SY Tri just going from strength to strength

Its mantra of reaching out to all shapes and sizes continues to prove a big hit.

The club, which has bases in Shrewsbury School, Sundorne Sports Village and several outdoor venues, has grown year upon year and now boasts impressive membership figures.

More than 400 members are now being pushed through their paces.

But, as Mountain reveals, SY Tri – as they are known – don't look for what any potential member can achieve in the water, on a bike or in their running.

The coach said: "As a group we are interested in who you are rather than what you can do. We're a really welcoming club and have members of all shapes and sizes with us.

"The one thing we look at is making it enjoyable, that is key. Neil and I built the club up six years ago and it's built every year.

"We began with 18 members and now there are 400, so we've had to improve the ratio of coaches to athletes.

"People that enjoy it tell their friends, it's quite word of mouth and we never thought that it would get this big."

The club now have 16 coaches on their books to help deal with the demand – but the results have been forthcoming, with SY Tri whipping up a storm in the triathlon world.

Mountain added: "We've won West Midlands triathlon club of the year twice and are now the second largest club in the region.

"The work to build it up has taken some time and effort. We're all still volunteers and all work our normal jobs.

"The pride it gives me when I see our members doing well makes me want to cry.

"People have gone from doing nothing to representing Great Britain across all different age groups.

"Our kit gets seen all over the place. We have distinct black and orange colours so we're quite hard to miss!

The club's Twitter profile declares them 'the friendliest bunch of triathletes on the planet' as well as 'the black and orange army.',

They also host three annual landmark competitions in a bid to pull in yet more interest.

The Darwin Glazing Aquathlon takes place on May 1, the JT Hughes Hyundai Shrewsbury Sprint Triathlon and Quadrathlon on September 4 and the Junior Duathlon on.

Mountain said: "The title sponsors really help us. We have members entered into the Iron Man competitions and half-Olympic distances."

There are different events on offer across the week to cater for every need. Sunday pool sessions are held at Shrewsbury School, with a Monday bike session on the track at Sundorne Sports Village.

A running session on Tuesday takes place off road at Haumond Hill, with a bike spin session on Wednesdays during winter time – which becomes a river swim in the spring and summer.

Thursday's session is on the running track at London Road Sports Centre, while there is a coached pool session at Shrewsbury School on Friday.

Saturdays brings open water lake swimming training in Shrewsbury.