USA Triathlon Awards $110,000 in COVID-19 Relief Grants

The USA Triathlon Foundation has awarded more than $110,000 in COVID-19 relief grants to more than 40 organizations in the multisport community that have been adversely impacted by the pandemic.

The national governing body’s foundation established its COVID-19 Relief Fund in April and received 173 applications asking for more than $866,000 in support. Applicants included USA Triathlon-certified race directors and race management organizations; USA Triathlon-certified coaches and clubs; and other individuals and organizations impacted by the pandemic.

The NGB raised money for the fund through a virtual race, the USA Duathlon Virtual Run-Bike-Run presented by TOWER 26, which was a five-week event that ran from April 10–May 17. More than 6,000 people participated in the event. In addition, the first $20,000 in donations were matched by USA Triathlon CEO Rocky Harris and his wife, Elizabeth Harris ($10,000), and a combination of the USA Triathlon Foundation Board of Trustees and the USA Triathlon Board of Directors ($10,000).

“The multisport community is a close-knit family, and in times of need, family takes care of each other,” Harris said. “There are countless race directors, clubs, coaches and organizations doing truly incredible and inspiring work right now, and we are glad to play a small part in helping them continue to pursue their goals. These grants are also a testament to the generosity of individuals across the country who, while each facing their own unique set of challenges, as we all are, donated to this important cause.”

“With the COVID-19 crisis, races came to a hard stop in early March, and race directors have needed to make some big changes and big decisions,” said Eva Solomon, founder and CEO of Epic Races, and a member of USA Triathlon’s Race Director Committee. “We have been re-inventing racing for the time being, while finding creative ways to keep our athletes engaged and racing. We appreciate and value the hard work of the USA Triathlon Foundation. Their support through the COVID-19 Relief Fund will help us continue to provide new and innovative opportunities for our athletes to continue to swim, bike, and run as we all ride this wave together.”

The following organizations and individuals received assistance through the program:

Certified Race Directors/Event Production Companies:

• All Sports Productions (Arkansas)
• CORE Foundation (Virginia)
• EventPower (New York)
• Finish Line Production (California)
• Generic Events (California)
• Kinetic Multisports (North Carolina)
• Live Red Foundation (Virginia)
• Maine Cancer Foundation (Maine)
• Negative Split Productions (Texas)
• New England Virtual Triathlon (Massachusetts)
• Precision Multisport (Illinois)
• Polka Dot Productions (South Carolina)
• RaceAwesome (New York)
• Racing For Steve-O Foundation (Illinois)
• Rev3 (Virginia)
• Team ATP (Michigan)
• Tim Kerr Charities (New Jersey)

Certified Coaches:

• Andy Potts Racing (Colorado)
• Bennefield Multisport (New Mexico)
• The International Association of Black Triathletes (Maryland)
• Lightning Warriors (New York)
• MMTT Multisport Youth (Illinois)
• PowerWatt Coaching (Texas)
• RTA Triathlon (New Jersey)
• SBR 4 Life (Georgia)

Certified Clubs:

• Balanced Art Multisport (Utah)
• Challenged Athletes Foundation (California)
• Dare2Tri (Illinois)
• District Triathlon (Washinton D.C.)
• Gaylord Hospital (Connecticut)
• iracelikeagirl (Massachusetts)
• Kingsbury Youth Tri Club (Massachusetts)
• SheStrong (Arizona)
• TriLatino (New York)
• Tri-Masters Sports Initiative Programs (Illinois)
• Virgin Islands Triathlon Federation (Virgin Islands)
• ViVe (Colorado)

NCAA Emerging Sport For Women Programs:

• Arizona State University (Arizona)
• Davis & Elkin College (West Virginia)
• Northern Vermont University (Vermont)