With only six days to go until the 24^th annual Great White North Triathlon, the water station sponsored by the Rotary Club of Stony Plain needed volunteers. Howie Gilchrist and Keith Porter, water station coordinators for our club, had mentioned the event several times at meetings and passed around the sign-up sheet. However, they quickly discovered that regular Rotarian volunteers were on holidays. As the event was held on Sunday, July 5^th, many Rotarians were taking advantage of the Canada Day holiday for an extended long weekend.

The Great White North Triathlon is an elite event with a 2 km open water swim, 90 km bike ride, and 21 km run.  Almost 800 people register for the event. Athletes, many who train for months, strategize their pace based on water station locations along the route.

An urgent email was sent out to the club and replies began trickling back: “Sorry, on holidays,” “Scheduled to work,” “Would love to, but already volunteering at the Triathlon”. The situation was looking bleak.  Then slowly, replies began trickling in with more positive responses: “Sure, we can come for a couple of hours”, “Let me check with the Interact Club,” “Our grandkids are visiting, so we'll bring them, too”. Suddenly, the roster was full. In true Rotary fashion, the club had pulled together. The water station was run by a committed group of Rotarians and their families. We had spouses, parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren. 

The dedicated athletes received refreshments, cheers, and encouraging words in the last few kilometres of the event.  Keith Porter said, “It was great to see all the athletes. The first ones that pass are the elite and professional athletes. They don’t even slow down as they grab a cup of water.  Later in the day, athletes with a goal to finish the race arrive at the water station. They stop, share a joke or two and then carry on.”

The Great White North Triathlon is one of many community service events the club participates in throughout the year within the Town of Stony Plain and Parkland County. In sharing the event wrap-up with the club the following week, Howie Gilchrist started his volunteer drive for next year’s 25^th annual triathlon. He joked that club members should mark their calendars and plan their holidays around the July 3^rd, 2016 event.