Changes coming to the 2016 version of Challenge Penticton

PENTICTON – As athletes mill around the Challenge Penticton athletes village at Okanagan Lake Park preparing for this Sunday's race, race organizers are already planning for next year's event. Changes are on the horizon for Challenge Penticton as race organizers set their sights on 2016.

Organizers say the 2016 version of the race will be run across a single distance, the world long-course championship distance of a three kilometre swim, 120 kilometre bike ride and 30 kilometre run. Individual and relay events will still be part of the new format.

Challenge Penticton 2016 will be a five day festival which will see the incorporation of the Canadian cross-triathlon, duathlon and equation championships. Each event will also be a qualifier for the respective world championship, to be held in 2017 in Penticton.

As many as 4,000 athletes are expected to participate in the 2017 International Triathlon Union Multisport Festival in the Peach City.

Registration for the 2016 event is open for the individual or team relay event, with full details of next year’s new events, together with qualifying information and registration for the cross-triathlon, dualthlon and aquathon national championships available soon.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.