MYTA Athletes in Slovenia for an International Training Camp

In the past days, the Malta Youth Triathlon Academy–MYTA held a very successful international training camp for its athletes in Slovenia. The camp, which was held between the 1st and the 10th of September, was based in the beautiful alpine surroundings of Kranjska Gora. A total of 26 Maltese young triathletes between the ages of 6 to 16 attended this camp, under the supervision of 4 MYTA triathlon coaches and coordinated by Triathlon Malta’s president.

The camp consisted in 27 hours of training spread across 9 days of training. Apart from the three sports disciplines of swimming, cycling and running, the young triathletes also had sessions of strength & conditioning, while other sessions based mainly on fun element such as canoeing, trekking, summer tabogganing and river-rafting. During their training, the athletes were exposed to scenarios totally different from their usual, such as high-altitude training, off-road running, swimming in fresh-water lakes and cycling with mountain bikes. This holistic approach gave an added exposure to different kinds of triathlon scenarios that the athletes will be facing once they start competing abroad.’
 
Apart from the contingent of athletes and coaches, parents also joined the training camp and had time to come together to explore the mountainous regions. The social programme made sure that the athletes and parents visited the most iconic parts of Slovenia - like the lakes of Bled and Bohinj, the Julian Alps, the caves in Postojna and the capital city of Ljubljana. Thus the contingent also had time to blend in the georgraphical and cultural side of the hosting country.
 
The coordinator of this camp, Cyprian Dalli was very satisfied with the outcome and stated that ‘this there was loads of planning and discussion to organise such a full-blown training camp, but we finally reached our goals. This was mainly thanks to the encouragement and funding from Sport Malta, who are partners with us, along with the European Triathlon Union in this project. It is fantastic seeing the young athletes facing so encouragingly the different scenarios they were offered, and perfecting their triathlon skills through fun and enthusiasm, while stenghtening their friendship and team-spirit in the process.
 
The Triathlon Coaches of MYTA were also very positive in their analysis of the camp. Maria Mizzi, Level 2 Triathlon Coach remarked that ‘this camp was an outstanding experience for the athletes, who trained twice a day in challenging but fun sessions. The areas were perfect as they were safe with inspiring scenarios and with plenty of fresh alpine air!’. Barry Farrugia, another Level 2 Triathlon Coach emphasised that ‘apart from the physical benefits of the camp, the experience served to strenghten the bonds between the athletes and us as coaches as we lived together for a week and get got to know each other deeper.’
 
The MYTA has been operating since 2013 and is a joint venture between the Malta Triathlon Federation, SportMalta, and European Triathlon Union. It currently has more than 50 young triathletes of ages between 6 and 16 who train regularly all year round even if they never did triathlon before. Any interested children and youths can contact the MYTA on info@triathlonmalta.org and a couple of free taster sessions can be arranged for any young athlete interested to join.