Swansea will once again host another weekend of world-class sport next summer, it has been confirmed - but this time it will take place before the school holidays in a bid to avoid a repeat of the “chaos” which many local residents complained of this year.
A huge sporting weekend took place in the city last month as thousands of competitors took part in incredible challenges of swimming, cycling and running in the World Triathlon Para Series on August 6 and in Swansea’s first ever IRONMAN event the following day. You can keep up to date with the latest Swansea news by signing up to the local newsletter here.
The events were hailed a huge success. However, the traffic management system put in place around them was criticised by some, with complaints of huge queues in parts of the city. One resident said: “The queue was standstill and it took me one and a half hours to get from Morfa to town. Some people still have to get to work and it’s not a good idea to close the major roads on busy summer weekends during the school holiday.” You can read more about the disruption here.
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With those concerns in mind, and other criticisms about the timing of the events in the middle of the school holidays, Swansea Council has now announced that both will return for 2023, but on the weekend of July 15 and 16 - before the start of the school summer holidays. As with 2022, the weekend will follow a week-long Disability Sport Wales Para Sport Festival with accessible participation opportunities in activities such as swimming, cycling and running.
The World Triathlon Para Series race will take place within the qualifying window for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, providing British athletes with a key opportunity to earn valuable qualification points on home soil. The council has said it is working with event organisers, British Triathlon and IRONMAN, to ensure local people, communities and businesses can plan for, enjoy, and benefit from the events, while other partners include UK Sport, the Welsh Government and Welsh Triathlon. Entry information for both events can be found here and here.
“We’re delighted that these events will return once again in 2023,” said Robert Francis-Davies of Swansea Council. “This unique week will provide opportunities for - and feature competitors with - a wide range of abilities right up to world-class level. Its first staging this year was a great success for athletes, supporters, local businesses and residents. It saw Olympic, Paralympic, World and Commonwealth champions all racing in Swansea. It reinforced the city’s reputation as a welcoming, diverse sporting city, capable of hosting major events.
“We’ll continue to work with the event organisers to ensure that local people and businesses have every chance to plan for and to enjoy next year’s Disability Sport Wales’ Para Sport Festival, World Triathlon Para Series Swansea and IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea. We’ve listened to local feedback and, as a result, these 2023 sports events will take place outside of the school holidays and, along with the Wales Airshow, will help deliver another great Swansea summer.
“We have a 10-month lead-in time to plan ahead for our world-class 2023 sports week which we want to rival the success story of Tenby’s well-established IRONMAN event which has done so much to put south west Wales on the map and provide a boost to businesses and tourism. We want to inspire local people to compete in sport and to enjoy it in other ways too.”
Andy Salmon, British Triathlon CEO, said: “Having organised Britain’s first standalone World Triathlon Para Series event earlier this year, I’m delighted that we can continue the momentum by announcing 15 July 2023 as the date for the next edition. Alongside the racing this year, we hosted the first International Para Triathlon Conference under the banner ‘to achieve para parity’, and that is very much our vision as we look to build on the success of 2022 by further enhancing the experience and delivery of paratriathlon events. Working with partners at UK Sport, Welsh Government, Swansea Council and Welsh Triathlon, we are excited to once again welcome paratriathletes from around the world to Britain.”
IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea race director Rebecca Sutherland said: “Following the resounding success of the inaugural edition of IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea, we are delighted to be returning in 2023. Swansea has been a wonderful addition to our European race calendar, underlined by the overwhelming response of our athletes with the race selling out in its first year. Encouragingly, the first edition saw over 60% of athletes participate in their very first IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon. We’re grateful for the support shown for the event and are already planning towards delivering another world class experience for athletes, the community and to give them an event they can be proud to call their own.”
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