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09
Sept
Masham sports event saw a third of expected participants, figures show
Only about a third of the number of expected athletes took part in Yorkshire’s new sports tourism event last weekend in Masham.
Around 1,500 people competed in Long Course Weekend Yorkshire. The organisers' website had advertised that '5,000 athletes and 20,000 supporters' were expected.
North Yorkshire Council have paid the organisers £75,000 to host the event over a three-year period. It will return to the district from August 29 to 31 next year.
Long Course is based loosely based on a triathlon – with events in running, swimming and cycling – but people can choose to enter as many as they like.
But with little media information shared in advance by the council and the organisers, some local businesses and residents were caught by surprise by road closures while the number of participants was lower than anticipated.
Participation statistics
The Stray Ferret made the windy trip through the dales to Grimwith Reservoir on Friday (September 6) to watch the swimming events kickstart the weekend. You can read our coverage here.
According to statistics published to the Long Course Weekend’s website, a substantial number of athletes did not complete the events.
The figures show 169 people entered the full Long Course Weekend – which required people to run a marathon, cycle 112 miles and swim 2.4 miles – but just 60 of them finished all three disciplines.
The half version, which followed the same structure but with distances halved, saw 22 out of 65 athletes complete the three-day event.
The Stray Ferret previously reported around 750 runners were expected to take part in the blue-ribboned run day, which included a marathon, half marathon, 10k and a 5k.
However, the figures show around 640 people entered the running events in total, but just 455 completed their races.
Similarly, a total of around 178 people did not complete the 112-mile and 56-mile cycling races, while 301 managed to cross the finish line.
Just half the number of women that entered the 2.4-mile swim finished the race (140), while 57 out of 153 women completed the 1.2-mile race.
A total of 92 out of 166 men crossed the finish line of the longer swim, and half of the 66 men that entered the 1.2-mile swim managed to see it through to the end.
The swimming event.
Organisers need to 'get their act together'
Christopher Duke, owner of the Galphay Inn, last month told the Stray Ferret he debated closing the pub for the day as the road closures meant “people would struggle to even get there”.
We asked Mr Duke, who did open the pub during Sunday’s running races, for his feedback on the festival and how it affected business.
He said today:
Apart from the effect on the pub, which was dramatic with a little business during the road closure times, the effect on Galphay village was deeply felt.
Who was this organisation that decided they could close roads and affect businesses with no regard for residents or local businesses?
Mr Duke felt there was a “complete lack of communication” between the organisers and Galphay residents about the extensive road closures.
“This cannot be allowed to occur again”, he added.
Mr Duke also said:
Whilst we are all for events to promote the area we would like to remind the organisers of the three Cs: communication, community, co-operation.
Had they followed these guidelines, the event would’ve been well supported and welcomed into the area.
If indeed they want to do this again, and certainly our local communities will be resisting any such attempt in our area, they really need to get their act together and start working with the community instead.
The swimmers at Grimwith Reservoir.
Council to ensure 'disruption kept to a minimum' for future events
The Stray Ferret contacted North Yorkshire Council to ask how the authority feels the event went.
Council leader Carl Les said
To be staging such a prestigious event as the Long Course Weekend in North Yorkshire is a real coup for the county. We have been particularly impressed by how professionally the event has been managed, and the organisers have a wealth of experience in staging the competitions across the world.
About 1,500 competitors from more than 600 sports clubs and from 20 countries including New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Kenya were represented across the three-day event, with many talking about making a return visit to the area for a holiday.
More than 400 volunteers were also involved, and we would like to thank them for their dedication and hard work that ensured the event went so smoothly.
We look forward to working with the organisers to help the Long Course Weekend grow, learning from the first event and listening to the community and local businesses to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum and everyone can benefit from this world-renowned sporting competition as much as possible.
The Stray Ferret approached Long Course Weekend for feedback on how it felt the event went. As with our previous enquiries, we did not receive a response.
But love it or hate it, the Long Course Weekend looks here to stay, and will return to Masham from August 29 to 31 next year.
The Stray Ferret will continue to ask questions about the event. You can look out for an in-depth piece into the event’s success later this week.
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