Pupils clean up as city counts down

Environmentally-conscious pupils from a local primary school have joined a local cafe for a beach clean as preparations continue for Sunderland hosting the British Triathlon Super Series Grand Final in August.

The Super Series event at Roker over the weekend of 20 and 21 August will bring together athletes from the British Triathlon Youth & Junior, Senior and ParatriSuper Series' for an action-packed weekend of racing, including the British and Inter Regional Championships and a Great Britain Age-Group Team qualifier.

Determined to make sure that the area is looking its best for the event, Year 1 children from Dame Dorothy Primary School took to Roker Beach armed with black bags and litter pickers this week for a beach clean with local cafe owner, Sue Taggart who runs Sue's Café, and her staff.

This is one in a series of litter picks the school and the cafe are planning ahead of the triathlon coming to the seafront.

Cafe owner Sue Taggart, who runs Sue's Cafe with her son Rob Hutchinson, said: "We try to get the children active in all areas along the seafront and everything that's going on. And we thought this would be a good opportunity for the children to come down, do a beach clean and see what's going on ahead of the triathlon happening in August. It's a great thing for the children to see."

Dame Dorothy Primary School teacher, Helena Horn, said: "We do a lot of work with Sue and work with partnerships to do a lot at Roker seafront too, including planting plants and now this beach clean. We've been teaching the children about the triathlon coming to Roker in August. There's a lot going on at the seafront to get Roker ready and the children are really excited to see a real life triathlon taking place."

Deputy Council Leader, Cllr Claire Rowntree, said: "It's brilliant to see local schools and businesses getting behind this event to make sure that the seafront is looking its best for the triathlon. Our environmental services teams work really hard to keep our seafront and beaches looking their beautiful best but it's always nice to get a bit of extra help and I'd like to thank Sue and the children from Dame Dorothy's for doing such a fantastic job."

Sunderland City Council is hoping that major sporting events such as the Super Series Grand Final and the Tour of Britain which is coming to the city on 6 September will inspire more people to take up swimming, cycling and running and join in the swim, bike, run offer it is developing with British Triathlon.

Cabinet Member for Vibrant City, Councillor Linda Williams, said: "Hosting the British Triathlon Super Series Grand Final is a first for Sunderland and it's a really exciting opportunity, with something for everyone to get involved with across the weekend, whether that's completing their own swim, bike, run activity, volunteering at the event or watching all the action unfold around the seafront in Roker."

Families and adult participants can join in the fun and excitement of the Super Series Grand Final weekend by signing up to a swim-run for families and a swim, bike, run for individuals wanting to dip their toes into the world of triathlon by either taking part on their own or alongside family and friends.

The BIG Family Swim Bike Run, where families can take part alongside side each other, consists of a 50m swim and 1km run, while The BIG Swim Bike Run (Adult) consists of a 100m swim, 6km bike, 2km run.
Entry to both events is open until 5 August.  To find out more visit: GO TRI The BIG Swim Bike Run: Sunderland - GO TRI