Organisers of the Rohrman Triathlon have described as “overwhelming” the response they have received for the Barbuda leg of the 2019 edition of the annual event, slated for March 9-10. Coordinator and former national long distance runner Cordova “Popeye” Simon said the Barbuda aspect of the event, scheduled for March 10, is completely booked.
“If you want to come to Barbuda to participate in the event you would have to try another transportation, maybe do it privately in terms of the airplane, helicopter, because the ferry is full and the whole event is booked. We are taking almost 300 people from Antigua and in terms of Barbuda, I would like everybody in Barbuda to participate; which is not possible but most people can be a part; especially the school kids and their parents, because it is going to be like a Barbuda recovery run and walk,” he said.
One member of the organising team for the Rohrman, Rory Butler, previously said the move to Barbuda is in an effort to forge new relationships between the youth of both islands while providing an opportunity for residents to benefit financially from providing services to the group throughout the event.
In contrast to the numbers seen for the Barbuda leg of the two-day event, Simon said registration has been slow for the first day’s competition to be held in Antigua. “In terms of the seniors, there are more coming from outside as registration is showing right now, and it’s not that we are not getting more locals as the time draws near, but it’s just the norm.
Antiguans normally wait until the last moment to register and stuff, but I can tell you straight up that in terms of teams we will have a great number of teams,” he said. “Not everyone in Antigua is a tri-athlete and can do all three things. They can maybe do a swim and somebody will ride for them and all that, so we sort of encourage all participants to come and do whatever,” the former athlete added.
Sponsorship from the Jumby Bay Fund allowed athletes competing in the Barbuda leg of the event to pay only $30 per student and $50 per adult on either the Lady Caroline Ferry or the Barbuda Express per round trip on the day. This also includes race packages and lunch. Registration can be done via the Rohrman triathlon Facebook page or at H&G Paints on Dickenson Bay Road.