Triathlon Being Presented as an NCAA Sport by:  Joella Baker

One of the discussions this past weekend centered around triathlons and the NCAA.  The NCAA was holding their annual conference this past weekend and representatives from USAT were there to present the NCAA with triathlon as an official NCAA sport.  Currently under Title 9 regulations, it would be introduced as a woman's sport first.  USAT believes the presentation went well and we will soon see triathlon as an NCAA recognized sport.

In the meantime, USAT has been proactive in helping universities recognize athletes in the sport while developing these athletes in our U23 program.  Currently schools like UCLA and the University of Texas will offer top triathletes with bikes, clothing, equipment, pay for travel expenses to races as their way to offer a form of scholarships for these athletes.  USAT expects more schools to catch on and USAT is also in the early stages of developing the Triathlon Academy.  This Academy will offer scholarships to triathletes to train and get the academics they need as a college student.  Like I said, it's in the early stages, but will be a reality in the next couple of years.

Opportunities in this sport continue to grow for young athletes.  My goal as our local Youth Certified Coach is to work with the kids in our area that are interested in triathlon and identify those with potential or developed talent and work with our Regional athlete Development Director to properly train those kids for a future in the sport.  As we learn more about these opportunities I will let you all know.