ABOUT KTC

Over the years Knutsford Tri Club has grown to become a vibrant community of swimmers, cyclists and runners who train race and socialise together. We have members who have represented Great Britain at all age group levels and members who have qualified for the world championships in Kona – we are even home to the legendary Dave Clamp, Deca Ironman world champion in 2018. Equally we have members who just want to take part in triathlon and do their best at whatever level that is – middle of the pack or the bottom 10% – the important thing at KTC is taking part.

Club History

Knutsford Tri Club started life in 2009. The club was set up by a group of Knutsford residents including Robin Maxwell and Jim Cox. Having completed the Tatton Park Triathlon as complete novices, they decided to start a triathlon club where like-minded individuals who wanted to train, race and socialise together could gather and enjoy the sport they loved.

Here is an extract from an email sent by Robin after one of the first meetings held in a local Knutsford pub.

When you look at KTC today, 11 years on, these core aims still hold true. The fun and relaxed atmosphere can been seen at training sessions, events and social gatherings; we now have a great set of planned and coached sessions; and in addition to club events like the Abersoch Ride or the Xmas party, members are making the effort to organise individual trips; for example a training week in Mallorca, a large group competing in IM Hamburg or the large KTC participation at the Cholmondeley Relays. KTC is carrying on very much as it set out.

Further down Robin lays out the roles and responsibilities of the newly elected “board”.

As a way of saying thank you, Robin and Jim were awarded Lifetime Memberships of the club at the 2023 End of Year Awards. Without them and the other people involved, the KTC we know today would not exist. Both Robin and Jim served on the committee from 2009 until 2022.

And so, Knutsford Tri Club was born. Here are some photos from the Tatton Park Triathlon in 2012 all wearing the first iteration of the KTC kit.

Clive Reading Memorial Run

Clive Reading was a member of KTC from 2012 until he passed away in 2016. He joined KTC in 2012 at the age of 66. He was a huge influence on so many people. His attitude was pretty much “just give it a go, you can do it”. He learnt to swim front crawl at the age of 66.

Clive started entering age-group qualifier races and was soon representing GB across the world. He was a phenomenally resilient athlete, who had his fair share of setbacks in races and yet he remained quietly determined. He was deeply thoughtful, caring, and kind, and the whole club looked up to him. He put others before himself and revelled in others’ successes. He turned up at races just to support and he championed everyone however big or small their achievement was. Clive was a true champion of KTC.

Clive was planning to compete in Ironman Barcelona. However, in August 2015 he was diagnosed with a brain tumour and died in January 2016. Each year we honour his memory by coming together to celebrate what a wonderful human being he was. The Clive Reading 10k is also an opportunity for us to enjoy the camaraderie of KTC that Clive pioneered.

Communication

The club communicates officially with its members via email and on Facebook. There are also a number of KTC Official WhatsApp groups for chat, kit, club rides, open water swimming and others.

There is a Club News following the Committee meeting where highlights of the meeting are reported. The minutes are sent out to all members by email.

There is also a vibrant private Facebook page where members post comments, photos, and news that they wish to share. If you wish to take part in these exchanges, it is necessary to join Facebook. When you sign up for membership you will be added to the Club Private Facebook page.

There are several WhatsApp groups in the club where members arrange unofficial bike rides, open water swims and runs. When you join the club you will have the opportunity to be added to these groups.

The club uses an online admin system called Joinin where members can purchase memberships, record emergency / medical details and book onto and pay for training sessions as required.

Committee

KTC is run by a committee of members on a volunteer basis. Members volunteer to be involved in the committee – every year members of the committee put themselves up for re-election or stand down. The current is committee is made up as follows:

Chairman – Ben Haggar
Secretary – Karen Hatton
Finance – Dave Humphreys
Social – Millie Lumsden
Welfare – Katy O’Connor
Membership – Hannah Bassirat
Marketing – Huw Davis

KTC is run on a professional basis under BTF guidelines. All the club policies and documents can be viewed HERE