After conducting national research in the US to determine the greatest barriers to women’s participation in triathlon, members of the Women For Tri board have identified a need to support female athletes at the local level and to create an interactive source of information and resources for female athletes.
Towards this goal, three volunteer board members will participate in this October’s IRONMAN World Championship in Kona in partnership with the IRONMAN Foundation, with the aim of raising US$75,000 to achieve these goals.
The funds raised by the Women for Tri board in 2015 will be used to:
- Offer grants to local triathlon clubs, coaches and programs dedicated to recruiting, training and supporting emerging female triathletes;
- Create and maintain interactive communication hubs including a website, videos and other resources for female triathletes of all levels; and
- Fund grants for college students.
The board members selected to race for Women for Tri at this year’s IRONMAN World Championship include Katherine Kelly Lang, Kyrsten Sinema, and Moira Horan.
Women for Tri, an initiative launched by IRONMAN and Life Time in 2015, works to increase female participation at all levels of triathlon. The project seeks to ‘identify and diminish primary barriers to entry and mobilize triathlon advocates to encourage and engage female athletes across all distances and representing all athletic abilities.’
