The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) has announced a partnership with Fund Her Tri UK and Cycle Sisters to help encourage a broader participation across the first London T100 Triathlon weekend.
The partnership kicked in May when the PTO, in collaboration with Fund Her Tri UK and Cycle Sisters, hosted 30 athletes at Lee Valley VeloPark in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London, with the support of professional triathlete India Lee.
The coached session allowed beginners and first-time triathletes the opportunity to learn and sharpen their transition and dismount skills, as well as engage in an in-depth Q&A with India Lee, who won the first of the PTO’s new T100 Triathlon World Tour races in Miami earlier this year.
The partnership will go on to provide places for female first-time athletes facing financial barriers and for members of the Cycle Sisters community, as well as additional discounted entries for their community athletes to participate in the London T100 weekend across all distances on July 27-28, 2024.
Fund Her Tri UK aims to bring more gender diversity to triathlon by supporting first-time female triathletes and beginners with less than three years’ experience in the sport through various programs, including sponsorship, mentorship, coaching and community support. It has a membership of women aged 18 to 60 years old, with 37% from a minority ethnic background, 7% with a disability. Over 40% have talked about finances as being a barrier to take part and develop themselves in the sport.
Bianca Fernandez-Clark, co-Founder and Chair of Fund Her Tri UK, said “We are incredibly grateful to the PTO for their support of our charity. Their openness and willingness to listen to the barriers faced by the women in our community and to help us address them has been invaluable.
“Some of our women are just learning to swim, cycle, or run; each has her own story and is excited to take part in triathlons because of the welcoming community and the support they have received so far from Fund Her Tri UK, Cycle Sisters and the PTO.”
Cycle Sisters aims to address inequalities in accessing sport for muslim women and girls by creating opportunities to participate without having to compromise cultural or religious values. Its Tri Sisters project enables muslim women to develop skills and confidence to participate in triathlon. This is through programmes such as women-only swimming lessons, open water coaching and working with event organisers to ensure events are inclusive.
Sarah Javaid MBE, Founder & CEO of Cycle Sisters, added “We are very excited to be partnering with the PTO and Fund Her Tri UK to offer places for the women in our network to experience a triathlon, something many of them would never have dreamed was possible.
“Collaborations like this are so important to demonstrate that everyone is welcome in triathlon. Small adjustments such as offering private changing facilities and women-only waves can make triathlon more inclusive for diverse communities. We really hope to see triathlon organisers up and down the country following in the PTO’s footsteps.”
In collaboration with Cycle Sisters, PTO is working to meet the requirements of muslim athletes. This effort will ensure they can participate without compromising their faith, sending a message to the industry and races worldwide that triathlon can be inclusive for everyone, given the right support.
“It was so good to see more people getting involved in triathlon,” said India Lee. “It’s crucial for all sports to attract new participants, but because triathlon has such a strong community feel, it’s key we work hard to encourage as many people from different backgrounds as possible to enjoy our great sport.
“I think the work Bianca and Sarah are doing with Fund Her Tri UK and Cycle Sisters is so important, I really enjoyed spending time with them and look forward to catching up again at the London T100 weekend in a couple of months’ time.”
As well as seeing the top 20 women and top 20 men in the world go head-to-head in the professional races on the T100 Triathlon World Tour, the London T100 weekend offers age group participants the chance to take part. Catering for a range of abilities, distances range from:
- Super Sprint Triathlon (0.4km swim, 10km bike, 2.5km run)
- Sprint Triathlon (0.75km swim, 20km bike, 5km run)
- Olympic Triathlon (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run)
- T100 Triathlon (2km swim, 80km bike, 18km run)
The race course is all on fully closed-roads and takes in sights of central London. The T100 distance is sold out, but there are currently places left for the Olympic, Sprint and Super Sprint distances taking place on Sunday, July 28.
www.t100triathlon.com
www.fundhertriuk.org
www.cyclesisters.org.uk
