National governing body Triathlon Ireland (TI) has announced a major new partnership agreement with BMW Group Ireland that sees the car brand become TI’s main sponsor and the title sponsor to the BMW Triathlon National Series and the BMW Duathlon National Series.
A release from Triathlon Ireland notes that BMW’s investment will help fund the organisation’s core activities of promoting the sport and supporting athletes at a national and international level.
For more than a decade, triathlon has had one of the highest growth rates of any sport in Ireland ,with participation numbers more than quadrupling in this time. Triathlon already has one of the highest female participation rates in the country, at 35%; and despite a perception by some as a daunting high-performance sport, ‘triathlon has evolved in to an accessible, achievable challenge enjoyed by people of all abilities and ages.’
Per person, Ireland reportedly has the fifth highest participation rate in triathlon of any country in the world, while this year alone, more than 70,000 people will participate or watch a triathlon event on the island of Ireland.
This summer, more than 10,000 people are expected to compete in the BMW Triathlon National Series – a nationwide league of 17 races that take place around Ireland between May and September.
The vast majority of athletes will be amateur participants… ‘Men, women and teenagers seeking to challenge themselves and achieve something extraordinary.’ Competitors need to compete in four races to qualify for a ranking in the BMW National Series.
Last year the youngest competitor in the National Series was 16 while the oldest raced in the men’s 70-74 years age group.
Commenting on the sponsorship announcement Paulo Alves, Managing Director at BMW Ireland Group said “The partnership with Triathlon Ireland is a hugely exciting development for BMW in Ireland. At the core of our brand is a notion to make every second count, whether in a professional, personal or sporting sense; so we are very excited to come on board and further support the development of the sport here in Ireland.”
Triathlon Ireland Chief Executive, Chris Kitchen added, “We share common values and strive to provide perfection in our own fields. We will be working hard with BMW to ensure a mutually beneficial relationship develops and flourishes over the sponsorship’s duration.”
Kitchen continued, “Triathlon is one of the fastest growing sports in Ireland and has moved from a niche sport to a mainstream one, with over 18,000 members and an ever increasing reach. The relationship with BMW will provide significant extra income to help us grow and accelerate the development of the sport further. Both organisations are ambitious and goal focussed and the injection of additional funds and the value in kind will help enable us to not only achieve but exceed the aspirations within our Strategic Plan.”
BMW Corporate Series
From 2019, BMW and Triathlon Ireland plan to launch a Corporate Series to encourage companies to help their employees towards greater health and fitness. This is seen to be in-line with the Irish Government’s National Physical Activity plan (2016) to promote workplace wellbeing.
With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is one of the world’s leading premium manufacturers of automobiles and motorcycles. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 31 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.
In 2016, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.367 million cars and 145,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax was approximately €9.67 billion on revenues amounting to €94.16 billion. As of 31 December 2016, the BMW Group had a workforce of 124,729 employees.
