Bill Burke, the event organiser of the first Honolulu ITU World Cup, has organised a whole week of triathlon related festivities leading up to the elite races on Saturday, April 16, 2005. This tradition is seen around the world at other World Cups including the very successful Tri-Fest Week in Corner Brook, Canada. There has already been a diaper derby with very, very young participants making their way across a mat and 1,500 older participants took part in a 10km run.
There is a stair run on Tuesday, April 12th and a kids triathlon on Saturday, April 16th, 2005 before the Elite’s race starts. A few thousand of competitors will chase down their own goals in the citizen’s race on Sunday, April 17th.
Meanwhile, the thousands of visitors to Waikiki beach can head to Queen’s Park to see the set up of the venue which started on Monday, April 11th, 2005.  The waves are about 1-3 feet and are a beautiful backdrop to this famous vacation spot.
There will be many more people in Waikiki later in the week as over 150 media credentials have been requested for the duration of the weekend.
Unfortunately, Simon Whitfield (CAN), 2000 Olympic Champion and last year’s winner on this course during the USA Olympic Trials and the ITU Honolulu Continental Cup has had to pull out. There are a number of other athletes who would love to be at the top of the podium in the first ITU World Cup of the year.
Check out the competitive start list on the Honolulu World Cup event page.