An additional competition sponsored by Liberty Mutual has been included to the Bermuda Triathlon Association’s calendar.

Speaking at the end of Sunday’s Liberty Mutual National Sprint Triathlon Championships at Clearwater Beach, Steve Horton, the Liberty Mutual Bermuda president, stated that while a format was still to be decided, the race is scheduled for September 22.

“We’re chuffed with how it’s all gone and we have another event coming up here at the end of September and I’m looking forward to an even bigger turnout then,’’ Horton told The Royal Gazette.

This year’s national championships was moved away from Front Street in the City of Hamilton as a result of a clash with a motor festival, but the switch means funds can be diverted for an additional race

“Unfortunately, we couldn't have our annual event in Hamilton this year, so we decided that we’re going to put two on this year,” Horton said.

“We’re really excited about the September event at Clearwater. We’re thinking about doing something fun and funky with the formats. It will probably be the same for the children because we want them to get used to becoming triathletes.

“We made that decision when we were trying to book Hamilton, but we unfortunately couldn't because the dates were already gone.

“We then decided to have two races at Clearwater. We've got such a wonderful community of children coming up with the Carifta championships coming up, so it’s imperative that they get the training.”

Steven Petty, the BTA president, expressed his appreciation to the sponsors for the additional race.

“Not having an event in Hamilton has allowed us to have another great addition to our calendar of events,’’ he said.

“The format is still to be decided, but it just gives everyone an extra race for the year, which is great. We’re really thankful to Liberty Mutual.

“The cost of having an event at Clearwater is much lower than having it in Hamilton. The good thing is that we can put whatever saving we made towards prizes for another event.

“We have three more events before the end of the year. After Liberty Mutual, we have the National Olympic Distance Championships on October 6, and then the Cambridge Beaches sprint event on October 27.

“For the last event of the year, we've made an offer to our Olympians to perhaps come back and race.

“The sponsor has made an offer to them and hopefully, one or two of them might take it up. They would win easily but it’s nice to have them race in Bermuda, so people can see them.

“It’s just Cambridge Beaches being a good sponsor and offering to cover some of their expenses to come back.”

Meanwhile, Michael Harlow, a triathlon coach from Virginia, is presiding over a BTA camp at Clearwater, which started on Monday and concludes on Friday. Harlow and Erin Horil, an endurance coach at Endorphin Fitness, are mentoring 57 up-and-coming triathletes.

The bulk of the participants at this camp are part of Bermuda’s squad of 39 for next month’s Carifta Triathlon, Aquathlon and Mixed Relay Championships in Barbados.