FAQ

Who can join?

Our club is open to any Yale student (graduate, professional, or undergrad) regardless of skill level. No previous experience is required and we hold no try-outs. Due to club sport policies, you must currently be a student at Yale University.

How often do you practice? Are practices really intense?

We host 5-6 practices a week which range across the disciplines. All practices but optional but encouraged. Some members come to every practice, others come once a week or so to workout with a great group of people. Practices are as intense as you make them. Our team tries places an emphasis on making triathlon accessible to everyone regardless of skill level. Therefore, our practices are structured in a way that nobody gets left behind. That being said, if you push yourself, you will get a very intense workout! For example, we have lanes with different speeds in the pool, we hold bike practices in the spin room where people can set their own resistance, and we do running workouts on a track with several groups running different intervals. 

I’m not a good swimmer. Can I still join?

Yes! Many people join triathlon without a strong swimming background. We have a really great professional coach who helps with swim technique and has taught many of our athletes how to swim.

What equipment do I need? What if I don’t have a bike on campus?

Triathlon can be an expensive sport so we do our best to make it as accessible as possible. All you need to join our team, equipment wise, is running shoes and a bathing suit. You’ll probably want some goggles as well, but we have a few extra pairs you can borrow at first. We hold bike practices in the spin room so you don’t need to own a bike for practice. If you want to race, we have access to loaner bikes and we should be able to get you one to use! However, if you do fall in love with triathlon, you may want to buy your own bike. There are nice used bikes you can get in the area for not too much money and we would be happy to help you out. You do not need special bike shoes/pedals, a wetsuit, a tri suit, an aerohelmet, a years supply of GU packs, etc. to join our club.

Do you race?

Yes! We are a part of Northeastern Collegiate Triathlon Conference (NECTC). Unfortunately, most of the conference races occur in the summer, because you need warm open water for triathlons. Most of us are out of town during the summer months, but we travel as a team to a few of the later conference races in September. We also participate in a few races in the spring semester, which range from indoor tris and duathlons to the real deal. We also aim to send a group of athletes to nationals in April.

What can I wear to race in?

A triathlon suit is the easiest thing to race in. We custom order team tri suits in the fall which are available to purchase (they look pretty cool!). However, you can totally wear a swim suit, a sports bra and spandex, or  something similar (plenty of people do!). 

What are the distances?

Most of the races we travel to as a team are sprint or olympic distance, therefore our training focuses on these distances as well. A sprint triathlon consists of a 750m swim, 20k (12.5 mi) bike, and 5k (3.1 mi) run. Olympic is exactly twice this: 1500m swim, 40k bike, 10k run. 

Our swim practices tend to be around 1500-4000 yd depending on ability and run practices are intervals totalling to 4-7 miles. Bike practices are indoors on spin bikes.

What’s the team like? How big is it?

Our team is a really great, friendly, community of people! We usually have around 10 people at each practice, although this number is greater at the start of the semester and smaller during busy exam periods. We also have weekly team dinners and other non-triathlon related events to hang out with all your wonderful teammates!

How much are dues?

You can view our current membership options on the “How to Join” page.