When I first brought up the idea of the Spirit of Triathlon Photo Contest, I received more than a few warnings and cautions from friends and others who are involved. Among other things, these included:
- You are going to be overwhelmed with entries;
- No one is going to enter;
- You are going to a thousand iPhone shots;
- No one will send in their entries until the final days; and
- This is going to take a lot of your time.
The Spirit of Triathlon Photo Contest is now into its second week and we have had a couple dozen really great entries. So far, I haven’t been overwhelmed with entries, sometimes an iPhone is all you need, it will be great if we get more entries at the end, and the time I am spending is really worth it! I hope this contest will in part further engage all of the incredible supporters of our triathletes.
Here are the full contest details
My hopes in naming the contest, the Spirit of Triathlon was that the images would have a strong emotional component, which as indeed seem to resonate with those submitting entries.
Here are three of the images that have been submitted. Please keep in mind that selecting images to review in my blog will not have a bearing on the final selection. These are just images that contained elements that I thought it would be useful to discuss.
The first image was submitted by Paul Brandt is a young triathlete that shows every bit as much of pre-race anxiety as any pro at the starting line. I think it is an added interesting element that our young triathlete is wearing a cap from the USAT Nationals, while others in the background are wearing different caps. To me it speaks of what is likely a family of triathletes and great role models.
This next image is from Kona and shot by Nick Morales. With the main group of athletes out of the water and making their way up Pualani and ultimately heading toward Hawi, there is almost an electric energy in the air that is captured by the rider’s smile and his outreached hand to accept the greetings from a friend.
Every triathlete knows that no event would be possible without the support of friends and family. This photo was submitted by Debbie Faulkner in the UK and is an athlete with her family, in sight of the finish line of the UK’s Outlaw Triathlon. Clearly a celebratory moment to share!
I look forward to more great images, I will post another blog next week.
Cheers!
Competitive Image 