This week, and going forwards, USA Triathlon (USAT) is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the landmark gender equity law that changed the landscape for girls and women in the United States.
Standing against gender discrimination in education, Title IX gives female athletes the right to equal opportunity in sports in educational institutions.
The 50th anniversary was officially on June 23, and USAT used the date to kick off a five-month celebration of the achievements women have accomplished in triathlon.
USA Triathlon has long had a tradition of promoting women in multisport, including equal prize money for elite events, the formation of the USA Triathlon Women’s Committee in 2010 and February’s landmark achievement of adding the 40th school in the USA to offer women’s triathlon at the varsity level. This sets in motion women’s triathlon to become an NCAA Championship sport.
“It’s incredible to think about how recent Title IX is in the grand scheme of things,” said Margarett Frisby, Chair of the USA Triathlon Women’s Committee, which was formed in 2010 and works with the USA Triathlon Board of Directors to lead women’s programming to champion inclusivity and equality for women in multisport.
“To put it in perspective, members of the USA Triathlon Women’s Committee are either the first generation of women born after Title IX was passed or were even already participating in sports when it was passed.
“For many women, sports aren’t just about competing. It’s also about finding inner strength, developing a community, creating an outlet for stress, or focusing on self-care.
She continued, “Athletics can develop our next generation of leaders or create a pathway to education that might not have otherwise been possible. So, for women, sports isn’t just sports.
“It’s an opportunity. It’s health and wellness–physical and mental. It’s community. It’s strength. It’s part of life. The USA Triathlon Women’s Committee strives to foster an inclusive place for women to find community and learn what sports and athletics mean to them.”
The five-month celebration will include the Together, We Thrive Powerful Women in Multisport Series, a social and digital content series that will focus on women who helped pave the way for women to compete in triathlon.
To kick off the series, USA Triathlon has highlighted on its social media pages nine women in multisport who share what Title IX means to them in its Nine Days of Title IX celebration.
USA Triathlon will give 10 multisport women’s legacy packages to influential women in multisport, which includes one USA Triathlon Lifetime Membership and one free entry to USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships, USA Triathlon Multisport National Championships and the Toyota Legacy Triathlon. USA Triathlon will also award the inaugural Together, We Thrive Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access Award.
USA Triathlon is launching its Women’s Series, a series of locally organized USA Triathlon Sanctioned events across the country designed to grow and support the women’s multisport community, in 2023.
Applications to be included in the series will be accepted July through August with the formal announcement of participating events coming in late autumn/fall. The series will include a combination of women’s-only triathlons and duathlons, instructional clinics and social gatherings that will accommodate new athletes to experienced athletes.
“As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX we celebrate the achievements of women in multisport. It was women who helped create the sport of triathlon and grow the sport into what it is today,” said Rocky Harris, USA Triathlon CEO.
“As we celebrate the past, we also look ahead to the future. Our elite triathletes and elite paratriathletes have set the standard for excellence on the international stage, in Olympic and Paralympic and World Triathlon Competition.
We have momentum on our side for continuing to grow the sport at the collegiate level, as women’s collegiate triathlon will soon become an NCAA Championship sport. This is monumental for the sport and I’m optimistic for the next 50 years of the sport as women continue to lead the growth of triathlon.”
