Renew Kids Tri Team

Few things are cuter and more fulfilling in the eyes of a parent than watching their child successfully tackle a serious new challenge. That's exactly what the Chicago Kid Tri offers, and the Renew Chicago team is committed to making the 2024 season one to remember for our families.

We are growing the Kids program this summer, aligning with a Hall of Fame coaching staff and ensuring the post-race celebration is bigger and better than ever. Read on to learn more about the Renew Kids program, which is open to children ages 7-14. 

The Kids race features about 800 athletes and starts super-early in the morning, usually at 7am for the Junior division, which is followed by the Senior division then the adults’ SuperSprint race; our Family Reunion Party Tent is open all morning. We expect the Renew team to field 50+ kids this year.

FUNDRAISING

• Something unique about our team is that we never have and never will require a minimum fundraising requirement for our team members; it is NOT a core focus for our Kids program.
• However, some families do get the kids involved as a way to help teach them how to support local programming aligned with causes like poverty & homelessness alleviation, adoption services, youth mentorship, etc.
• As an example, my boys typically pick a charity partner to align with and produce a lemonade stand & star in the videos I share for our campaigns that generate a few thousand dollars each season.
• Again, the fundraising for kids is totally optional.

Training: We do a nominal amount of pre-race training (typically 2-3 events in July & August primarily focused on swimming, biking and transition instruction) and join the event production staff & volunteers to provide extra supervision on race day. 

The Swim: Typically the scariest of the three segments for adults, the Kids swim is managed by dozens of staff, coaches and volunteers. The Junior Division (ages 7-10) race occurs in very shallow water, so shallow that most of the kids walk through the water up to their chest while making an attempt to dive through the waves. For the Senior Division, the water is a bit deeper, and the Renew team requires that each participant ages 11-14 is capable of swimming on his/her own in the deep end of a normal outdoor pool before participating in the race.

What’s it like to do the race? Here’s a 3-min inside look following a couple Renew kids you might recognize competing in the Junior Division:

 

Need more details? Here’s a professionally produced overview video: 

 

If you have a kid already signed up for the race but wanting to join the Renew team, there’s also a “no race entry” option on the registration page.