Open for Business and Up for Bid: USA Triathlon National Championships | Sports Destination Management

Open for Business and Up for Bid: USA Triathlon National Championships

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Nov 07, 2020 | By: SDM Staff

Ready to kick 2020 to the curb? (Who isn’t?) Look to 2023-2024 and check out the RFPs for two of USA Triathlon’s national championships.

The national governing body for triathlon has two events, the Toyota Age Group National Championships, and the Youth and Junior Nationals, up for bid. All the information you need can be found here, and on the links below.

Toyota Age Group National Championships, 2023-2024

USA Triathlon and the LOC will work together to set the event date.

To maximize participation and based on the dates of ITU World Championships and Ironman Championship races, early to mid August is most desirable.

Event Structure:

Thursday: Packet Pickup, Expo

Friday: Packet Pickup, Expo, Rules Briefing, Olympic-Dist. Bike Check-in, Open Water Swim Competition, Swim Familiarization

Saturday: Olympic-Distance Age Group National Championships, Expo, Packet Pick-Up, Sprint-Distance Bike Check-In, USA Triathlon Town Hall Meeting, Olympic-Distance Awards Ceremony

Sunday: Sprint-Distance Age Group National Championships, Expo, Sprint-Distance Awards Ceremony

Overview:

The host site of this event will welcome over 5,000 athletes along with 10,000 spectators from across the United States for a three day multisport event consisting of USAT’s Olympic Distance and Sprint Distance Age Group National Championships (amateur athletes). The events will welcome participants from all 50 states to participate in this multisport event. In addition, there is an opportunity to add additional events depending on the venue.

USA Triathlon will use the following guidelines in reviewing the proposal and in the selection process.

  • Swim Course: Clean, scenic body of water, with temperatures ranging between 60F and 80F.
  • Weather: Moderate and reliable (No threats of hurricanes, searing heat, forest fires, etc.)
  • Bike Course: Safe course with roads that are entirely closed to traffic and can accommodate the athletes comfortably. Road conditions are good with minimal safety concerns.
  • Hotels: Should be able to service 5,500 athletes plus staff, friends, family, spectators, and sponsors. Dorms, home stays, campgrounds, etc., are alternative housing options. Attempts should be made to minimize the cost of the hotel room block. (USA Triathlon reserves the right to use preferred housing partner to source necessary rooms).
  • Race Venue: Adequate space for swim start/finish, transition area, finish line, athlete recovery area, spectator viewing, parking, and race expo. Venue should not be more than a 20-minute drive from hotels. No split transition area.

Economic impact projections:

Out-of-town adult participants: 4,500 | Number of days: 3 | Average dollar amount of spending per day: $175 | Total: $2,362,500

Out-of-town adult spectators: 8,500 | Number of days: 3 | Average dollar amount of spending per day: $150 | Total: $3,825,000

Local adult participants: 500 | Average dollar amount of spending per day: $75 | Total: $37,500

Local adult spectators: 1,500| Average dollar amount of spending per day: $40 | Total: $60,000

TOTAL PROJECTED ECONOMIC IMPACT: $6,285,000

Bid deadline is June 30, 2021.

More information, including detailed local host site requirements, can be found in the bid document, available at this link.

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USA Triathlon Youth & Junior Nationals, 2023-2024

Event Dates (subject to change):

July 29-30, 2023 or August 5-6, 2023

August 3-4, 2024 or August 10-11, 2024

Overview:

The three-day event will attract over 1,100 youth and junior athletes, and their families from across the United States ranging from 7 to 19 years of age. The event date typically falls on the last weekend of July or first weekend of August.

The event will consist of three types of races: non-drafting, draft-legal and a mixed gender relay:

  • The non-drafting youth age group race will be conducted as a typical triathlon event following USA Triathlon non-drafting rules.
  • The draft-legal Youth and Junior Elite events will be conducted in the Olympic format and are designed to train USA Triathlon’s Olympic hopefuls.
  • The mixed relay is a mixed gender relay that consists of four team members (two males and two females). It is conducted in the draft-legal format with each team member completing all three disciplines before tagging off to their teammate.

The event will also consist of Packet Pick-Up, Expo, Athlete Briefings, Welcome Celebration, Awards Ceremony, Swim and Bike Coruse Familiarizations and Athlete Clinic among other items.

Overview of course information (More detail is available in the bid packet):

  • The Youth Age Group course requires various distances depending on age. The swim must be one lap while the bike and run can be up to two laps each if needed. The anticipated field size for this event is 800 athletes, although the field size is not capped.
  • The Youth and Junior Elite races will require a 375 meter swim course, 5 kilometer bike course and a 2.5 kilometer run course. Youth Elite athletes will complete one lap of the swim, 2 laps of the bike and 1 lap of the run. Junior Elite athletes will complete 2 laps of the swim course, 4 laps of the bike course and two laps of the run course.
  • Depending on the space availability, the Junior Elite swim course may be set at 750 meters with athletes completing one lap. The anticipated total field size for this event is 300 athletes. The maximum size of each field is 75 athletes per international regulation.
  • The Mixed Relay event requires each team member completing one lap of the 250 meter swim course, 5 kilometer bike course and 1.2 kilometer run course before tagging off to their teammate who will do the same. This is a very unique event for triathlon, but also in the sense that it is a mixed gender competition. Depending on transition area space, upwards of 75 teams will compete in this event.

To ensure the safety of the athletes, complete road closures will be required for all races.

Economic Impact Projections:

Out-of-town participants: 1,000 | Number of days: 3 | Average dollar amount of spending per day: $150 | Total: $450,000

Out-of-town spectators: 1,400 | Number of days: 3 | Average dollar amount of spending per day: $75 | Total: $315,000

Local participants: 100 | Average dollar amount of spending per day: $75 | Total: $7,500

Local spectators: 400 | Average dollar amount of spending per day: $40 | Total: $16,000

Total Projected Economic Impact: $788,500

*NOTE: Additional values representing a much higher economic impact are available upon request

Bid deadline: June 30, 2021

More information, including detailed local host site requirements, can be found in the bid document, available at this link

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