Local triathlon clubs play an important role in the growth and stability of the sport. They’re often among the first connections someone makes after seeing a race and then developing an interest to participate.
In fact, the desire to find community is deeply ingrained in human psychology — especially when developing new skills or taking on challenges. However, the desire to develop social bonds or push for new personal bests doesn’t just apply to those who are new; it also applies to seasoned athletes.
As part of our goal to highlight how triathlon is a place of connections, we reached out to triathlon club leaders in various parts of the United States. Their experiences represent a common thread of support, caring, and dedication that are reflected in many other triathlon clubs across the globe.
What types of activities do local triathlon clubs offer?
Bryan F., DC Triathlon Club: Clubs are an important part of the triathlon world and one that is kind of glossed over or misinterpreted by the “business of triathlon.” The DC Triathlon Club stands, I feel, in a very unique place in the triathlon club community.
We have always approached the club as a “social club with a triathlon problem” so the majority of the club’s activities focus on ways to socialize and bring people together. Of course that begins with happy hours over drinks (and signing up for races at those happy hours…), but we offer so many other activities that revolve around club members bonding and making friends. In addition to happy hours, we offer “bricknics” where club members join together to do a bike/run workout and then hang out for a picnic afterward where the club provides the main course and members fill in the rest potluck style. Alongside weekly group rides, group runs, and track workouts that are completely free, we also offer camping weekends that include training rides, runs, and swims, and we also host low-key training races (duathlons, time trials, splash and dashes, among others) where our members can practice race strategies in a low stress, low pressure social environment, or they can just come hang out with fellow club members and cheer for the participants.
We also have a variety of coached programs from a New Triathlete Program (off the couch to first triathlon), to Olympic Distance, Half Iron Distance, and Full Iron Distance programs, as well as an Off-Season Spin Program and an application based sponsored Amateur Elite Racing Team program. We do regular social media posts touting our members accomplishments whether it’s on the podium or just finishing. We are just as proud and eager to celebrate a finish line crossing as we are a podium spot. We have also hosted several meet and greets with Andy Potts (both in person and virtually) as well as Taylor Knibb (virtually) and would love to have more of these in the future!
Charly P., Rocky Mountain Triathlon Club The club offers weekly group workouts - both live and virtual. We offer our members 2/3 group running workouts per week, 2 group pool swim workouts per week, one short weekly brick workout, 1 long bike workout per week. Virtually, we currently have 2 Trainer Road and 1 Zwift workout per week. We also have monthly meetings that are relevant to club members that include information about nutrition, training plans, use of power, running gait analysis, etc. In addition, the club offers members bike handling skills clinics as well open water skills clinics. We currently offer 2 training camps away from Denver. In addition, we have monthly social activities such as attending Professional Sports games, picnics, etc. and we have 2 major social gatherings - the annual Kick Off Event and the End of Year Holiday Party.
John M., The Las Vegas Triathlon Club: The Las Vegas Triathlon Club is a 501c(3) organization that is fully operated by volunteers. We offer four multisport events (free) each year for club members - generally, three sprint triathlon events and one aquabike event. We pride ourselves on not being '... just another triathlon ...' There is a good 'grass-roots' feel to the events where people get to know each other. Here are some of the services / resources we provide: We manage a Facebook page that is open to anyone interested in multisport to join. Often, we connect with triathletes throughout the world as they visit Las Vegas for work or vacation and often like to connect with our community to find out about places to swim, bike, and run. We manage a Facebook page for buying/selling gear - our Las Vegas Triathlon Club Marketplace as well as an Instagram page to highlight pictures.
Throughout the year, we hold a variety of clinics and help members to connect for group swims, bikes, and runs. These clinics include open water swimming, transition, tire changing, etc. About each week, we live stream a video conversation with a club member through our Las Vegas Triathlon Club Member Spotlight. The purpose of this video-cast is for members to get to know members. We have a casual conversation about a members triathlon journey. We also offer scholarships to collegiate triathletes as well as new triathletes. We publish (electronically) a monthly newsletter where we have features such as 'Coaches Corner', 'The New Triathlete', as well as messages from the President and Past-President. This is a nice feature for those members who are not on social media. Bottom line: We work to help members connect with each other in a supportive manner.
What’s different now for triathlon clubs than a few years ago?
Alena C., Triathlon Club of Oklahoma City: After the pandemic, athlete expectations and priorities have changed. 38% of athletes are waiting longer to register for races (according to USAT’s 2022 State of the Industry Report). A flexible deferral and refund policy is more to athletes when choosing a race. We are seeing a shift in focus from competition to completion, which changes how we market our programs and races. There is also a greater focus on the social aspect of events. Athletes want to stay after awards, have a beer, and get to know one another.
John M., The Las Vegas Triathlon Club: Our social media channels are much more active now than previously. We also have learned to use the live-stream video option for our Las Vegas Triathlon Club Member Spotlight as well as conducting business meetings. We also have held live raffles via video stream. We also live stream a weekly podcast 'The Evidence Based Triathlete' during which we conduct interviews with professional athletes, sport industry leaders, as well as academic researchers. Overall, we have adapted well to the remote world. Somethings that we are missing, however, is bringing back our in-person non-triathlon activities. For example, we would hold a yearly 'Kickoff' dinner. This was an opportunity for members to meet for dinner and celebrate the previous season while also looking forward to the next season. We do hope to bring this back at some point. We also put a hold on our 'Triathlon Happy Hour' that we were just getting started before the pandemic. The idea was to provide a casual meeting time for people to connect.
Jeff M., Southern Utah Triathlon Club: Our club has experienced rapid growth and over half the club is new in the last 2-3 years. We embrace new coming excitement and are open to ideas from new club members as well. We help encourage and inform all these curious and excited athletes. We also rebranded and changed our club logos and colors. We live in an extraordinary location with not just Snow Canyon, but Zions National Park and all the red rock and scenery. We wanted to embrace our backdrop of where we live, train and race - into our new designs. The new look has turned out wonderful. The process took a lot of time and some resistance, but worth it.
What’s your personal “why” for volunteering in a local triathlon club?
Charly P., Rocky Mountain Triathlon Club:I started the club in 2003. This is our 20th year in existence. I have had the good fortune of having some expert mentors in both life and sport. This has been a grand way to give back. Over the 20 years, RMTC grew from 20-30 members to nearly 500 members. The club has touched many lives. It's nice to know I have been part of that.
Alena C., Triathlon Club of Oklahoma City: I am a mother to four kiddos, three are adopted. The youngest boy has special needs and was hospitalized a few years ago. This community rallied around my family, people I had never met brought us meals, offered to pick the other kids up from school, etc. At that time, I was not on the Board, not a well-known person in the group. It didn’t matter. Multi-sport is about more than races, it’s a family. The next year, when I was asked to run for a Board position, I didn’t hesitate. I want to ensure the Club continues to grow and thrive. I am passionate about lowering the barriers to entry to our sport and bringing a love of multi-sport to the next generation.
Jeff M., Southern Utah Triathlon Club: I volunteered to serve as the president of the club that already had a good standing. I wanted to share my passion for being part of an inclusive, friendly, open community. I wanted to help promote a culture that those who would observe our club, would want to join us. I’ve said it myself, and heard from many others, “I wished I had started this when I was younger.” One of my passions is to help promote triathlon to the younger/next generation. We have not been very successful yet, so I would say that this is one of our top priorities for the next couple years.
What’s a highlight that stands out for your triathlon club?
John M., The Las Vegas Triathlon Club: Las Vegas is a big city - with over 40 million people visiting each year. Although the city is large, we have such a fantastic endurance community that is very much connected with each other. We have a very supportive community that welcomes all levels of athletes. We have people join the club who are starting triathlon and we have nationally/internationally competitive triathletes as well as professionals connected to the club. We work very intentionally at helping to create a culture that inspires and supports our local athletes. For example, each year, we create a 'club theme' that we focus on for the year. Our themes have included: That's the Vegas way, Enjoy the journey, Thrive.
A highlight of our club is the creating of a scholarship program. On 12/10/20, five Las Vegas athletes were killed when an impaired driver ran into a group of cyclists. The athletes were Tom Trauger, Erin Ray, Aksoy Ahmet, Michael Murray, and Gerrard Nieva. These five athletes are endearingly referred to as TEAMG (Tom, Erin, Aksoy, Michael, and Gerrard). Following their deaths, there has been a upswell of community support for the families and survivors directly affected. There has also been a renewed call for action to create a safer environment for our athletes to train here in the Greater Las Vegas Valley. The purpose of the Las Vegas Triathlon Club Legacy Scholarship is to honor the legacy of TEAMG as well as any local triathlete who have been killed or injured as result of impaired or distracted driving. The Legacy Scholarship is designed to encourage involvement in triathlon by new athletes, youth athletes, and/or continuing athletes in special need. Scholarship Categories: New triathlete, Youth / Collegiate triathlete, SOS Scholarship.
Bryan F., DC Triathlon Club: There are so many aspects of the DC Triathlon Club that make it such an amazing club of which to be a part. Since our membership stretches across the broader Washington DC region including northern Virginia and the surrounding counties of Maryland, we have a number of community groups that help organize social and training events in their areas. In addition, we have a community group that focuses on bringing LGBTQ+ triathletes (TriOut Multisport) together in a welcoming environment, as well as a Women’s specific group. We have a community group that also supports the Middle to Back of Pack (MBOP) athletes who are just as much triathletes as those who finish atop of the podium (and if this group’s theme song isn’t MMMBop!, then they’re missing out!). Furthermore, we are also lucky enough to have the ability to support a sponsored Amateur Elite Racing Team who are fully accessible to all members of the Club and volunteer regularly to give back to the sport. However, I think our biggest highlight is the club’s New Triathlete Program. Every year we get around 100 people new to the sport of triathlon who are eager to take on the journey of swimming, cycling, and running. The program is led by an almost all volunteer crew who take the participants through clinics on what to look for when buying a bike, swim technique, running technique, nutrition, transition, and much more! We regularly have other triathlon clubs inquire how to replicate this program within their own membership. I am always amazed that every year, we get around 100 people interested in this sport and willing to allow us to help them take on this challenge. That is the DC Triathlon Club’s biggest highlight.
Jeff M., Southern Utah Triathlon Club: We had the opportunity to have our city host the world championships for Ironman in 2022 and Ironman WC 70.3 for 2021 and 2022. 3 WC events in the span of 18 months. It was crazy, inspiring, dynamic and awesome. Volunteer needs for the 5 days of racing as well as all the pros’ homestays we lined up and the club members participating in the events. I was fortunate to race all 3 as well. So much coordination and last minute requests and needs, and work. It felt like the triathlon world descended upon our town. I felt like our community hosted extremely well, and our club did extremely well also.
What are some of the challenges a local triathlon club can face?
Alena C., Triathlon Club of Oklahoma City: We are navigating a transition in the United States. The average participant in multi-sport is a middle-aged white male with a moderate amount of disposable income. This is not representative of our city’s and country’s population. We must identify ways to reach a more diverse demographic if we want to be here in twenty years. This means changing our mindset. The same ideas will generate the same results. No one has all the answers. I believe we need to focus on our kids and lowering the barriers of entry to multi-sport. With the help of USAT, TRI-OKC added a Youth Splash N Dash series with three free races. We continue to provide two, annual free Newbie Clinics and offered new tech days, Bikes 411.
Charly P., Rocky Mountain Triathlon Club: The big thing is keeping dues low (currently 75.00 per year) while expenses for venues, permits, etc continues to go up. Once members pay their yearly dues, nearly everything else is free.
Bryan F., DC Triathlon Club: The answer to this question would have been very different before COVID-19, but as we continue to emerge from the pandemic, the challenges that our club faces have shifted. Finding volunteers and event leaders is a lot harder than it was pre-pandemic. It has become a little easier this year, but people are still exhausted mentally and physically from the pandemic and it’s hard enough to find a little “me-time” in your life these days with work and other responsibilities that giving back to a local triathlon club isn’t always at the top of people’s lists. That is starting to change and we are finding more people to step up, but it has definitely been a struggle the last few years as we emerged from the pandemic. Our club has also had challenges with the geographic spread of our membership and really putting on club-wide activities that bring a large portion of our membership together. A lot of members who live in DC proper don’t have cars and a lot of those who live outside of the district don’t want to drive in because traffic and parking are nightmares. So finding times and locations for events has been challenging. We have tried to strengthen the community groups to help alleviate this issue but that both separates the membership into silos and requires a lot more volunteers to step up to organize club activities. That has definitely gotten easier of late, but is still a challenge for a club the size (in both geography and membership) of the DC Triathlon Club.
How can someone get involved if they’d like to do more for their club?
Jeff M., Southern Utah Triathlon Club: Any member who says they could help we give an assignment. We’ve been blessed with many great volunteer members. Our club is 100% volunteer. We love to embrace those who have ideas and want to lift up others and we are open to change and adapt as needed.
John M., The Las Vegas Triathlon Club: Clubs can use help in all different ways. If someone has a special skill or interest, great to approach a board member and ask if there is a way to help in that area. For example, recently someone approached me and said that they have extensive water safety experience ... and he is now our swim coordinator for our events. This has been extremely helpful to the club because now we have someone to coordinate swim support (e.g., Kayakers, paddle boarders) in a way that our athletes are competing in a safe environment. Others have approached with an interest in doing the newsletter or treasurer.
Bryan F., DC Triathlon Club: The DC Triathlon Club accepts new members year round and just becoming a member is the perfect place to start. We are always on the lookout for members to step to be group workout leads, bricknic leads, camping weekend leads, and program co-leaders. This club is almost entirely a volunteer run club and all of these events and programs could not happen without so many amazing people stepping up to get involved and to volunteer their time.
Charly P., Rocky Mountain Triathlon Club: Volunteer to be a Guidance Board member or to be a volunteer coach.
Alena C., Triathlon Club of Oklahoma City: We welcome the help and there is a place for everyone, no matter their experience level or ability. I have found that volunteering at a race turns into someone registering the next year. Being exposed to the atmosphere is contagious and seeing that all body types are out there getting it done is encouraging, we offer volunteers free race entries. You do not need to be a member to volunteer or hang out with us. You will not find a more laid-back or welcoming group.