FAQ
Q: What are triathlons?
A: Triathlons are an athletic competition including Swim-Bike-Run, in that order. Each event occurs back to back with short transitions in between each one. There are a variety of distances and competative levels.
Q: What are the distances for triathlons?
Q: I don't know how to swim. Can I still participate?
A: Absolutely. We can definitely help with that. We have members who are very strong swimmers that lead workouts and will start you with basic tecnique and then build up you speed.
Q: I don't have a bike. Can I still participate?
A: Again. Absolutely. We have some members who will have an extra bike that you can borrow until you can get one. You can also you your campus bike for training. We get some great deals including on bikes, which makes it easier to get better bikes. Check our our sponsors. What we do require is that you wear a helmet any time that you are participating in a bike ride.
Q: What is the difference between triathlon and cycling parts of the club?
A: We all train together. The triathletes and the cyclists ride together, but race in different conferences. Triathletes are encouraged to race in the cycling conference as well.
Q: How do I sign up?
A: Follow these steps:
1.) Check out our workout schedule located under the tab : "Workout schedule" on the left side.
2.) Show up to a workout on the calendar. DON’T FORGET to print and sign your liability form:
Liability: https://www.sfsu.edu/~recsport/documents/Release_Assumption-Risk%20%28Sport%20Clubs%29.pdf
3.) If you love it after a week ( which we hope you do) we will ask you to fill out a membership form: https://orgsync.com/20393/forms/28777 (print this out also for our records)
We are giving you a grace period of a week to get a feel for if the club works for you, if it does and you want to join then we will ask you to pay our membership dues: $50 per semester OR $80 for the full year.
4.) After you do steps 1-3, WELCOME TO THE TEAM! We are ecstatic to have you aboard and hope you love your new group of friends/ training buddies/ teammates.
5.) Don't forget to find us on facebook for the most current updates and posts from teammates! "Gator Triathlon @ SFSU" and "SFSU Cycling Team"
Q: If I join do I have to compete?
A: Not at all. We have a lot of members who only participate for the social experience and to get a great workout. If you want to take a few semesters to practice before you compete that is totally fine.
Q: What gear do I need other than a bike?
A: Start with just the basics. For the swim you should have goggles. For the run, just a comfortable pair of running shoes.
Q: Where do we swim?
A: We swim at the pool on campus in the gym. You will need your student ID every time that you swim. We also recommend getting a locker. To get a locker you have to go to the Bursar's office in the Student Services building and pay $15 and they will give you a form that you turn in at the locker room where they will issue you a locker for the semester.
Q: Who participates?
A: We have a great group of students who participate. We are pretty evenly split between men and women. We also range in age including undergrad and grad students. We have people that have never swam or run more than a mile. We also have people with a lot of experience who are always ready to work with new members on improving their weeker aspects and to help set goals for training and racing.
Q: What other benefit is there to joining?
A: Other than the social aspect and the great workouts. We have some fantastic sponsors who give us some great deals that are only available to members of the club. Because we also have a lot of students with a variety of academic backrounds we have a lot of members who are willing to help out with tutoring or any help that you need in your classes.
Q: Where does the team compete?
A: We are part of two conferences that we compete in. They are mirror images of eachother for triathlon (West Coast Collegiate Triathlon Conference), and cycling (West Coast Collegiate Cycling Conference). We compete against all the UCs and CSUs plus schools like Stanford and Nevada. The majority of races for both conferences are in Spring, but there are always races out there from noncollegiate triathlons to running races and cycling races. Triathlons are a 1 day event, whereas cycling races are generally Saturday and Sunday with a roadrace on one day and criterium on the other day.
Q: What is the time commitment like?
A: The time commitment is whatever you want it to be. You can be as involved as you'd like, although we'd like for everyone to come out to whatever practices and races that they can because it makes a better atmosphere for everyone.
