HURRICANE — With summer already started, the Southern Utah Triathlon Club has recently switched focus from competition training to educational focus in hopes to raise awareness for water safety.
The triathlon club, made up of more than 200 members, will be hosting a free water safety seminar in Hurricane for all who would like to attend.
According to a media release, Southern Utah Triathlon Club will be meeting on Saturday, July 6, at 10 a.m. on the dive beach near the main, north boat ramp at Sand Hollow State Park.
“Triathletes spend a lot of time working in the water and log miles of pool and open water swimming during a season,” club member Scott Lowrey said. “Even though many triathletes see the swim as a gatekeeper to triathlon before one can really get moving on the bike or slog through the run, we have developed an awareness and respect for the water that we would like to share with other lake users.”
Every year, swimming mishaps occur on Utah lakes, even in Southern Utah. Since local reservoirs are shared with watercraft, paddlers, beachgoers and anglers, Lowrey said club members like to share tips they have learned from their experiences in the water.
He recalled a time when he was training near an area where a drowning had recently occurred.
“As I was working out, swimming laps across a cove, State Parks was recovering a swimmer who had left a boat he was sharing with friends and attempted to swim to shore,” Lowrey said. “He was swimming in an area that, although was not my usual area, I had swam before. The difference was, I knew the distance and had the conditioning to swim that distance. It was a rather shocking realization that someone had trouble in the same lake where I was getting fit and finding joy.”
Southern Utah Triathlon Club members have been performing educational demonstrations on Independence Day weekend, with some disruption due to coronavirus protocols, for several years.
The club was formed in 2008 for local triathletes to train together and has since evolved to group members regularly volunteering their time for training and educational purposes.
For more information on the Southern Utah Triathlon Club, visit their website. According to the Sand Hollow State Park website, day-use fees at the reservoir are $25 per vehicle on the weekends or $5 per person for walk ins.
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