December 2014

Hi everyone, it's the off season now but the secretary office is still running at full swing!

Sonic End of Season Party - OCCUPY JUNGLE
Item number one is definitely promoting and reminding all of us to join annual Sonic party on 16 Jan Friday night! Sonic Party Crew is calling you to the party of the year!

The following awards will be presented during the Party, awardee will soon receive invitation!

• Sonic Time Trial Awards for Top 3 Men and Women
• Sonic Improvement Awards
• Sonic Triathlete of the Year

Facebook event is UP and you can buy your ticket in advanced at https://regonline.activeglobal.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=1656498

EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT BEFORE 31 DEC!!!

New Club Kits

We are very exciting to announce two new items will be added to our Club Kit in 2015!

Team Training bag will become the new gift for all register member in 2015, the mesh training bag will be ideal for carrying our wetsuit or smelly running shoes to training!

Sonic Hoodie is something essential in the early winter morning, thank you Josie Ling for designing this,  we are working with the vendor and expected delivery around late-Jan or early February. It will be an order-able item.

Sonic Hoodie

2015 Membership Registration and Renewal

The new membership form for 2015 will push online at https://regonline.activeglobal.com/ssamembership2015 for all members to renew on 1st Jan. The annual membership fee will adjust to $350 for adult and $250 for junior members whereas national and regional squad triathletes will be discounted. 

Same as last year, member of Sonic are encourage to also join the annual membership of Hong Kong Triathlon Association (TriHK) for the benefit of great discount in race entry organized by TriHK.
TriHK will email to individual member regarding the online renewal form, it would be similar process on Active Online platform as Sonic. Just don't forget to select Sonic Sports Association as your affiliated club.

Goal Setting

Goal Setting is important for life and also in our sports. Getting goals for the coming season will put us on track for motivation, achievement and build confident. In our sports, without a specific race goal you may lose focus at training, or you may not willing to push yourself to the next threshold at the hard sets. Set your goals be Specific, Measurable, Actionable,  Realistic and Time-based.
I am not the expert in sports psychology but I'd recommend you to Google Triathlon goal setting.

In Sonic, within the group of members we train together every week, we have set our goal for the first half of 2015. Team of 16 will race Challenge-Taiwan half-ironman distance or Short OD distance.

Then how?
We'd recommend you to prepare yourself to training in the gloomy and wet weather. TriHK will also organize Duathlon series in February and March, that would be a good lead to our target race.

New Year New Fee

In 2015, we will slightly adjust the training fee payment scheme after 6 years of freezing.
The 6 months prepayment of training will be replaced by new 'Quarter Pass' at $2000 for three months (Jan-Mar, Apr-Jun....etc);
Training fee for the following payment scheme will also be adjusted:
$1400 - Bi-monthly Pass (Jan-Feb, Mar-Apr, May-Jun...etc)
$800 - Monthly Pass
$1100 - 10 Days Flexi Pass
Meanwhile, Run Pass, Swim Pass and Casual Rate will be remained.

2015 Sonic Training Fee

Please read the detail on our website: http://sites.sonicsports.org.hk/Home/sonic-training and Anson will help to remain everyone at training.

January Training arrangement
Our training in 2015 will be kicked off in 4th January Sunday in Shek O! Monday run training will remain in Happy Valley, Wednesday swim training will move to Sun Yat Sun Swimming Pool in January due to the annual maintenance of Wan Chai Training Pool.
Please feel free to try importing our Calendar with this link:
https://www.google.com/calendar/ical/sonicsports%40gmail.com/public/basic.ics

Stay fit and healthy, have a great time with your friends and family during the festive seasons.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

 

Thank you for reading.
The Secretary

TriHK Newsletter featuring Team Sonic Junior Triathletes

Two Team Sonic Junior Triathletes were featured in recent newsletter of Hong Kong Triathlon Association. They shared the experience at Youth Olympic Game in the past summer. Read on!

Hi everyone! I am Chelsea Hung, one of the members of the National Team and a representative of 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games.I am very glad that TriHK gave me an opportunity to share my experience at these game. Since this is my first time participate in a world class international competition, I was impressed by their professional setting of the venue, I also valued the opportunity to gain experience and knowledge throughout the competition.The activities and the life inside the Youth Olympic Village (YOV) are the most memorable. As all of the athletes were living together and eating in the same dining hall, I met my competitors everyday, allowing us to engage in activities together. This allowed me to share my triathlon experiences and chat easily with the overseas athletes.  Within the Youth Olympic Games concept, the Nanjing 2014 Culture and Education Programme (CEP) was designed to be a unique and impactful experience to inspire young participants. A rich and diverse choice of activities provided sports and life skills learning to athletes and other young participants, enabling them to grow in their sporting career and to promote a healthy lifestyle.  Activities were organised both inside and outside the YOV venue. YOG truly inspires young people to become part of the Olympic Movement, embrace Olympic values and carry forward the Olympic spirit, so it is really a memorable experience.

November 2014

Welcome new member!

In the year of 2014, Sonic kept growing and developing triathletes, Coach Kenneth and our members trained hard and kept the morale up even during the quieter times! We also welcomed a lot of new faces into our family. We hope everyone enjoyed this year so far, stay healthy and injury free, and stay fit in the coming festive season!

Before we all hang up our trisuits for the year, let's recap our race season.

TriHK Aquathon series started in June. A number of members raced as part of their training and saw the races as opportunities to gain experience. These races took place at Siu Sai Wan, Repulse Bay and Golden Beach.  Our own Peggy Lai  rose to be Sonic's Aquathon Queen! She was crowned champion at multiple races in her age-group. Her hard work paid off!

Junior team Kelly Law at Siu Sai Wan Aquathon

New Aquathon Queen Peggy Lai

A number of Sonic members also took part at Aquawiz Aquathon series in order to qualify for the New World International Triathlon taking place at TST in December.

Training venue

Over the past summer, from July-October we temporarily moved our Monday run training venue to Tarma waterfront due to the construction works at the Happy Valley running track. Whilst it may not have been the best running track, there is hardly anything to complain about when running along Hong Kong's signature skyline .

Swim training continued at Wan Chai training pool every Wednesday from 8pm to 10pm. With 1 lane at the first hour for warm up and drill set, and 2 lanes at second hour for speed set.

From 10th November onwards, our Monday run training sessions resume at Happy Valley for better quality training.

New Sonic Trisuit

This year we modified our trisuit slightly in terms of design and material. We teamed up with Champion System again in order to take advantage of the fabric they use which is also used by the world's best triathletes. The one-piece trisuit conforms with ITU uniform standard whilst the two-piece trisuit is suitable for longer courses. Our trisuit seemed to have caught a fair few photographers' attention this season and sooner or later, we might even see a few members sporting it on a Saturday night down Lan Kwai Fong! Order now if you still haven't got this latest piece of fashion item.

Ironman Japan

We all know Jing Banaag is another hardcore triathlete for some time. He raced Ironman Japan at Hokkaido in August after 7 months training with us, great effort to cross that finish line as that was one of the most scenic and difficult bike course in Ironman races. He described the bike course as 10 times longer climb of Shek O Road, "1km before the finish line, I saw a line of volunteers and thought, oh dear, have I reached the cutoff time and they are all here to stop me? I was relieved when they were there to remind me to smile at the finish line!"  If that's easy you would do it right?

Jing on 180km bike leg

Jing with head to toe Sonic kit

Finished with a smile!

Ironman Malaysia

Juan Delgado is another man who like to challenge himself. In Asia, if Ironman Japan is about the mountainous bike course, Ironman Malaysia is about the heat. This busy businessman and a father of 3 raced Ironman Malaysia in Langkawi under the searing temperature of 37C and finished in 14:53hrs!! Really well done!!

Juan Delgado approaching the finish line after a long day in the heat!

Sonic Time Trial

Sonic Time Trial kicked off in September and as always, starts with a sprint triathlon and then progressing to longer distances triathlon in Shek O, which has traditionally been a good lead up for those competing the Olympic distance at the HK International Triathlon in October, and the series usually end with a 40k cycling time trial in Tung Chung to close the season.

However, sometimes things do not quite go as planned. On 28 September early morning, a good number of Sonic triathletes with squeaky clean club kits got stuck at the entrance of Shek O Road. The entire road was closed by the police because of the tragic traffic accident which had happened early that morning.

We then quickly changed the game plan and moved to South Bay for a few quality brick sessions which was probably harder than a sprint triathlon, which ended with a very competitive tri relay.The full English breakfast and coconut water at the beach side cafe after was very welcomed.

Time Trial 2 on 7 October was a longer distance tri of about 1.2k swim 27k bike and 8k run. However, the bike course was changed to 20k back and forth Shek O and Big Wave Bay due to the road work. It was still a great way to stimulate everyone's race condition and show what we've got in our tanks! 

Let's the fun begin!

Fung Yat To was the only junior and fastest overall back to the finish line. Brian won first, Osamu second and Charles placed third at Male Adult category; On Female Open, Gloria first, Gigi second and Josie placed third.

Splash n Dash!

And big thanks to our club photographer Ryan Tan for all great photos! I am sure everyone loves it! 

New Sonic cover photos to showcase our new trisuit

Time Trial 3 on 16 November will be the new Mixed Relay format to replace the 40k cycling due to the constant road work at Tung Chung.

EAST Aquathon is a new aquathon concept brought to us by Revolution-Asia featuring swim, trail running and urban running. The race was well organized with a number of major sponsors that attracted a few hundred of keen triathletes to take part. The race started from Chung Hom Kok beach, athletes swam one big 1.5k loop outside of the shark's net, then transit to 7.5k trail run across Ma Kong Shan (Twins) and 7.5k road run from Tai Tam Reservoir towards the finish line at Taikoo Place. We have a group of Sonic athletes competing at this race and conquered the twins (and more). We were all very impressed by the organizers who invited a lot of photographers to standby along the trails for scenic shots as well as the carnival like finish line set-up. What a great way to finish the race with a few beers and a couple of glasses of wine!

Getting Ready! Johnson, Charles Gabriel, Janice, Marc, Gigi, Josie

Marc on the climb

Haka dance!

HK International Triathlon Asia Cup

This race is the signature race for local triathletes. This year, the race was co-organized by TriHK and MetaSports who brought us new routes for the swim and run legs. Some of us saw this as their race of the year, some of us took this as their tapering race in preparation for Ironman 70.3 Taiwan which was exactly one week after. Great results were displayed by Sonic, for the Olympic distance, young man Sam Fok took this race as a warm up leading to Ironman 70.3 Taiwan and ranked 5th at 20-24 AG; Sonic veteran Lee Yingho ranked 10th in 50-54 AG; New member Alex Marly also completed his first triathlon before attempting Challenge Phuket Half Iron distance in December; Jing Banaag took a different approach and raced the Olympic distance as a recovery race after his full Ironman in August. Gabriel Lau and Osamu Yamagata also finished the race after EAST Aquathon one week ago.

Alex Marly on bike leg

More great result from sprint distance triathlon, junior member Fung Yat To took a time off from national squad and won 2nd runner-up in 16-19 AG; Derek Kuk ranked 7th and our Club Secretary Charles Hui and Leung Hin Long also ranked 6th at their respective AG; Johnson Chan and his wife Peggy Lai also ranked 7th and 6th respectively; Peggy had made significant improvement since joining our swim training. Former national team member Eddy Poon also made his come back to this sports and ranked 12nd at his AG;

Eddy Poon back to Tri

On junior categories, Tam Nga Man ranked 4th and Kelly Law ranked 8th at Girls Youth Open; 

Fantastic result by Josie Ling who won 2nd runner up at her age-group. The graphic designer transformed herself from a trail-runner into a triathlete and dedicated herself to our training sesesions in 2014, this was also her first sprint triathlon race.

Josie Ling - First Tri and Podium finish

 

Great photos from Ryan Tan was uploaded to our album.  Also big thanks to Gloria for some photos and Gigi Wong to man the booth and provide refreshments at the Sonic tent.

Ironman 70.3 Taiwan

Fantastic Five!

Coach Kenneth and a few Sonic veterans namely Kent, Charles, Eric, Brian and Sacha travelled away to race at the Ironman 70.3 Taiwan at Kenting on 2nd November. We had the perfect race condition, crystal clear water, mild wind and it was not too hot at some point. We all came home with good results other than Brian who was the unlucky one who DNF due to a mechanical issue with the bike. He was forced to keep calm and Tri-on!

Congratulations to Eric coming 5th in his age group!

Sacha on the run

Leading to the off season

November is the time of winding down the triathlon season in all part of the world except for Australia and New Zealand. Let's take time to review the past season, sit back a little bit at training. Look for a new goal in 2015, and don't forget to spend some quality time with family and friends. 

Farewell to Michal Bucek

Bucek aka Fabio has been with Sonic when he first moved to Hong Kong in 2006, with the ambition to race as a professional to represent his country in ITU circuits. After a lot of trial and error, he found his joy at longer courses, crowned age-group champion in Ironman China in 2010 and qualified for a slot at Kona as his career highlight. His style (pink with a ponytail) and character (well, pink with a ponytail) quickly became an icon in triathlon scene, his dedication and performance secured him a permanent place on the podium and he quickly became the talk of the town. He is the one who would overtake you on the bike at 45kmph whilst leaving a trail of Hugo Boss aroma which lingers for a good while, he is the one who would shave his legs for Sonic Time Trials, and he is also the one who raced PRO but fell off (in front of a camera) during T2 at an Ironman race! 

Now this sports talent is going to back to Slovakia for a new chapter. We wish him all the best in his new venture and we will always remember the joy and pain he shared with all triathletes!

Bucek debut in Asia - 2006 Macau ITU

Bucek in underpants run at Kona 2010.

Bucek and Gigi in Ironman 70.3 Philippines 2011

Sonic Mixed Relay Gigi, Bucek, Andy, Kent in Sanshui ITU 2011

New chapter, new hairdo, same Bucek

Aquawiz International Triathlon
On 30 November, the signature race by Aquawiz will take place in TST for their 2nd edition of urban triathlon in Hong Kong. The transition and finish line will be close to the coffee shop area along TST's water front, it will be very exiting to watch triathletes doing what they do best with the beautiful Victoria habour as a backdrop, some of our members will also be racing, go to give support with a cup of coffee in case you had missed the entry!

Challenge Phuket

Our up and coming triathlete Alex Marly will be racing at Challenge Phuket for half iron distance in December, it will be his first attempt at long distance! Good luck and enjoy the process! Don't miss the post race party!

Ironman Western Australia

Our very own Tri-God Sacha Cheong will also racing his third full Ironman distance at Western Australia in December, off season may not be applicable to this busy triathlete!

Sonic 11th End of Season Party

We are also looking for a date and venue in this busy festive season! It will be food, drinks, awards, lucky draw and more drinks! All party girls and party boys, stay tuned!!

Thank you for reading.

From the Secretary Office

2014 Sonic Time Trial 3 - Mixed Relay

If you've been following ITU Triathlon race series, you know the Mixed Relay, now let's make it Sonic version!

"ITU’s Triathlon Mixed Relay format is racing at its most thrilling. It’s energetic, exciting, uncompromising and action-packed. This innovative format also known as 4XMixed Relay, comprises of two men and two women. Each athlete completes a ‘super-sprint’ triathlon of swimming, biking and running, before tagging off to their next team mate. It’s non-stop action from the very beginning, and the pace is relentless. It is survival of the fastest. "

Our 3rd Time Trial will take place at our home court Shek O beach. Sonic format will be 3xMixed Relay.
What? Team of two men and one women. Swim 300m, Bike 4k, Run 2k all in Shek O.
How? Each athlete completes a 'super-sprint' triathlon of swimming, biking and running, before tagging off to their next team mate.
When? 7:30am Shek O beach.

Please register to sonicsports@gmail.com with the name of your team name and team mates. Welcome to bring your friend, this is a trial event. Non-members are welcome.

2014 Sonic Time Trial 2 - Shek O Triathlon

On 28th September, our Time Trial was turned into the brick training at South Bay due to the tragic traffic accident on Shek O road on that morning.
Nevertheless, thanks to the quick turnaround and efficiency Whatsapp communication of our members and coach, we end up had a great brick training session at South Bay which almost like a race atmosphere!

Finishing a brick session at South Bay

Now we look forward for the next Time Trial on 12 October which is a good lead to the HK ITU Triathlon race at the end of October.



12 October - Shek O Triathlon approx 1000 swim/27k bike/7.5k run

It will be a triathlon in Shek O beach.

Registration: 7:30am
Briefing: 8:00am 

Distance & format:

Swim: 3 laps in Shek O Beach;
Start from lifeguard tower,  to swim around 3 platforms, back to beach and head for 2nd and 3rd lap.

Bike: 2 laps on Shek O Road;
Start from T1 > Big Roundabout > Tai Tam roundabout > Big Roundabout > Tai Tam roundabout > T2

Run: 2 lap Shek O >  Big Wave Bay Carpark > Shek O carpark

Exiting the swim in Time Trial 2013

So What is Sonic Time Trial all about?!
Sonic Time Trial is an internal race, members of Sonic can score point from each Time Trial and overall Top 3 men and ladies will be awarded in the Sonic End of Season Party in December! It's a chance for Sonic members to meet and social especially whose don't normally see in our regular training! And you can also see these Time Trial as your pre-race preparation!!

• We have three categories: Junior, Female Open and Men Open.
• Junior category for all male age under 20.
• Female Open category for all female at all age.
• Men Open category for all male at age 20 or above.
• Only member of Sonic will be scored at each time trial. (see Member List on Sonic website)
• Participation without finishing the race will earn 1 point (DNF)
• Relay Team is welcome! More the merrier!!

Now, save the date, get your Sonic Trisuit prepare! 

2014 Sonic Time Trial 1 - Shek O Sprint Triathlon

Reminding everyone this weekend!!

28 Sept - Shek O Triathlon 600 swim/27k bike/4k run

It will be a sprint triathlon in Shek O beach.

Registration: 7:30am
Briefing: 8:00am 

 

Distance & format:

Swim: 2 laps in Shek O Beach;
Start from lifeguard tower,  to swim around 3 platforms, back to beach and head for 2nd lap.

Bike: 2 laps on Shek O Road;
Start from T1 > Big Roundabout > Tai Tam roundabout > Big Roundabout > Tai Tam roundabout > T2

Run: 1 lap Shek O >  Big Wave Bay Carpark > Shek O carpark

Exiting the swim in Time Trial 2013

So What is Sonic Time Trial all about?!
Sonic Time Trial is an internal race, members of Sonic can score point from each Time Trial and overall Top 3 men and ladies will be awarded in the Sonic End of Season Party in December! It's a chance for Sonic members to meet and social especially whose don't normally see in our regular training! And you can also see these Time Trial as your pre-race preparation!!

• We have three categories: Junior, Female Open and Men Open.
• Junior category for all male age under 20.
• Female Open category for all female at all age.
• Men Open category for all male at age 20 or above.
• Only member of Sonic will be scored at each time trial. (see Member List on Sonic website)
• Participation without finishing the race will earn 1 point (DNF)
• Relay Team is welcome! More the merrier!!

Now, save the date, get your Sonic Trisuit prepare! 

Youth Olympic Game - Chelsea Hung and Michael Lam

Well done to our Team Sonic Junior Chelsea Hung and Michael Lam who raced with fantastic result representing Hong Kong at Youth Olympic Game!

Here is the press release from Hong Kong Triathlon Associations 

At the Youth Olympics in Nanjing, new national squad member Chelsea Hung Cheuk Yi came out of the water strongly in 20th position but then slipped to 30th in wet and trying conditions. For a young athlete, Chelsea showed true grit in battling it out until the end whilst pitting herself against some of the fastest Junior athletes in the world and gaining some valuable high end race experience in the process. Michael Lam will be racing in the boys event tomorrow. 

Congratulations to Michael on his finishing at the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games. Michael came 16th overall, and being the 1st Asian crossing the finish. well done Michael!

Thanks Elsie for capturing this TV interview with Chelsa!

Michael pushing 200% back home!

2014 Sonic Time Trial Series

Hi Everyone,

You haven't heard of our time trial for a while, new members may not even know what is that!!
Now we have confirmed the schedule for 2014, we know all the races are stacking up on the calendar, we will only do three rounds! You just need to start preparing!!

28 Sept - Shek O Triathlon 600 swim/27k bike/4k run
12 Oct -  Shek O Triathlon 1k swim/27k bike/8k run
16 Nov - Tung Chung 40k Cycling

Exiting the swim in Time Trial 2013

So What is Sonic Time Trial all about?!
Sonic Time Trial is an internal race, members of Sonic can score point from each Time Trial and overall Top 3 men and ladies will be awarded in the Sonic End of Season Party in December! It's a chance for Sonic members to meet and social especially whose don't normally see in our regular training! And you can also see these Time Trial as your pre-race preparation!!

• We have three categories: Junior, Female Open and Men Open.
• Junior category for all male age under 20.
• Female Open category for all female at all age.
• Men Open category for all male at age 20 or above.
• Only member of Sonic will be scored at each time trial. (see Member List on Sonic website)
• Participation without finishing the race will earn 1 point (DNF)
• Relay Team is welcome! More the merrier!!

Now, save the date, get your Sonic Trisuit prepare! 
No registration fee is required, just show up, detail route map will be posted prior the event.

2014 Team Sonic Club Kits

We have subtle refinement on the design of full range of our Team Sonic Club Kits!
Triathlon racing kits will go back to the latest fabric technology by our long term supplier -  Champion System!

Order now for the coming race season! Be part of the team, be part of cameramen focus!
https://regonline.activeglobal.com/teamsonicclubkits
Ordering Deadline: 22nd June
Target arrival: End of July
Next Club Kits Ordering Period: August

One-Piece Trisuit - short course ITU standard

Elite One-Piece Trisuit

• Remain complies with age-group ITU uniform rules
• CS Hydrodry fabric
• Triathlon specific chamosi
• Silicone dot gripper
• Available in Men's, Women's, and Children's specific cuts 

Female Tri-Top

Female Tri-Shorts

Male Tri-Top

Male Tri-Shorts

 Two-Piece Tri-Top/Tri-Shorts

• For long course Triathlon
• APEX Blade material
• Hydrodry fabric, quick dry, water repellent
• Triathlon Specific chamois
• APEX compressed injection grip system
• 2 covered side pockets on Tri-Shorts
• 2 covered rear pockets on Tri-Top
• Available in Men's and Women's cuts