🏊 Tri NZ Media Release
• Tri NZ members will receive an exclusive buy-one-get-one-free wetsuit offer
• Great Ocean to supply wetsuits to 10 Tri NZ development athletes + Support emerging talent
• Great Ocean will make wetsuits available to help more Kiwis get into open water swimming
A new partnership with benefits for everyone from first-time open water swimmers to emerging Kiwi triathlon talent
Tired of thrashing your race-day wetsuit in training? Great Ocean Wetsuits and Triathlon New Zealand have a compelling solution.
A new partnership between the two organisations will give Tri NZ members an exclusive opportunity to get a dedicated racing and training wetsuit for the price of just the race wetsuit, while also supporting emerging athletes and helping more New Zealanders experience open water swimming.
Through the partnership, any Tri NZ member who purchases a Great Ocean Gold wetsuit at full price will receive an RT (Racing and Training) wetsuit free. Full details of the exclusive member offer will be released directly to Tri NZ members soon.
The new partnership goes well beyond the member offer.
Great Ocean will also supply wetsuits to 10 Tri NZ development athletes, helping provide them with the fastest suit possible on race day, while identified junior development athletes will also receive wetsuits to support their development.
For newcomers to open water swimming, Great Ocean is supporting the North Harbour Triathlon Club’s Barfoot & Thompson Swim & Run Series at Takapuna with a fleet of RT wetsuits that can be borrowed free of charge.
The initiative is designed to remove one of the barriers to trying open water swimming for the first time.
Great Ocean’s New Zealand representative Mike Trees, a proud Tri NZ age group triathlete himself, says the partnership reflects a desire to support the sport at every level.
“Great Ocean is a very young brand from Melbourne and we are proud to partner with Triathlon New Zealand,” Trees said.
“As the face of the brand in New Zealand, and a proud Tri NZ age group triathlete myself, it is my personal aim to support the age groupers, to help emerging young talent develop, and to encourage more people in the community to get involved in this great sport.”
Trees says making wetsuits available to newcomers is one way the partnership can help broaden participation.
“I want more Kiwis in the water and enjoying it. That means supplying demo wetsuits to encourage newcomers to try open water swimming without the expense. For example, we are supporting the North Harbour Tri Club Swim and Run series with a fleet of RT wetsuits for newbies to borrow free of charge.”
For age group athletes, the partnership offers a practical solution to a familiar training problem.
“For age group members, I want to give them an exclusive and awesome deal through our buy one get one free commitment to Tri NZ. Exclusive to Tri NZ, any member who buys a Gold wetsuit at full price will get an RT wetsuit free. That will stop you trashing your race day wetsuit in training.
“We are also supplying identified junior development athletes with wetsuits, so they have the fastest suit possible on race day.”
Tri NZ CEO Pete De Wet said the Great Ocean partnership reflects Tri NZ’s commitment to support athletes throughout their journey, from taking their first strokes in open water through to competing at the highest level.
“We’re delighted to partner with Great Ocean Wetsuits because this is a partnership that delivers genuine value across the sport,” De Wet said.
“It gives our members an excellent training and racing solution, supports emerging athletes with quality equipment, and helps remove a barrier for people who are thinking about trying open water swimming for the first time. That combination is exactly what we want to see from our partners.”
Trees has been a professional triathlete and coach since the 1980s and was a Team NZL silver medallist in the 60-64 age group at the World Triathlon Age Group Championships in Pontevedra, Spain in 2023. He has worked in triathlon wetsuit research and development since the early 1990s, beginning with research at Tsukuba University in Japan and later working with leading brands including Orca and 2XU, before working with Great Ocean on its current range.
Great Ocean Wetsuits was founded in Melbourne by Sam Sheppard and Hamish McDougall, both accomplished international open water swimmers from Victoria.
About Great Ocean
Great Ocean is an Australian open water and triathlon wetsuit brand based in Melbourne, with deep roots on Victoria’s Surf Coast, building race and training wetsuits for swimmers and triathletes of all abilities. Great Ocean is distributed in New Zealand by TCL Sports Ltd, a local company owned by Mike and Rieko Trees, giving New Zealand athletes local stock, proper fitting advice and support.
Contact info@greatoceanwetsuits.co.nz, or call, text or WhatsApp Mike on 027 279 2205 for information or advice.
