Hot-on-the-heels of IRONMAN confirming a new event in Austria for 2020, its former organising team in St Pölten has released a statement about the decision to migrate the St Pölten event from IRONMAN to Challenge Family.
May 24, 2020 is the date for both new events in Austria next year – the IRONMAN 70.3 Graz triathlon, which replaced the discontinued IRONMAN 70.3 St Pölten, and the first ever Challenge St Pölten.
The Challenge St Pölten organising team statement aims to give a background to the decision to take on Challenge Family branding in 2020, and raises the issue of the date clash…
‘We are Triathlon’ is the chosen motto of Challenge St Pölten. [Event organiser] BESTZEIT has been providing the best possible event organisation in St Pölten for the last 13 years. For us, triathlon means more than just sport and above all, more than just business. For us, triathlon stands for ‘spirit’. That’s just one of the reasons why we switched from IRONMAN to Challenge Family this year. ‘We are Family’ and we want to continue in this direction.
The World Triathlon Corporation, the subsidiary of the Chinese Wanda Group, has recently announced an IRONMAN 70.3 in Graz. This is scheduled to take place on exactly the same day as Challenge St Pölten 2020. For many of you, this won’t make your race plans for next year any easier.
As an event organizer, we would like to take this opportunity to name just a few of the reasons why you can play it safe in choosing Challenge St Pölten:
- We have a well-established background and proven infrastructure of around 1,800 volunteers, who have helped make St. Pölten become one of the best rated triathlon events on the international circuit
- We have a race course that encircles the World Heritage Site of ‘Wachau’ and downtown of one of the oldest cities in Austria
- Our spirit focuses on diversity rather than a ‘mono-label’ and cultural encounters rather than business!
We look forward to seeing you all at our triathlon festival on May 24, 2020 in St. Pölten.
Your Team from BESTZEIT
and everybody at Challenge Family
