The Quintana Roo government in Mexico and teamTBB have confirmed a regional partnership, which sees teamTBB – ‘the world’s premiere triathlon team’ – selecting the Island of Cozumel as its regional training hub for North and South America.
teamTBB has simultaneously launched a new teamTBB country triathlon team, named Cozumel teamTBB Mexico in partnership with the Quintana Roo government.
The Governor of the state of Quintana Roo, Roberto Borge Angulo said “We are very pleased to partner with the strongest and most professionally structured triathlon team in the world, right here in Cozumel. We want to augment these professional athletes with promising young Mexican athletes that will hopefully be able to represent our country at international competitions in the near future. Obviously, having a top calibre coach in Brett Sutton helps make this goal a real possibility.”
With the goal of supporting the sport of triathlon and also helping promising young Mexican athletes develop into world-class triathlon professionals, the Quintana Roo government has become the title sponsor of this new Mexican team.
teamTBB Head Coach Brett Sutton said “Cozumel’s quality sports and tourism infrastructure provides teamTBB a world class location to base its regional training hub for North and South America and to serve our pro athletes, age group athletes through our regular organized teamTBB training camps and our Mexican scholarship athletes as part of the social program.”
The team will consist of a number of teamTBB selected pro athletes, complemented by a number of Mexican scholarship athletes, who together will form the latest teamTBB country team with oversight from teamTBB’s Brett Sutton.
The team officially begins on 1 January 2013 under a four-year partnership. Although, it kicked into gear with anchor teamTBB athlete, James Cunnama – winner of Challenge Roth 2012 and Ironman Florida 2010 – racing in Ironman Cozumel on 25 November 2012, where he secured an eighth place finish.
teamTBB and the Quintana Roo government, with support of the local community on Cozumel, intend to make Cozumel the best triathlon training destination in the Caribbean and bring year round quality tourism to Cozumel.
The team’s newly designed uniform using the colours of Mexico’s national flag with the banner slogan of ‘Tri Cozumel’ aims to inspire its professional athletes to race for the team and also ‘act as role models by providing hope and opportunity through sports.’
Quintana Roo is one of the 31 states of Mexico and is divided in 10 municipalities, with its capital city of Chetumal. It is located in south eastern Mexico, on the eastern part of the Yucatán Peninsula. Quintana Roo is home to the world famous city of Cancún, the islands of Cozumel and Isla Mujeres, the towns of Bacalar, Playa del Carmen and Akumal, as well as ancient Maya ruins.
teamTBB is a development squad that provides hope and opportunity through sports. The team helps many young athletes and professionals, who may not have had an opportunity or pathway, become an earning professional athlete. teamTBB provides physical, psychological and mechanical information and support to all of its athletes.
More importantly, its current leading elites are the role models to the rookie and development athletes. The team’s program has been enormously successful and teamTBB athletes have earned podium spots at the majority of races they enter. As the organisation notes, ‘these athletes are leading by example.’
