Volunteer programme for the Columbia Threadneedle World Triathlon Leeds launches

Organisers of the Columbia Threadneedle World Triathlon Leeds have officially launched the search for 750 volunteers, to help ensure the event - taking place on 11 and 12 June – is one of sporting highlights of the year.

The application process was opened at Leeds Rail Station by BBC Sports Personality of the Year’s Helen Rollason Award winner Bailey Matthews, Leeds City Council Leader Councillor Judith Blake, and Great Britain triathlete Heather Sellars, as well as members of the Leeds City Ambassadors, all of whom were among the first people to pledge their support for the event.

From experienced volunteers to complete beginners, organisers hope to encourage people of all ages to get involved in a world-class sporting event by becoming a Leeds City Ambassador.

There will be a variety of roles for volunteers at the UK leg of the ITU World Triathlon Series including: race officials, supporting participants along the course, handing out drinks, or giving medals to finishers in the mass-participation races, to name just a few.

Volunteers can provide their time for three days from Friday 10 to Sunday 12 June, including the GO TRI event on the Saturday, or for just one day, by applying online at the official 2016 Columbia Threadneedle World Triathlon Leeds website: http://leeds.triathlon.org/volunteer/ and completing the application form.

Once potential volunteers have completed the online application form, they will be assigned a role, dependent on experience, and informed of their responsibilities via email. Prior to June 12^th, there will also be an exclusive pre-event briefing for volunteers that will include: training, logistics, and a chance to meet the organisers.

All volunteers will receive an event t-shirt, refreshments and a huge thank you from the organising team and those taking part for their hard work.

Organisers are anticipating demand to be extremely high and are encouraging individuals to complete the volunteer application today to avoid any disappointment, before the application process closes on 23^rd May.

Leader of Leeds City Council Councillor Judith Blake said:

“Volunteers have an invaluable role to play in the running and success of major sporting events like this, as was proven at London 2012, the Tour de France Grand Départ and the Tour de Yorkshire. The Columbia Threadneedle World Triathlon Leeds will see athletes and visitors coming from all over the world to our city, so it would be fantastic and hugely appreciated if people could generously give up their time to be part of it and make sure everyone gets a fantastic Leeds welcome and enjoys an unforgettable event.”

Jack Buckner, Chief Executive of British Triathlon, said: 

“There is a range of volunteering roles available at the Columbia Threadneedle World Triathlon Leeds and each and every one will contribute towards making this a truly memorable sporting occasion. Not only are the world’s best triathletes coming to Leeds, but the event will be broadcast to a huge television audience, and we hope to show them all a warm Yorkshire welcome. Volunteering offers the opportunity to be directly involved in the event and contribute to its success.”

The much-anticipated Columbia Threadneedle World Triathlon Leeds, which is part of UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded #EveryRoadtoRio event series, will provide the British public with the opportunity to watch local heroes Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee, as well as other leading GB triathletes including Non Stanford and Vicky Holland, battle for glory in their last race on home soil ahead of Rio.

The Columbia Threadneedle World Triathlon Leeds, organised by British Triathlon in partnership with Leeds City Council, also provides recreational triathletes with the unique opportunity to compete on the same course as elite athletes across a range of different distances, suitable for first timers’ right through to experienced triathletes. A limited number of entries are still available for both the Saturday and Sunday events – for more information please visit: http://leeds.triathlon.org/enter_now/.

For the latest information on the Columbia Threadneedle World Triathlon Leeds, please visit http://leeds.triathlon.org.

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For more information please contact Christian Dente or Rebecca Armstrong on 0113 8800 444 or email Christian.dente@aberfield.com or Rebecca.armstrong@aberfield.com

Notes to editors

The Columbia Threadneedle World Triathlon Leeds is a partnership between British Triathlon, Leeds City Council, UK Sport, ITU and Lagardère Sports, with Columbia Threadneedle as the main title sponsors of the event.

About Columbia Threadneedle Investments

Columbia Thread needle Investments is a leading global asset management group that provides a broad range of actively managed investment strategies and solutions for individual, institutional and corporate clients around the world. With more than 2000 people including over 450 investment professionals based in North America, Europe and Asia, we manage £320 billion ¹ of assets across developed and emerging market equities, fixed income, asset allocation solutions and alternatives.

Columbia Threadneedle Investments started its successful relationship with the ITU World Series in 2013 and has since become Global Financial Services Partner.www.columbiathreadneedle.com

All figures as at 31 December 2015. Columbia Threadneedle Investments is the global brand name of the Columbia and Threadneedle group of companies.

¹ Source: Ameriprise Financial Q4 2015 earnings release.

The Columbia Threadneedle Rankings

As a global asset manager Columbia Threadneedle Investments recognises the importance of being the best in the field, not just at home, but on a global basis. The Columbia Threadneedle Rankings are used to determine the best performing triathletes across the ITU World Triathlon Series.

The Columbia Threadneedle Rankings Leader Trophy is presented to the top male and female elite athlete at each ITU World Triathlon Series event. In 2016 the Columbia Threadneedle Rankings Leader will continue to wear the bespoke race markings and carry the colours of the Columbia Threadneedle Rankings logo on their bike rack in transition.

Launched in 2015, the Columbia Threadneedle Rankings Report identifies the trends and interesting statistics after each event throughout the season.

The official Columbia Threadneedle Rankings can be accessed at www.wts.triathlon.org/ColumbiaThreadneedleRankings. Engage with the conversation on social media using the hashtag #CTrankings, or follow @CTinvest_Tri

British Triathlon is the governing body for the sport in Great Britain. It is responsible for raising the profile and delivering elite performance for Triathlon. Triathlon is a fast growing, dynamic and modern Olympic & Paralympic sport with talented world class athletes, coaches and support staff, focused around delivering world-class events and medal winning performances. www.britishtriathlon.org

Leeds City Council is the second-largest local authority in England with a population of around 776,000. Leeds has a very proud sporting heritage and we are committed to encouraging sport as a way of promoting the city and healthy lifestyles, as well as bringing world-class events, building towards our ambition to become European Capital of Culture 2023. www.leeds.gov.uk

UK Sport is the nation’s high performance sports agency responsible for the strategic investment of National Lottery and Exchequer funding into Olympic and Paralympic sports and bringing major sporting events to the UK. www.uksport.gov.uk/events

The ITU is the world governing body for the Olympic sport of Triathlon and all related MultiSport disciplines. ITU is proudly committed to supporting the development of the sport worldwide through strong relationships with continental and national federations, working with its partners to offer a balanced sport development programme from grassroots to a high performance level. www.triathlon.org