Organizers of the Iron Man Banff Triathlon have pulled the plug on the five-year old event, citing unpredictable weather and the loss of Banff Avenue as a finish line as key reasons for the cancellation.
According to race organizers, Banff’s unpredictable September weather was a deterrent for racers, and it threatened to cancel the event in two of the past five years in Banff. Last year, the temperature hovered at about 5 to 6 C the day before the race, and snow fell the day after.
“The last two years, we nearly had to cancel the swim (in Two Jack Lake) because the water was so cold. We had to shorten the swim and were on the verge of cancelling the race altogether,” said Iron Man operations manager Keats McGonigal. “The big portion of the reason was the unpredictability of the water temperature in Two Jack Lake and the weather. Events outside are hard to plan year in and year out, and the likelihood of bad weather made it even more difficult.”
The triathlon attracted about 1,000 athletes to the race each year.
In 2015, the Town of Banff decided against closing Banff Avenue between June 15 and Sept. 15 due to traffic concerns. That forced the triathlon finish line off Banff Avenue and into Centennial Park. McGonigal said participants missed the Banff Avenue experience.
“It wasn’t great. It wasn’t as spectacular as in the past. Operationally, it worked fine, but it was not the iconic finish line moment we have in other events. With athletes putting in five to seven months of training, we wanted to create the best experience we could.”
McGonigal said Iron Man had several discussions with the Town of Banff about moving the race into the summer months and, while 2016 is out, he would not close the door on returning to the area.
“If we could have the first weekend in August, the weather becomes an advantage, not a disadvantage,” McGonegal said. “If at any point the Town of Banff changes their tune on events mid-summer, we’re certainly interested in coming back.”
The August long weekend is one of the busiest in Banff, and the triathlon course closed the Lake Minnewanka loop and several roads in Banff.
Despite the reasoning, Town of Banff spokesperson Diana Waltmann said the triathlon hasn’t asked for another date at this time, but she noted the Town of Banff is not considering new events in the summer at this time. She did say Iron Man has been very good to work with in planning the event.
Iron Man also cancelled its race in Muskoka this year.
“It’s a date issue for us. That’s the bottom line. It’s related to weather. It’s too late for 2016, but these things go in cycles. We won’t ever rule out coming back,” McGonegal said.
“We were all pretty fed up with how we were playing and it was time to bring the highest level of competitiveness we have, and we were able to do that.
“It was just nice to win something. There was a lot of money on the line, but the title (Pinty’s Skins winner) means more than anything, in all honesty.”
Jacobs, who works at and runs the youth program at his home club, said his foursome has taken a liking to Banff. “If you were to ask us our favourite city in Canada, other than Sault Ste. Marie, obviously, this is it. I can’t think of a better place for a Skins game.”
And for club curlers who will likely never have a chance to make a shot with so much on the line, Jacobs had words of encouragement.
“It’s important to not think about what’s on the line. You have to stay in the moment and give all the focus and effort you have in you to making the shot.
“You need to stick to what you can control. You can’t control whether the rock picks or not, you can’t control your opposition guys; just stick to the things you can control and try to perform at your best.”
Overall, Jacobs and his crew have now collected $146,000 in Pinty’s Skins Game winnings over three years in Banff.
The women’s final proved to be a heartbreaker for Sweeting, who, in the eighth end had to draw to the four foot for a carryover and a draw to the button for all the money. The Vegreville skip was a little heavy, though, tapped a Jones rock and rolled away, leaving the Manitoba champs with the steal and the big win after a measurement of millimeters separated the stones.
“It’s a great weekend for us,” said Jones after the final. “We ended our last event in December really well and we picked it up in January, which is what you want to do.”
Jones said she feels her rink is peaking as provincial playdowns for a berth in the Scotties national championship loom.
“We wanted to try some new things in fall, which we did, and I believe success is all about changing and adapting and we wanted to try some things.”
From the Sweeting rink’s point of view, the stolen win is just the way it goes.
“We played a great game and that’s what curling’s all about,” said Olson-Johns, “it comes down to the last rock and that’s what you want. Jones has a great team and they made a ton of great shots.
“With the energy of the crowd here, I love playing in this environment and we were just trying to make as many shots as possible.”
Olson-Johns herself performed at a high level in the final and her husband, Cody Johns, was one of the loudest supporters for the Sweeting rink.
Johns’ encouragement from the Pinty’s VIP section rinkside, “keeps me relaxed and I have so much fun instead of being so stressed on the ice, because he’s doing crazy things. It means a lot to have that support.”
For the men, Jacobs and Gushue were joined by Manitoba’s Mike McEwen and Calgary’s Pat Simmons rinks, while on the women’s side, Ontario’s Rachel Homan and Alberta’s Kelsey Rocque rounded out the competition.
