Greenwich Emergency Medical Service is excited to host the second annual GEMS Kids Triathlon at Greenwich High School on Sunday, June 12, 2022. The Triathlon will again be a fun community event for local youth, ages 6-14, promoting a healthy and active lifestyle, building self-confidence and fostering important life skills.
“In 2019 for the first GEMS Kids Triathlon there was overwhelming community support and interest with over 125 participants,” said GEMS Executive Director, Tracy Schietinger. “We’re excited to once again offer an event that is both fun and challenges kids physically. Proceeds from the event will support the life-saving work we do at GEMS and raise much needed funds that will help replace or refurbish equipment or possibly even a new ambulance.” While the GEMS Kids Tri is not connected to the Greenwich Kids Triathlon that ended in 2016, the idea to bring back a Kids Tri to Greenwich stems from the popularity of the original event.
The GEMS Kids Tri will include prizes, refreshments and entertainment for participants and their families. It is a USA Triathlon sanctioned event consisting of three races: swimming, cycling, and running – in that order. The swim will take place in the Greenwich High School (GHS) pool, the bike ride will be in the both the GHS parking lots and around the school and running will be on GHS athletic fields. The race begins promptly at 8am, with participants required to be onsite by 7am. To participate, children must be 6 years old by 12/31/2022 and can be no older than 14 years old by 12/31/2022, as per USAT sanctioning. This means that five years olds can participate if they are turning six years old in 2022 and that the age cut-off would not include teens that are turning 15 at some point in 2022. Registration closes on June 10th and day of registration is not available.
Aside from youth participation, there are additional ways to support the event and GEMS. “Volunteers are needed before and during the triathlon,” said Tracy. “Over 100 volunteers are necessary to ensure the event will run smoothly.” You can sign up for a specific volunteer position on the GEMSKidsTri.org site. Positions range from Course Set Up to Check-in, Racer Marking / Bib Help to help needed at all of the stations. Sponsorship opportunities are still available as well and are yet another way to support the Triathlon.
As a not-for-profit, all triathlon proceeds will go towards continuing GEMS’ high quality life saving services and helping fund emergency vehicles and essential medical equipment. The mission of Greenwich Emergency Medical Service (GEMS) is to provide the highest level of pre-hospital emergency medical care to reduce the risk of death and disability due to trauma and sudden illness. GEMS operates 24/7 out of four stations with eight of seven state-of-the-art ambulances. From May 2020 through April 2021, GEMS responded to 5,399 calls and transported 3,250 patients, arriving, on average, within less than five minutes to all emergency calls.
For more information about the GEMS Kids Triathlon, visit www.gemskidstri.org or contact Pat O’Connor – 203-637-7505, [email protected].
Visit www.GreenwichEMS.org for additional information about Greenwich Emergency Medical Service.
