Challenge Family has announced the details of the 2015 professional prize purse structure in the Challenge Americas region, encompassing athlete-focused triathlons in 15 destination venues throughout North and South America.
In alignment with Challenge Family’s universal commitment to ‘support professional athletes, providing earning opportunities to decorated champions and elites in development alike’, a professional division and prize purse awards will be offered during each of the region’s 15 events.
Prize money will be paid to the top ten male and female professional finishers (with the exception of Challenge St Andrews, which pays five deep). Allowing for fluctuations due to local currency, half distance events will pay the equivalent of €25,000 (US$28,600) with full distance events paying the equivalent of €50,000 (US$57,200).
Athletes are advised to watch for exact prize dollars and disbursement schedules on individual race sites (accessible via challenge-family.com).
The 2015 Challenge Family professional division races in the Americas are as follows:
- May 17 – Knoxville Half
- Jun 7 – Quassy Half
- Jun 14 – Williamsburg Half
- Jun 21 – San Gil Half
- Jun 28 – Atlantic City Full
- Jul 5 – St. Andrews Half
- Aug 16 – Pocono Half
- Aug 23 – Maceió Half
- Aug 30 – Maine Half
- Aug 30 – Penticton Full
- Sep 13 – Cedar Point Full
- Oct 18 – Rancho Cordova Half
- Nov 1 – Ixtapa Half
- Nov 15 – Florida Half
- Nov 29 – Florianopolis Half
Charlie Patten, Challenge Family Americas board member and founder of the Rev3 Triathlon series, which in September 2014 merged its seven races with Challenge Family, said, “We’re thrilled to finally announce the detailed breakdown of our prize money and welcome professional athletes to all our events.
“This is something we’ve worked hard to bring to fruition – an unparalleled series of races spanning the Americas region and catering to every level of athlete, from weekend warrior amateurs to world-class professionals from around the globe.”
Since the November 2014 announcement of Challenge Family’s plan to expand prize money to each of the events in the Americas region (in addition to those Challenge Family Americas races which already offered purses), the organisation notes that ‘support has poured in from the professional ranks.’
Scott DeFilippis, a frequent fixture on Challenge Family start lines, scored second place at the inaugural Challenge Atlantic City in 2014 and has twice raced Challenge Penticton (likewise finishing second in 2013). He was thrilled to learn of the increased prize-earning opportunities, saying, “I’m a huge fan of Challenge Family races around the world, due to the true athlete-first focus and professional quality race production.
“My experiences racing in Penticton and Atlantic City were absolutely top-notch, and I’m happy to know that the opportunity to return to those venues and race as a professional will continue, and that Challenge Family’s commitment to pros will now expand to include every race in the Americas series.”
Lauren Goss, who earned multiple Rev3 titles and podium finishes in her first few years racing professionally, said “I’m elated to know that Challenge Family will offer a significant prize purse structure throughout the series.”
Goss added, “As an up and coming pro, I literally built my career on Rev3 races. The opportunity to compete at such well-run events in some truly fantastic venues, and at the same time earn valuable prize money, really made the difference for me in being able to follow my dream.
“The fact that Challenge Family will now carry forward and expand on this tradition as a major player in the North and South American markets, offering a pro prize purse at each and every race, increases my own racing opportunities and is great news for everyone on the professional circuit–veteran athletes and newbies alike. The more quality race options, the better!”
Richie Cunningham, a regular on the former Rev3 circuit, scoring numerous victories and claiming the overall series win in 2012 and second place in the 2014 series, was equally enthusiastic about the newly announced prize purse structure.
“I can’t emphasize enough how meaningful the support of the Rev3 series has been to my career – I’m referring to support across the board from the Rev3 crew, not the least of which was financial,” said Cunningham.
“It’s simply a reality that earning potential is a factor in any pro’s decision as to where and when to compete, so for Challenge Family to revitalize a prize purse in the US is a major positive for everyone in the pro ranks. Personally, I opt to support the events that best support me in turn, and Challenge does exactly that – not only through prize money potential, but through countless other perks and, most importantly, producing some of the highest quality events on the planet.”
www.challenge-familyamericas.com
www.challenge-family.com
