This latest obsessive scheme Dave Campbell is planning – and it is an obsession, albeit a healthy and life-affirming one – naturally involves his family.

Campbell, 52, is all about The Fam. It's what drives him, what sustains him in good times or bad. And right now, things aren't so great, careerwise.

He recently got laid off from his engineering job at Hewlett-Packard after 30 years. Take away the family, and Campbell would be just another compulsive masters triathlete with no life outside the sport.

Here, then, is the Lake of the Pines resident's newest plan, a melding of familial bonding and promotion of a little-known sport: Campbell has qualified in his age group to represent the United States in the World Short Course (Olympic distance) Triathlon Championships on the Gold Coast of Australia in September.

Rather than just heading off Down Under by himself – Campbell already participated in previous World Championship races in Germany and Canada – he wants to bring the family. Not to watch, mind you. He wants them to compete in the World Aquathlon Championships that take place the same week at the same site.

Haven't heard of the aquathlon?

Neither had Campbell's family – his wife, Francie, 53; daughters, Annie Brothers, 25, and Sandy Stafford, 24; and sons in-law Josh Stafford, 28, and Steve Brothers, 26. The entire brood is athletic. All three Campbell women have completed triathlons.

But the aquathlon – a 2.5K run, 1K swim, 2.5K run – is such a new sport, according to Campbell, that qualifying is not that difficult. The way he sells it is: It's harder to say the name, aquathlon, than to actually complete the race. Not quite.

But Francie, Sandy, Josh and Steve sent in run and swim times to the governing body, USA Triathlon, and gained entrance that way, while Dave flew Annie to Portland, Ore., two years ago for an aquathlon trials race, which she won.

OK, so they've all qualified. But the hard part was still to come for Campbell. That is, persuading The Fam to take the plunge. These relatives do, after all, have lives of their own.

Annie didn't think she could get four days off from her teaching job. Sandy didn't relish those 4:30 a.m. wakeup calls from her dad, telling her to come swim with him. The sons-in-law, frankly, had their arms twisted. Hey, Dave's paying airfare to Australia, after all.

Finally, everyone agreed. Or rather, relented. Consider it their early Father's Day gift for him. (Campbell, himself, is somewhere on the road on this Father's Day, working the crew for a friend, Auburn's Michael Cook, on the Race Across America solo bike ride.)

"I made a deal with the sons-in-law to get them in," Campbell says. "I told them, 'After this, I'll never ask again. Promise. Honestly.' "

Cracked Annie: "We need that in writing, Dad."

But Campbell wasn't done. Oh, no, he's still trying to get as many people from his so-called extended family – the Sacramento Tri Club – to go to Australia as well. So far, a handful of Sac Tri members have signed on, including Jane Trippet, who says, "Dave'll talk to anyone with even the slightest interest in it. He's very passionate about getting people involved."

Passionate? Well, his Sandy puts it another way.

"He's a trivangelist!" she says, affectionately.

Indeed, Campbell spreads the fitness gospel via triathlon at about 20 events all over Northern California and, occasionally, the world.

He isn't the world's best triathlete in his age group. But he is in the top 2 percentile in the USA Triathlon rankings. Three years ago, he was in the 15th percentile.

Impressive, considering he didn't seriously take up the sport until the early 2000s, when his daughters were well into high school. Again, The Fam came first.

But Campbell progressed quickly through a combination of talent (so says Francie) and hard work (so says Dave). Campbell swears he's not that great of an athlete, even though he routinely finishes in the top 20 in many triathlons and has run in the Boston Marathon.

Call The Bee's Sam McManis, (916) 321-1145. Read his postings on the "Sacramento Health & Fitness" blog at sacbee.com/blogs.