Guest Blog by Thom Richmond, CEO of Cal Tri Events.
Starting in 2024, young athletes, aged 7-17, can race for free at any race in the Cal Tri Events series. Young athletes can participate for free in a range of race formats: triathlon, triathlon relay, swimbike, swimrun, 400 yard swim and 5K run.
This is a best-in-class initiative and only possible with the support of generous local and national sponsors and public private partnerships. It takes the burden off of budget constrained parents who want to share the benefits of an active, healthy lifestyle without breaking the bank.
Cal Tri Events is calling on its athlete community to spread the word on the free youth racing opportunity. A ‘Cal Tri Youth’ toolkit will be rolled out in several weeks. This will help to create awareness by presenting the young athlete program at local school board meetings and during city council meetings.
Commenting on the new initiative, Kelly Amiss, a mother of two and a triathlete, said “As a family of four, it can get really expensive for us to all race together.
“It’s amazing that there’s an organization whose goal is to make the sport more accessible for young athletes. They definitely offer the best value in triathlon with their free swim clinics, at the race venue the day before, and free race deferrals. This type of initiative will definitely encourage more kids to get involved in the sport and hopefully more organizations will follow suit.”
Cal Tri Events is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with a mission for its events to be ‘safe, affordable & accessible’. It is billed as the largest national short-course triathlon series in the US – with athletes enjoying free race transfers, deferrals & participant transfers as late as the day before the race.