Events Director of the Rainbow Warriors Triathlon Club Jason Gooding has dedicated his adult life to bringing the sport into the mainstream in T&T. On May 29, his club will host its marquee event, the Toyota Rainbow Cup International Triathlon in Turtle Beach, Tobago, which is expected to attract over 130 athletes. Within the next few years, he plans to raise that number somewhere closer to 1000. A nine-time national triathlon champion (1995-2003), Gooding moved into event planning when he became frustrated with the lack of opportunities for local triathletes to compete at home. He formed the RWTC with his father Ian in 2003, vowing to expand the number of races held in the country each year.
"Back when we started, there were only about three annual races and they would often be postponed or cancelled because of the lack of sponsorship," he told the Guardian. "We give people our commitment that if we're going to have a race, it's going to happen regardless of if we get sponsorship or not." According to the 31-year-old, a major problem affecting the sport locally is its lack of proper infrastructure, stemming mostly from corporate T&T's general hesitancy to lend its support. With the economic downturn beginning in late 2008, many of last year's events had to be funded through Gooding's own pocket. For the moment, though, he is content to work with the available resources and is confident that the sport will eventually see a surge in popularity.
"A lot of people in T&T still see triathlons as a minor sport with just a few athletes so they won't throw as much money behind it, but I've never been one to complain about what we don't have," he said. "I'm going to work with whatever funding there is and try to put on the best races possible. Its getting a little bit better but very slowly and when it becomes big, I think we'll get a lot of 'band wagonites' jumping on." Gooding is also passionate about introducing the sport to as many young people as possible so that it may open the same doors as it did for him as a young man. "Being an athlete is definitely one of the most fun lives you can live. It's a great sport and there's so many opportunities that go along with it," he said.
"At 21, I had been to Australia twice, not to mention so many other countries like the States, Canada, etc. I've experienced so many different cultures and met so many different people.... "The rewards are phenomenal." One of his goals as an organiser has been to recreate the rush of adrenaline he felt at the finish line of so many of the international events he attended. "I've had so much fun in my career. I just want to have well-executed races that look professional and have that professional feel. When there's hundreds of people cheering you on at the end, you really feel that you've accomplished something."
Along with the Beacon Cycling Series and annual Game Fishing Tournaments, he believes that the Toyota Rainbow Cup will help raise Tobago's profile as a sports tourism destination. "A lot more people can justify taking time off from work and spending their money to go to a country like Tobago once they're competing in a triathlon," he pointed out. "The more they go back home and talk about how much fun it is, the more I think it's eventually going to grow." Gooding's family is equally involved in the development of the sport. His parents Ian and Christine serve as the RWTC's president and secretary respectively while his sister Maria has competed in Houston, Texas as well as throughout the Caribbean.
