Tri NZ Media Release…
• Tri NZ Suzuki Series Cross Triathlon Championships incorporated into
2025 XTERRA Rotorua Festival
• April 5 event to be staged in “trail mecca”
• National champs to serve as World Triathlon Multisport Championship qualifier
“What better place to host the national cross tri championships than in trail paradise…”
AUCKLAND (Friday, September 20) – Triathlon New Zealand has proudly partnered with global off-road tri events provider XTERRA to return Cross Triathlon to its annual series of national championship events.
The 2025 Tri NZ Suzuki Series Cross Triathlon Championships are to be incorporated into the XTERRA Rotorua Festival on Saturday, April 5 next year.
It means Tri NZ’s leading event for off road triathletes – participants complete the bike and run legs off road on mountain bikes and on trail runs – will be staged in Rotorua’s Blue Lake and Whakarewarewa Forest, the latter widely regarded as the mecca of global mountain biking.
The event will also serve as the qualifier for the 2025 World Triathlon Multisport Championships to be held in Pontevedra, Spain from June 20-29.
Staged in Wanaka in recent years, Cross Triathlon was originally conspicuous by its absence on the 2024/25 Tri NZ Suzuki Series schedule as Tri NZ entered discussions with XTERRA New Zealand executive director Bengy Barsanti (Barefoot Sport).
“It’s great to have XTERRA join the Triathlon New Zealand portfolio of sanctioned events and to have the Tri NZ Suzuki Series Cross Triathlon Championships delivered as part of their well-established annual festival in Rotorua,” said Tri NZ CEO Pete De Wet.
“Cross Tri is an important part of our sport, as just witnessed in Townsville at the 2024 World Triathlon Multisport World Championships where New Zealand age groupers enjoyed great success. I am hopeful we can continue to grow the popularity of this sport with this new alignment with XTERRA.”
The Tri NZ Suzuki Series endorsement adds further gravitas to the already popular XTERRA Rotorua Festival, Barsanti said.
“XTERRA New Zealand are thrilled to partner with Tri NZ to bring the national Cross Tri Championships to Aotearoa’s premier trail event,” Barsanti said.
“From pristine swimming in Lake Tikitapu, to the incredible MTB trails of Whakarewarewa forest, we can’t wait to see New Zealand’s best age groupers and pros race it out. Rotorua is truly the trail mecca of the world…what better place to host the national cross tri championships than in trail paradise.”
The addition of the Cross Triathlon brings to eight the number of events in the 2024-25 Tri NZ Suzuki Series.
Anna Russell, Tri NZ’s GM of Community, is confident the Cross Tri community will embrace the XTERRA Rotorua Festival’s “full distance” test – a 1km swim, 26km bike and 11km trail run.
“We are very excited to be partnering with XTERRA Rotorua Festival this season to deliver a great Tri NZ Suzuki Series experience for our passionate Cross Tri age groupers,” Russell said.
“The XTERRA Rotorua Festival, as well as being our national championship, will also be the primary qualifier for the World Triathlon Multisport Festival so we hope to attract a big field of age groupers with ambitions of wearing the silver fern in Pontevedra next June.”
The XTERRA Rotorua Festival is also a qualifier for the World XTERRA Age Group and XTERRA World Youth Championships.
Tri NZ Suzuki Series – 2024/25 Schedule
2024
August 4: NZ Sprint & Schools Duathlon Championships (Ambury Park/Auckland City Tri Club)
November 24: NZ Standard Distance Triathlon Championships (Tinman Triathlon) 1
November 24: NZ Para Triathlon Championships (Tinman Triathlon/sprint)
2025
January 18:NZ Mid Distance Triathlon Championships (Mount Festival of Multisport) 2
February 15-16: NZ Aquathlon Championships (Kinloch Triathlon Festival) 3
February 23:NZ Sprint Distance Triathlon Championship (Napier Triathlon Festival) 4
March 27-28: NZ Schools Triathlon Championships (Glendhu Bay)
April 5: Cross Triathlon Championship (XTERRA Rotorua Festival) 5
Qualifier NB:
- Standard Distance Triathlon qualifier for World Triathlon Age Group Championships Wollongong (Oct 15-19, 2025)
- Long Distance Triathlon qualifier for World Triathlon Multisport Championships Pontevedra (June 20-29, 2025)
- Aquathlon qualifier for Pontevedra (June 20-29, 2025)
- Sprint Triathlon qualifier Wollongong (Oct 15-19, 2025)
- Cross Triathlon qualifier for Pontevedra (June 20-29, 2025)
ENDS
For further information and entry details, visit Triathlon.kiwi/nationalseries/
Anna Russell
GM: Community
M: +64 22 657 9949
E: anna.russell@triathlon.kiwi
