Following the success of the 2007 and 2008 and 2009 female tri-squads, we are now expanding our triathlon squad training to three squads once again accepting applications to join us for training/coaching up to and including the 2011 tri season.

To give you a rough outline of the squad and what we offer:

What is a Serpentine tri-squad?

This is a team within the club that trains together on a regular basis. The idea behind it is to create a comfortable, non-competitive environment for us to train in, and to build a real team atmosphere. We start the squad in early December, and take you right through each training phase, from base and build through to race-specific training and achieving your race goals. This year we expect to take on 15 new squad members per squad.

You can read about it also on our website: http://www.serpentine.org.uk/pages/training_tri_squads.html

Who is it for?

With an increased coaches group we will be managing three squads:

The Female Novice squad: 

We are looking for relatively novice female triathletes – perhaps you have completed one or two sprint or Olympic distance triathlons or are looking to get into triathlons and want to see how you can improve with some structured training? To give you an estimate of ability, we are really looking for people wanting to break the three-hour mark at Olympic distance.

The Male Novice Squad

We are looking for relatively novice male triathletes – perhaps you have completed one or two sprint or Olympic distance triathlons or are looking to get into triathlons and want to see how you can improve with some structured training? To give you an estimate of ability, we are looking for people wanting to break the three-hour mark at Olympic distance.

The Improvers Squad (mixed gender)

We are looking for triathletes who have completed a number of Sprint or Olympic triathlons and would like to step up their performance, train more regularly and maybe target a Half Ironman at the end of the season.

If you aren't sure if this is for you, why not drop us an email and ask? One thing that we do need to make clear is that we expect you to commit to train with us as much as possible, and to commit to training for triathlon (no spring marathons!). To get the best out of the squad, you need to be dedicated. We also cannot support your training for Ironman.

Where do we train?

In various London locations. Once or maximum twice a week we will schedule to meet- this might be at one of the excellent current club sessions (track, spin etc) or it might be a squad-specific session (such as a swim, brick sessions, bike handling etc). After the training session, we will usually get together to discuss a variety of topics – these include; training plans, training goals, races, training logs. We will also bring in external expertise to help on subjects such as nutrition and sports psychology.

We will also offer the chance to attend a UK weekend training camp either in Kent or Somerset. These are fantastic opportunities to have a dedicated weekend of training, and also get to know your fellow squad members a little bit better.

How much does it cost?

We will break the season into three ‘terms' – December to February, March to May and June to August. This is so that we can monitor progress and commitment more easily. There will also be a charge for each term of £70 per squad member. This £70 is NOT a coaching fee for the Club coaches – the cost will cover payment for an externally hired coach, external speakers (such as the nutritionist/ sports psychologist) and the hire of meeting rooms and pool lanes for our swim sessions. It will be paid directly to the club who will then pay for these external costs.

About us

Beate Vogt – Level 2 (Level 3 pending) BTF coach amongst many coaching qualifications. Beate has been competing in triathlons for over 20 years.  Read more here: http://www.serpentine.org.uk/pages/coach_beate_vogt.html

Margaret Sills – Level 3 BTF coach. Margaret comes from a competitive swimming background and been in triathlon since 1983! Including Hawaii Ironman. More on Margaret here: http://www.serpentine.org.uk/pages/coach_margaret_sills.html

Alex Elferink – (BTF level 1 and level 2 pending) – Alex has been competing in Triathlon for 6 years up to Ironman distance and has also on the committee of Serpentine. Read more here: http://www.serpentine.org.uk/pages/committee_tri_coaching.html

Plus four Level 1 coaches to assist us in coaching the sessions.

What next?

If you are interested please email us with your background in the sport, including any relevant race results, what your racing plans are for 2011, and what you hope to achieve in the squad.

We will be looking to make a decision on the successful participants within the next two weeks and send out responses by latest 7^th November.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Kind regards,

The Serpentine Tri Squad coaching team

Please email

Beate Vogt beate@serpentine.org.uk  for the Female Novice Squad

Alex Elferink alex_elferink@yahoo.co.uk for the Male Novice Squad

Margaret Sills margaret.sills@btinternet.com for the Improvers Squad