With the Western Region Academy of Sport adding a triathlon squad to its 2022 programs as part of a wider Triathlon NSW push to be a force in the sport, Gillmer has come on board as a coach.

"I think it was about five years ago when they last ran a program, they had a really great coach out of Orange and what was exciting to come out of that program, a few of those kids are now 18-19 and are really talented under 19 athletes in our state program," the experienced Bathurst triathlete said.

"So Tri NSW gave me a call at the end of last season and said 'We really want to get WRAS going' and I looked at what was involved.

"The great thing is that the team up at WRAS, they do all the administrative work behind the scenes which just frees me up to work with a bunch of nice, young people and try and help them progress in the sport.

"It's too good a program not to be involved in, it's super exciting."

A squad of eight athletes have been named as part of the WRAS program and amongst them is Bennett.

Her family recently moved to Bathurst and Gillmer can't wait to see what she does in the coming season.

"She's unbelievable. She's Australian but they were living in New Zealand for a couple of years and she's a talent in the making," he said.

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"She's a fantastic national level runner, she's a good swimmer, her mum was a Commonwealth Games runner, her uncle was an Olympian in triathlon, but it's not about the pedigree, she's just mentally incredibly focussed and motivated.

"We won't just see her doing well in triathlon, when the running season kicks off she'll be running 800s at a high level.

"She's just a wonderful young talent and I'm excited to have her in our program, that's for sure."

Gillmer will coach the squad members along with Orange's Rory Thornhill, a former WRAS athlete who has competed in world class fields.

"Rory Thornhill, he's 19 and was in the previous program, he'll be working with me. I'm very lucky to have him because he's doing all the racing, so he's going to be influential," Gillmer said.

"He's got all the technical skills and the understanding, but I can oversee a program and I've got different skills, how to manage athletes and safety."

As part of the WRAS triathlon program, squad members will participate in the Biligence Pathway Championship Series. It will include races in Orange, Penrith and Canberra.

That series features a variety of formats with athletes accumulating series points for their finish position in each race. It is designed to provide consistent, high quality races for young triathletes and as such, allow them to further develop their skills.

"The kids do this really fast, short racing, it's boys and girls in altogether, all ages, it's really exciting," Gillmer said.

"The program's huge, it will help New South Wales become a really dominant triathlon state again and well see that reflect in the next decade at the Olympics, it's not just WRAS but the broader programs at academies across the state too."

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