The Duathlon European Championship in Soria has a date

The Duathlon European Championship will be held in Soria on the 29 and 30 weekend in April.

The wait to know the official date for holding the appointment is over once the ETU (European Triathlon Union), the European Triathlon Federation, has published its official calendar for the next campaign. So, instead of holding the competition on the weekend of 22 and 23 in April as in previous years, the test is postponed a week in a decision that has been very well received by the organization of the continental competition.

Thus, the president of the Federation of Triathlon of Castile and Leon, Amancio del Castillo, was satisfied with the location of the appointment in the calendar as it barely disrupts the initial plans of the organization, something that has not been easy to achieve due to the mechanism of choice of dates. "I think it's a good date. In the first place it is for the athletes, which is the most important thing, and also for Soria and the organization since the May Day is the Monday after the competition and the fact that it is a holiday will favor the participation of many triathletes , without forgetting that it will allow the Sorians to enjoy a sporting spectacle of the highest level ".

In this sense, it should be noted that the May Day is an international holiday adopted by most European countries, such as France, Italy, Portugal or Germany among others, in a day that commemorates the day of the worker. Even in the United Kingdom the 'Early May bank holiday' is celebrated, although it is not exactly the same celebration, in any case it is also considered as a rest day in the British work calendar of 2017.

Del Castillo explains how the date was chosen, which in any case has not been established directly by the organization. "The system is quite complex, first of all, the International Triathlon Federation known as ITU (International Triathlon Union) establishes its calendar of world championships.

From here, each continental federation sets its dates avoiding to coincide with the ITU tests. Likewise, the European institution has to square its calendar with all the celebrations of European championships of each one of the modalities of our sport to which the national calendars like the one of the Spanish Federation of Triathlon (FETRI) adapt in turn. "

For his part, the Delegate of the Federation in Soria and a fundamental part of the organization, Rubén Andrés, has also been very happy with the placement of the test in the calendar. "In several senses it is an ideal date. For example, for athletes, we must bear in mind that the Spanish Duathlon Championship will be held in the Vall d'Uixó town of Castellón on April 1, so the Spanish runners have one more week of preparation and probably the same thing happens for the duathletes of other countries. Also, being a week later and not earlier than usual, at least in theory, since in Soria you never know, the chances of a better temperature are also there, "he says.

Like Del Castillo, Andrés highlights the proximity of the May Day festival, which will facilitate the movement of both national and foreign athletes who will have a cushion of time the next day to return to their places of origin, but also , the organizer takes into account another aspect that in Soria is also important. "In addition, we are not going to coincide with the celebration of Catapán, which is the first Sunday of May and in Soria it is an important celebration," the organizer points out.

Further information: http://www.triathlon.org/events/event/2017_soria_etu_duathlon_european_championships

Photo: Heraldodesoria