MEET OUR HIGH PERFORMANCE ATHLETES  

Some of Canada's most talented next generation of triathletes will be racing for Barrie Shepley and the C3 High Performance Team in 2009. Current National Team athletes and future Olympians will be on the three tiered team. Tier one are current elite international athletes who will travel and train with the sole purpose of winning major events. Tier 2 athletes are university and newly graduated athletes, who are stabilizing their international skills, while finishing up school and transitioning their lives. Tier 3 athletes, are talented high school athletes who have a goal of making current national junior teams, and one-day elite national and Olympic squads. In 2009, C3 will have all three groups of athletes within the team.

At C3 we are looking for world-class athletes who are both focused on completing their university studies and eventually becoming the best in the country and the world" said C3 High Performance coach and former Olympic coach Barrie Shepley. In 2008, the team was on the podium 54 times, with four of the team members winning athlete of the year honours, a medal at the World Championships and being recognized as the fastest Canadian amateur at the Hawaii Ironman.

Each year the C3 High Performance Team must raise nearly $100,000 to help with travel, medical, housing, equipment and training needs.  “We have been so blessed to have such an incredible group of volunteers, donors, sponsors and athletes” said head coach Barrie Shepley. The 2009 team will build on the record performances of 2008. At the Ironman distance, Nat Faulkner is committed to being the first Canadian and the fastest amateur at the 2009 Hawaii Ironman.  Along the way, Faulkner will be racing the Nice Ironman in June and a number of 70.3 (half-Ironman races along the season). C3 Co-Captain, Sean Bechtel, has an aggressive season planned with four half-Ironman races as well as many Olympic Distance events.  “Sean is one of the few people in the entire country that has the ability to be a major factor at both the Olympic and half-ironman distance” said coach Shepley. 2012 Olympic Hopeful Marcelo Ferrero will use his previous university swim racing to try to propel him to London in four years. “The University athletes (Rachel Oreilly, Andrew Yorke and Andrew Woegerer) have achieved an incredible level of international swim-run varsity performance over the winter as well as balancing top academic marks” said Barrie Shepley. “Our high school kids have had such great role-models to observe and we expect big things from Taylor Reid,  Karsten Madsen, Pauline Skowron and Daniel Water” said the coach.   

"High Performance success is a long-term journey which requires commitment from the athletes, coaches, administrators and the sponsors" said Shepley. The High Performance Team has just signed an incredibly exciting product sponsorship with XTERRA WET SUITS and K-SWISS CLOTHING AND SHOES” said Shepley. Shepley believes that adding two world-class companies to the team will make a big difference in the overall success in 2009. “GEARS BIKE SHOP and SPECIALIZED BIKES are back in 2009 with the best bikes in the industry” said team co-captain Sean Bechtel.  “Both Nat Faulkner and I had some of the fastest bikes in 2008 and we were on the new Specialized bikes” said Bechtel. Additional High Performance sponsors include Sable Swim Goggles, Kinetico, Royal Containers, Astra Zeneca, Enterprise Car and Rental, National Fitness Products, Personal Best, Altitude Teach Inc. and the Subaru Triathlon Series.

“Anyone who has been involved in High Performance knows that fund-raising is as important as all the training” said coach Shepley.  “One of our team’s key successes in the past is the fact that we have continued to be blessed with great donors, sponsors and volunteers” said Shepley. Anyone who wants to make a significant contribution can help by attending the June 4th Golf Tournament Fundraiser (supper or golf and supper) or making a tax deductible donation or frequent flyer points to help an athlete get to the next level in 2009.