie which was the most popular meal so far. This was not a single cottage left and many children had thirds. A new delicacy was also invented by Cameron. The cottage pie sandwich. It set off a trend and was enjoyed by many. Cheese and fruit followed although not many had much room left for it.

We have also had a lesson in cider making. This was followed by a tasting session. Very few children enjoyed the cider apart from the odd one or two who were last seen sleeping off the effects (only joking!)

Tonight is the French evening along with the snail eating, photos to follow…

If you haven’t seen the photos yet, they are at http://www.the-chateau.com/  Don't forget the hyphen!

You can also email a message of love there too!