Some of the triathletes and their cheer leaders
By Lilly Zhou, 07/16/2017, 11pm EST
Another sunny summer weekend in New England, it would have been easy to sleep in on such a pleasant Sunday morning, but many Sharon kids, girls and boys, got up as early as 5am to line up timely for the start of the 2017 New England kids triathlon on M.I.T campus. Excitement and energy filled the enormous Johnson Athletic Center, where over 1,000 young triathletes were prepped, alongside their even more energized parents, holding artfully designed signs, fully charged phones and cameras, or in some cases, a shoe-less and half-awake younger sibling in arm.
Among the crowd, one cannot help but noticing some beautiful white shirts with a flying eagle printed in the front and reads “Sharon Iron Eagles”. For the very first time, under the co-sponsorship of Sharon Chinese Association and Sharon Chinese School, the young triathletes from Sharon would compete as a proud group, representing the Chinese community from the friendly small town 20 miles south of Boston.
When Ms. Jina Meng, one of the Sharon team organizers called for the team just over a month ago, some children have not even mastered the three skills to complete the full race, but bravely signed up and committed themselves to a disciplined training schedule. “When they know their friends have signed up, there is a strong motivation to join.” One of the parents said, “It is guaranteed fun to just be there competing with their peers”. Indeed, when the two Sharon Chinese community leading organizations decided to promote the event together, the goal is simply to help more children growing interests in the life-long beneficial sport.
Although many children run, bike or swim during afterschool hours, competing in all three in a row within designated course and distance can be intimating. As this year’s VIP guest, four-time Olympian triathlete Hunter Kemper had said, boosted by a dose of healthy peer rivalry, that nervousness could all turn into power, the power to grow healthy and strong.
For parents, it’s all about seeing the kids’ tired and sweaty expressions transformed into smiles as they crossed the finish line, and everyone received a nice custom finisher medal. The sense of achievement and pride is priceless. “It is not just a competition with each other”, said one of the Chinese school parents, “It is a fun and healthy way to motivate kids to achieve more, and be the better self everyday”.
When being asked about next year’s plan, the organizers from Chinese Association Board and Chinese school PTO said, “this year Sharon Iron Eagles is the third largest team, next year we’re aiming at becoming No. 1”. GO, Sharon Iron Eagles, GO!
The Sharon Iron Eagles earned $240 (Credit: Kids Triathlon Inc) and donated the full amount to the Sharon Chinese School.