A new triathlon event for kids aged between seven and 15 years will debut in Eaglehawk in December.
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The Bendigo Kids Triathlon will be held in Eaglehawk and effectively replace the Weetbix TRYathlon event that held its last Bendigo meet in 2018.
City of Greater Bendigo major events and tourism manager Terry Karamaloudis said the community support for youth-based events made council eager to create the meet.
"On the back of old Weetbix TRYathlon, we clearly saw the (Bendigo) community are the type to support events that showcase talent and fitness for children, so we were kean to build a new event," he said.
"The significance of this one is that this is all home grown, put together by many stakeholders in the Bendigo community."
In2Adventure have partnered with the city and Empowering Eaglehawk to create the event which will see participants swim at the Peter Krenz Leisure Centre, cycle around Lake Tom Thumb and Lake Neangar and run through Canterbury Gardens.
Event director Robyn Lazenby said the Eaglehawk facility was an ideal site for the event.
"There was opportunity for someone to do a kids event here and for me, my eyes lit up, it's a great opportunity," she said.
"To run a dedicated kids event in Bendigo and (base it) somewhere like Eaglehawk, this facility is amazing, we are privileged that we have had the opportunity to do it."
In2Adventure already host off-road athletic events across the country including the Bendigo MultiSport Festival at Crusoe Reservoir.
Ms Lazenby hopes to attract at least 400 participants for the December triathlon.
"We're not a massive organisation but love everything we do," she said.
"We have aimed for about 400 but from speaking to people around (the region), it's possible we might go over that.
"But we are mindful it's not all about numbers, it's about the experience and making sure everyone has a fantastic experience."
Council works to minimise effect of security guidelines
The course selected for the Bendigo Kids Triathlon would need "virtually no treatment" in relation to the new measures aimed at ensuring the safety of participants and spectators.
"Those are guidelines and recommendations that are there as challenges we need to overcome," he said.
"It took two meetings to plan this course and we had to consider those guidelines and recommendations particularly around hostile-vehicle barriers.
"But with this course, which will host hopefully upwards of 500 or 600 children, there's virtually no treatment needed because of the way we have planned the circuit."
Last week, Bendigo Bank Fun Run organisers decided to cancel this year's event due to the cost of security measures.
Mr Karamaloudis said he encouraged events that use public spaces to work with council and consider their plans.
"If you need to be in a public space and need to use public infrastructure, then we can plan appropriately to minimise the treatment as needed by those guidelines," he said.
"Now we understand the guidelines better than we did when they first came out. It requires prudent, calm thinking to, as best as possible, mitigate the requirements on those recommendations.
"We need and want to sit down with any event organisers that are planning events in outdoor spaces and, collectively, we're confident we can plan course that minimise the need of (security) recommendations."
Mr Karamaloudis conceded there was often a large cost involved with adhering to new security measures.
"The financial side of it is a real burden," he said. "People needn't think it isn't a burden to the city, it is.
"This year's Easter Festival required significant treatment at short notice and council had no choice. We had to fund those barriers."
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