Lake Chapparel 2012

I don't think Multisport usually opens for registration until January 1.

I think it's a nice first Open Water as the lake is warm and somewhat calm!

I believe Chaparral is a mass start based on distances. I wouldnt be too concerned over the mass start though. Its a relatively small field of participants. Most wear wetsuits. Warms you up, and really helps you swim.

Best advice I can give you, is get in the water and swim. Lakes may be a bit chilly around here now , but get in a lake in June and start getting used to OWS'ing. Its a whole different world than the pool.

Enjoy!!

I did the ladies sprint in this event in August.

The lake is VERY warm and excellent to swim in.  I used a wetsuit and most do but with is so warm I thought maybe next year I might not to save time of getting it off after the swim.  However, like the other guy said, it does help you swim, it kind of floats you and keeps you to the surface of the water.

I do believe registration starts at the beginning of the year as per the Multisports Canada  newsletter.

If you go to this page. you will find all the info from the August 2011 race ......... the time starts, the length of all the swims, rides, and runs.  I believe you can even get maps of the routes on this page.  From here you can go to their main page and sign up for newsletters, etc.

Here's the page, you may have to copy and paste it into your browser.

http://www.multisportscanada.com/index.php?view=details&id=23%3Alake-chaparral-triathlon&option=com_eventlist&Itemid=55

Good luck!!  I'm going in it again in 2012, just haven't decided if I'm going to do the sprint again or talk myself into the Olympic this time.

Cheers,

Cyndi

If it's your first, try Coral Springs first. Same outfit, in July and the course is a bit easier. Lots of passing and rough roads for Chap (I like both races though!)

Coral Springs is no longer a race ......they changed it to Chestermere instead, i've heard that one is good and they cut all the weeds before. They had some construction going on this year which was the reason for the change, but I heard they were going to make Chestermere the annual one now.

Chapparall is a great race, I did  it last year. They only thing is they started the males 2 min after the females for the sprint distance so if you are a slow swimmer the males came up on ya pretty quick. There is a great hill on the bike course that you have to do 4x for the olympic dis )2x for the sprint) and a very little bit of a rough road at the turn around point. they do let you practice swimming in the lake for the week before the race as well which was really nice.

I know I signed up for it in January last year, you get a great discount then and a chance to win prizes, I won shoes for my early bird entry!

Thanks for all the great information everyone.  Keep it coming!  I am lucky and live in Sundance so have access to the lake for swimming.  Not that i have ever used it for this up until now.  On days like today this all seems so far away  

I did Chapparel last year too.  It was my first oly distance and my first trip with an open water swim!  I was pleasantly surprised at the warmth of the lake and how easy it was to see!  I did wear a wetsuit and I wouldn't change that decision... I enjoy the buoyancy of the wetsuit and frankly, I need all the help I can get!

You can read my race report from this race on my blog.  www.luckytiff.wordpress.com