Triathlon: Living outside the comfort zone

Left to right - Echlihn Campbell, Priya Schelling, Daisy-Bea Scrase, Bekah Christie. Photo /Supplied

This weekend, senior students from Rudolf Steiner School in Christchurch will be tackling the Sea2Sky Challenge as part of their school assessment.

HOD for Health and PE, Anabelle Simpson (Belle to her students) has incorporated triathlon to her student's curriculum this year and is excited for her students to take up the challenge.

"It challenges them in every aspect (mentally, emotionally, physically & spiritually). It definitely puts the students outside their comfort zone, with only eight weeks of training preparation (assessment requirement)," she said.

Miss Simpson has found that many young people struggle with self-doubt and don't always believe in their ability to overcome certain challenges.

"The completion of this experience is not crossing the finish line, but it's about the students reflecting upon how they felt before, during and after Sea2Sky. Also, what things would they change in their preparation or performance if they were to do it again," she said.

After the race, students are then required to share their overall experience with their classmates; their thoughts, feelings and vulnerable areas before, during and after the challenge.

"They also have to include their understanding and application of physical education content such as bio-physical principles and sociocultural factors in their presentation," she said.

Miss Simpson recognises that pro-athletes train for years to compete at elite level. So, although her students have only had eight weeks to prepare. She hopes that the experience will give them insight and resilience on how to overcome some of life's obstacles.