Up close with the Chatt Tri Club
Chattanooga, TN will host an Ironman event this fall and we checked in with the Chattanooga Triathlon Club to see what is going on with this Scenic City team. The Facebook page of the club has well over a 1,000 likes and allows members and friends to see what is going on, but serious business is shared via an email newsletter. Noel Reagan is the new president and she kindly gave us some of her time to talk about CTC, the membership, the upcoming big race and much more.
Slowtwitch: Thank you for your time.
Noel Reagan: It’s my pleasure, Herbert. I’m sure several of our members will get a kick out of seeing this interview on Slowtwitch. They might even get out of the forum, once they realize there’s a main page!
ST: What forum?
Noel: Haha, yeah, like there are other forums around outside of Slowtwitch!
ST: How long have you been involved with the Chattanooga Triathlon Club?
Noel: I joined a couple weeks before I officially moved to Chattanooga in January of 2011 and have been active since the day I joined!
ST: What made you move to the Scenic City?
Noel: My husband grew up in the Chattanooga area and had a business going, long story short, we moved back. I didn’t know anyone and was hoping to meet people right away and dabbled in triathlon a little and I found the Chatt Tri Club. I joined and became very involved with the club right when we moved, and now I have done a 70.3 and I’m on my way to Ironman–all while surround by a wonderful, supportive group of folks who have taught me a lot about the swim, bike, run! The scenic city is home, I love both the people and the city!
ST: And when did you become the president?
Noel: I am brand new in 2014, officially starting at the end of January this year.
ST: What kind of membership numbers do you have as we speak?
Noel: If I recall correctly, somewhere around 175-200, which includes individuals and families.
ST: Of those how many are actively involved in terms of volunteering and have taken on specific club roles?
Noel: Everyone who helps lead the club is a volunteer. We have no paid leadership. We have a board of 10 people and then there are numerous other volunteers that help lead workouts, organize club events throughout the year and host club tents at races.
ST: Do you find it difficult to get volunteers?
Noel: It can definitely be a challenge and I think it is always a work in progress, since triathletes tend to be some of the busiest people on earth. For example, it’s hard to get athletes to sit at a tent during a hometown race when they’d rather be tweaking their position or trying out a new aero helmet.
However, we have a volunteer rewards program that we use to encourage club members to volunteer and help out. At the end of the year, to folks who volunteer, we give away great rewards/prizes/swag donated from our wonderful club sponsors.
And we find that people who take the plunge to volunteer usually love it — and may even plan in advance to volunteer during off-weeks in their schedule.
ST: Do you still do open water sessions at the Dam and on the river itself?
Noel: We don’t have official club swims at the dam, but many of our club members connect and plan their swims on the same days. There is a group in Chattanooga called the COWS (Chattanooga Open Water Swimmers) and some of our club members will occasionally swim with them in the river downtown. The COWS provide full kayak support — and they are also a fun bunch to hang out with after the goggles come off.
ST: What are some of the activities the Chattanooga Tri Club organizes?
Noel: Last year we started a mentorship program for athletes who are looking for some general guidance as they prepare for their first triathlon or a new race distance. Mentors are people who volunteer to encourage and support other club members! This is something that is ongoing and has been fairly successful.
In the past we have had club retreats where we go for a training weekend at a location a couple hours from home. This year we hosted our first ‘stay-treat’, which was a focused training weekend, in hopes of having more club members being able to participate because it was close to home and a low-cost event to attend. As it turned out, social media helped attract people from around the region — as well as a few people from as far away as California and Arizona.
We have club ‘social events’ about once per month, to offer members a place to connect and make friends and hopefully talking about something besides triathlon for once! We also have club meetings once per month, with different topics and speakers.
Recently our board started an Ironman Training Program where we have contracted with a local coach to create a cost-effective way for our club members to train for Ironman Chattanooga.
ST: Having an Ironman race in town must be very special for the club. Will that be the key race for most of your members who do longer races?
Noel: I don’t know if it will be everybody’s “A”-race. Obviously people like to race certain locations and conditions, and Chattanooga might not suit everybody who’s going for, say, a personal best at their IM run. But we certainly are honored and excited to have it here.
It will be the first 140.6 for several people — so I do think in that regard it could be a turning point in their racing careers. For the first-timers, it’s special to do it with friends and family around. But also for the experienced Iron-distance competitors, they will get to act as mentors before and during the race. That’s a rare occurrence.
ST: Are some club folks offering their homes for homestays for out of town competitors?
Noel: That’s a good option available via the volunteer spots for homestays for the pro’s, but I’m not aware of anyone being selected for that. There are a few local folks who live downtown who have offered their places as rooms to rent during the weekend.
ST: Has the Ironman in town also impacted seeing new people joining the club?
Noel: Of course. Some are former members whose interest in competing (or time to train) had waned for a while. Some are probably people who decided that, even though triathlon is an individual sport, they wanted to be in a group and bounce ideas around, or get new training partners. Others are totally new — to the sport, to the area, or both. However they came to us, we’re proud that they are members of the Chatt Tri Club, and we want to do everything we can to make their membership worthwhile.
On another note, we’ve had a lot of folks from out of town come to visit our city so we look forward to continue building ways of how our club can welcome out of town guests to the area for training rides, runs and visits–whether it’s out on the course or even offering dinner recommendations and answering general questions.
ST: As far as I can recall, originally this club was a branch of a local cycling club and then splintered off.
Noel: You are correct. Originally, the group was a multisport division of the Scenic City Velo cycling club. There was a time in late 2008 when a small group of local triathletes discussed their organizations needs and felt the time was right, with enough interest, to start their own distinct triathlon club. January 2009 the club officially formed, applying for 501c3 status, with 25 or so members the first month. Growth has seen ups and down since then, but the most growth occurred in 2013 after the Ironman Chattanooga announcement.
ST: What are some of the difficulties you deal with as a club, and what have you done to tackle them?
Noel: I think since we are entirely volunteer-run, when real life comes into play, such as jobs, work schedules and other things that come up, it can be difficult for our key club leaders to keep up with the demands of balancing training, personal life, work life and triathlon club stuff that needs to be done. We have a wonderful board that has worked together to help one another when our schedules may be chaotic.
And if the biggest problem we have is, essentially, “Wow, we have a lot of members!” — then we’re doing something right. We just have to get them to stick around long enough to share their talents with the rest of the club.
ST: Do you consider 175-200 to be truly a lot of members?
Noel: With a city of 175,000 residents (excluding outlying towns), to have 1% as members of the club appears to me to be a huge success. I don’t know the exact ratio of triathletes to the overall population, but I would guess that the club’s ratio is north of that.
ST: Is there anything else to know?
Noel: I have to thank our supporters and sponsors: Cigna, Quintana Roo bikes, All3Sports, excellent local health professionals (Total Health Chiropractic, Results Physiotherapy, Chattanooga Sports Institute), XTERRA, Fairway Outdoor, EPA, Sunbelt Bakery, East Ridge Bicycles and Endurance Sport Management. We wouldn’t be where we are without their contributions.
And of course, thanks to all our families who let us indulge our triathlon dreams — no matter how many early mornings, long lunches or late nights we demand!
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