Update 6:00 PM Eastern, 01/18/2024: USA Triathlon has removed the requirement of a platinum membership to join Team USA in 2024. Read more here.
Earlier this week, USA Triathlon announced the launch of its revised membership products. On first glance, those changes made sense; for example, the one-day license has been renamed the bronze level membership, and cost of that license is now tied to the distance of the race you are doing. There then are sliding scales of offers for the silver (basically a renamed existing annual membership, with one key caveat), gold (expanded benefits), and the new platinum level, which threw in perks like certain concierge services at key USAT events like Age Group Nationals.
Pricing would increase, naturally, as USA Triathlon had not changed its pricing model since 2015-2016. The silver/annual membership would go from $45 to $60. A gold membership costs $99 a year. And platinum membership is an eye-watering $400 year. It seemed like a premium product without a market.
Except, buried in the membership benefits, was this line about the Platinum membership: “Opportunity to compete internationally with Team USA (Team USA Package for qualified athletes.”
And all hell has broken loose.
To confirm: as of this morning, if you wish to race for Team USA in 2024 and beyond, you must purchase a Platinum Membership to secure your race slot to World Championships. That membership, notably, does not include the required Team USA kit to race at Worlds — an additional investment on top of membership.
Slowtwitch attended a phone call hosted by USA Triathlon last evening to discuss these changes with current and prospective Team USA members. USA Triathlon staff in attendance included Chief Sport Development Officer Tim Yount, Chief Growth and Marketing Officer Krista Prescott, and Director of Constituent Relationships Liz Kollar. Prescott gave a brief presentation regarding the membership changes, and that USAT had “heard feedback” about the changes, and that they would be crediting part of the Worlds slot fee back to athletes who needed to upgrade their membership. But the platinum membership was staying — and it was required for Team USA participation.
The remainder of the call was extremely contentious. Members railed against the platinum level requirement — including the fact that up until three days ago, the annual membership itself listed as a benefit that you could qualify and race for Team USA. It was cost. It was a lack of USA Triathlon transparency. And it was the argumentative responses from key USA Triathlon personnel on the call that also raised the level of anger in the room.
It was, in a single word, disastrous.
It is possibly the largest misjudgment of triathlon customers since IRONMAN’s ill-fated launch of the Access program in 2010. That launch, of a $1,000 pass to be able to register for IRONMAN events early at a time when races were selling out in mere minutes, was equally poorly received by the triathlon community. Then-CEO Ben Fertic within 24 hours issued a video statement rescinding the program, noting that, “Clearly by the comments received into the office via e-mail and the Facebook comments – you guys think we’re wrong. If you guys think we’re wrong, then we’re wrong.”
And that misstep can’t come at a worse time for USA Triathlon, which is looking to close an ever-growing budget deficit.
The Financials
Looking at the last three years of available Form 990s and financial statements on USAT’s website, USAT has bounced between break-even and significant operating loss coming out of the pandemic. That loss swelled in the 2022 budget year, with a $2.9 million operating loss despite over $18 million in total revenue.
The primary revenue source for USAT? Those adult and youth annual memberships, bringing in $7.48 million in 2022. Sponsorship, Team USA and national events, and contributions directly to USAT are the next four highest sources of revenue. The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee provides roughly $1.5 million in grants.
But then reviewing expenses, it’s clear where the two largest budget shortfalls sit. On the events front, USAT spent $3.75 million dollars (against events income of $2.2 million). And under the bucket of “High Performance” is $3.37 million of spend, of which it is unclear whether sponsorship dollars are tied to it, or if member revenues are subsidizing this figure (as $1.5 million of it is paid through the USOPC grants). The highest single cost in that High Performance bucket — over $1.35 million in travel expenses.
Other factors driving up expenses, cited by Prescott, include sizable increases in insurance premiums. Some USAT club members have noted a five-fold increase in their insurance cost for 2024 versus 2023.
Where Does USAT Go From Here?
To say that USA Triathlon has alienated some of their most ardent supporters is probably understating the issue. On Facebook, upwards of 40% of Team USA members have said that they will cease being members of the team over the pricing increase. Comments on every social post from USAT over the last few days have blasted the membership plans, including calls for the resignation of USAT CEO Victoria Brumfield.
Let’s get the obvious statement out of the way: USAT should announce that they will not require a platinum membership for Team USA in 2024, and they’ll pause selling that level of membership at this time. It’s clear that USAT has budgetary issues. But a nearly 10 time increase in a fee for your super-users is not the way to achieve some of that budgetary close.
USAT needs to look long and hard at key expenses on the budget sheet as well. Over $2 million was spent on travel alone in 2022 — more than two thirds of that operating loss. Was everyone traveling necessary? Could further partnership be explored with Delta, the official carrier of USOC? And what does this say of in-person clinics and conferences, such as the recent Endurance Exchange? And what, exactly, does membership revenue today count against for expenses?
It’s a critical time for USA Triathlon. Alienating its core customers as people select more diverse race calendars will do more harm than good.