Kids That Tri Cleveland Gets Kids Out for Open Water Swimming in Lake Erie Before Tri CLE Rock Roll Run Triathlon
/On a beautiful Sunday morning at Cleveland Metroparks Edgewater Beach, youngsters from the Kids That Tri Cleveland program took their first open water strokes in Lake Erie after a winter and spring of pool-only training. The swim was part of the broader Kids That Tri program, in partnership with the Parker Hannafin Downtown YMCA, that was created to provide a pathway for children of the Greater Cleveland area to learn how to swim, bike, and run and participate in a competitive triathlon. The program strives to bridge the diversity gap in the sport of triathlon by providing coaching, mentoring, equipment and fun for all participants in a safe environment. The program culminates in the Tri CLE Rock Roll Run Triathlon at North Coast Harbor and Edgewater Park, offering Super Sprint, Sprint, and Olympic distance triathlons on Saturday, August 21, 2021
The idea for the program began when Tri CLE Rock Roll Run triathlon organizer Mark Brandt reached out to Davis Aerospace & Maritime High School about Kids That Tri Cleveland. In addition to learning about the sport of triathlon, there was an interest in teaching Davis kids how to swim proficiency to enhance their prospects with potential employers. PHASTAR President and CEO Drew Ferguson said Brandt’s idea was a great fit. “You can’t have a kid graduate who might work on a charter boat that doesn’t know how to swim. Getting the kids training to become proficient enough so they can be trained as lifeguards or working on a boat translates into jobs - good paying jobs for the events we do.”
Brandt, who describes himself as a local businessman by day and a triathlete by night and early morning, had always wanted to see a good triathlon in downtown Cleveland “But I wanted to make it inclusive. We couldn’t just give kids free entry - we needed to train kids in the middle of the pandemic from November to April. Then we finally we would be able to take them outside for training eight days per month.”
In the midst of the pandemic, Kids That Tri Cleveland began hosting once-a-month training events starting last November at the Parker Hannafin Downtown YMCA. A generous grant gave kids of need the ability to apply for a free membership and the kids swim there 2 times per week. “The YMCA has been a great partner and they’ve been very willing to work with us.” said Brandt. “I was a terrible athlete growing up. But the Lakewood Y taught me how to swim. It was a really cool place for a young boy. The kids feel safe and the parents feel comfortable sending their kids to the Y”.
Leading the charge on the Edgewater Beach open water swims was Dee Boyd, a Kids That Tri Cleveland board member. Brandt described the first time he met Boyd: “We were doing a cancer charity swim. I swam 4 miles and while she was there supporting us, Dee struck up a conversation with my wife. Once Boyd learned about the Tri CLE Rock Roll Run triathlon, she shouted out to me “You’re the one doing that race? I want to help with Kids That Tri!””
As spring arrived, Kids That Tri Cleveland’s need for bikes ran headlong into the COVID pandemic’s impact on the bicycle manufacturing industry. Brandt’s initial efforts to locate bikes for Davis A&M kids to train on led to Jim Sheehan at Ohio City Bicycle Co-Op. Jim was able to provide some basic bikes, but there was a desire to provide kids with bikes they could be proud of.
Cue Kids That Tri Cleveland board member Jerry Shere, an avid cyclist who used to run a large sporting goods retail store in Albuquerque that was a big Specialized dealer. Jerry and his wife Tove (a USA Triathlon certified coach) have served as ambassadors for the USA Triathlon Foundation for three years. The Foundation has partnered with Kids That Tri and has provided a non profit platform and helped develop Kids That Tri as a premier youth development club and provides annual USAT memberships to all the young athletes
Shere reached out to his industry contacts and fellow members of National Association of Bike Dealers hoping to find a manufacturer who could give them 10 bikes to train on. Shere quickly found out the supply chain had been totally depleted during the pandemic.
Seeing the writing on the wall, Shere pivoted and asked members of Cleveland’s Triathlon Club if they had “something hanging on the hook” they would consider donating to Kids That Tri Cleveland. Soon donations started rolling in, some ready to race, other needing parts and a little mechanical love. “We’re just trying to make a difference one kid at a time. A bike, kit and shoes came out of Atlanta. Bikes came from as far away as Seattle. Eric Gibb donated a couple of bikes.” Shere estimates he has put together 30 bikes assembled from an infinite variety of donated components.
“A huge huge shout-out should go to Bike Authority who allowed me to go through their old frame sets and boxes of parts” said Shere. “Given how the pandemic interrupted supply chains, you couldn’t get components, shifters, brakes from supply houses - there was nothing there. So I ended up taking the Bike Authority and donated parts and soon, complete bikes began to emerge. Adam Clark, a western region sales rep for Kona, was even kind enough to send us two Zing carbon frames!”.
Shere noted “Slowly we’re getting there. Xavier a 16 year-old high school sophomore who lives in East Cleveland, had never participated in an athletic event in his life. Now he’s becoming an accomplished cyclist!”
“Now we host a class that instructs kids on how to fix the bike”. Shere reflected “If the kid doesn’t come back after they get a bike, well the kid still gets a bike. You never know what will happen when you hand a kid a bike. Everything is better after a bike ride.”
