88 | AustrAliAn triAthletetext by SaM betten | photogrAphy Rebecca oHlweInW
ith the triathlon apparel
industry growing each
year, it is now easier than
ever before for triathletes
to be able to create their own, personalised
triathlon race suits. No doubt, many of
you take note of the professional athletes
and how the vast majority of them work
with triathlon apparel manufacturers to
help showcase what is possible in regards
to custom designed race suits, as well as
being used as a platform to promote their
sponsors. On a personal note, being a
professional athlete sponsored by SCODY
who are arguably the leaders in custom
triathlon apparel, means that, every year, I
have the chance to design my own, custom
race suit, which is something that I always
look forward to.
Before I get too excited and share with
you the process behind my 2017 custom
SCODY triathlon suit, it is important to
understand each of the three levels of
customisation. Each tier offers a varying
level of design complexity and
customisation as the following hightlights.- Name/country customisation: If you
are lucky enough to race for Australia
at an ITU World Championship event
then you would no doubt be familiar
with being able to add your name and
country code onto your SCODY
Australian race suit. This process
can be applied to most made-to-order
race suits that stick to a retail design.
It can be a great way to add some
personality to your race suit and
help you to stand out amongst those
who opt only for a triathlon suit from a
retail range. For those who have
worked hard and been given the
opportunity to wear an Australian
uniform at the World Championships,
being able to have your name and
country displayed on your race uniform
is an unforgettable experience. - club customisation: For those who
are affiliated with a triathlon club,
being able to have a team uniform
gives you the chance to come together
as a collective group to create a
custom race suit that reflects your
clubs colours and logos. This is a must
have for any triathlon club or corporate
event, such as the Australian
Corporate Triathlon Series. Being that
this is usually a larger order by nature,
prices are generally, very reasonable
per suit.- full custom: This is the holy grail of
customisation and allows you to go
crazy with designing a one-off custom
suit that is sure to make you stand out
just like many of the professional
triathletes. While this is often seen as
something that is reserved for the
professional athletes only, some select
triathlon apparel manufacturers can
create you a one off custom triathlon
suit for those who desire this service.
This can be seen as a similar service to
having your bike custom designed and
painted and means that you can create
your design, logo positions, colours,
etc., from scratch.
WHy you nEED
A CuSToM RACE
SUIT
Training TOOLBOX
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