from the ceo
Skip Gilbert
The end of a decade
photo courtesy of Mario Cantu / ©CIMAGES
s we move into 2010, it makes sense to put our
energies on pause to look back at the decade that
A
was. For the multisport community, this decade
was all about change and growth.
So I wanted to find out what the sport and
USA Triathlon was like in 1999 – what were
the issues, what were the trends and what
were people’s expectations for the future.
My first stop was the USAT website. As
good as it is, we simply don’t have a very
impressive archive. That must change and I’ll address that at the
end of this column.
My next stop to get a strong perspective on everything was to
go to two “historians.” I went to Jim Jimison and USAT’s own Tim
Yount. Jim was one of the early architects of our officials program
and worked closely with our Board on various task forces. Tim
has been with USAT for almost 20 years and is really the face and
voice of the organization.
So leT’S look aT a few core areaS. • Races now sell out. In 1999, very few even wanted to limit participation.
USa TrIaThlon People are doing more races today than ever before.
• The USAT staff consisted of nine people in 1999; today we have 44 staff • Wellness programs with a multisport focus are part of the corporate
members. culture now whereas in 1999, being fit was only a suggestion by a small
• USAT went from date of birth to year of birth for memberships. subset of employees. Running was vogue but triathlon training in these
• There were concerns about our small youth membership of about corporate communities was limited.
1,500. Today, we have nearly 30,000 youth members. The overall • The World Triathlon Corporation expanded its flagship Ironman brand to
membership in 1999 was 19,060, today it’s 132,000. global markets and introduced the now popular 70.3 Series.
• We designated our top tier athletes “pros” and today they are called • XTERRA launched in 1997, providing athletes with a global off-road series.
elites. • The web – it was barely existent in 1999. Now it is the number one source
• USAT had approximately 325 race directors sanctioning 699 events. Today, for anyone looking for triathlon-related information.
over 1,100 RDs sanction over 3,000 events per year. • With the explosive growth of triathlon at the Olympic and sprint distances,
• USAT was in preparation for the sport of triathlon’s first Olympic Trials in triathlon has become a mainstream sport. The sport is now part of
Dallas. mainstream television programming including The Bachelor, The Office,
• Athletes on Team USA numbered in the 400s whereas today interest Scrubs, The Today Show, The Biggest Loser and others.
places team size for all the various distances in excess of 700. • There appears to be a healthy balance in the sport of 2009, versus 1999.
In 1999, the race director was seen as the end all and be all of the sport.
eqUIpmenT Success was measured by number of races sanctioned.
• In 1999, age group athletes couldn’t buy time in wind tunnels. Now, some • While triathlon and duathlon continue to succeed, winter triathlon,
bike manufacturers actually include wind tunnel testing as part of the aquathlon and aquabike all are seeing significant gains in popularity.
overall cost of the purchase.
• Helmet technology is not only more aero but also less weight with The above list does not by any stretch of the imagination cover all of
increased ventilation. the integral components that have made the multisport lifestyle one of the
• Speed suits are now part of the vocabulary and purchase wish lists of fastest growing segments of today’s athletic society. We just don’t have the
triathletes versus just the top swimmers in the world.
space to cover the pivotal milestones that supported the sport’s growth, the
• The number of companies that sell goods and services related directly
individuals who helped drive this decade or the athletes who really made a
to multisport is tenfold greater than it was in 1999. This has forced
difference.
companies to offer cutting edge technology, aggressive pricing and online
And that is where USAT must step in and say we need to have a place
ordering processes that rivals the competitors.
where people can go to connect with the past. We need an archive, a virtual
• The shoe market now targets special triathlon racing flats while bike
museum, a simple place where people can explore the past and relive special
shoes are geared toward faster technologies (one Velcro straps versus the
times. Building this will be a focus for our staff in 2010 as we push to not just
traditional three).
create a new and improved website, but an area where we can pause from
our forward facing lives to look back and take a glimpse of what helped us
The SporT
all to get here today.
• Coaching is something that nearly every American can do AND make
More details will come in future issues but in the meantime, feel free
it a career. In 1999, it took a part time job to supplement an interest in
to send me your thoughts on the past, the present or the future at skip@
coaching triathletes.
usatriathlon.org.
14
USA TriAThlon winter 10
USATTriWinter10pgs3-51.indd 14 12/9/09 11:52:18 AM
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