National governing body USA Triathlon (USAT) has released an infographic that summarises some headline numbers from 2019. A key highlight includes a total of 33 NCAA women’s varsity triathlon programs now in place across the United States.
In December, Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, Virginia, became the 33rd school in the United States, and the 14th at the NCAA Division III level, to add women’s triathlon to its varsity sport offerings. This takes USAT close to its target of 40.
The NCAA named triathlon an Emerging Sport for Women in 2014, a designation that gives USA Triathlon a 10-year window to demonstrate the sport’s sustainability at the NCAA level by recruiting at least 40 varsity programs. The governing body is now more than three-quarters of the way to that goal with momentum on its side, as 25 schools have added the sport since January 2017.
Other headlines include:
- 70 Championship events in 2019 supported by USA Triathlon (national, regional, state)
- 4,452 athletes who competed at the Toyota USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships in Cleveland
- 4,741 participants in the first ever Time to Tri Virtual Triathlon
- 1,500 age group Team USA athletes
- US$405,000 in total donations received by the USA Triathlon Foundation as of December 1, 2019
- 1,881 members of USA Triathlon’s Strava Club
