The USA Triathlon (USAT) Board of Directors has confirmed that USAT CEO Rocky Harris has had his contract extended through 2028.
Harris, who began his tenure with USA Triathlon in September 2017, will guide USA Triathlon through its 2021-2028 Strategic Plan, ‘Elevate 2028’.
The national governing body notes that this is… ‘a robust set of guiding principles, goals and strategies designed to enable USA Triathlon to grow participation, provide unmatched support to the multisport community, and reach vast new audiences culminating at the Olympic and Paralympic Games Los Angeles 2028.’
“The next seven years, culminating with LA 2028, are vital to our sport and we are fortunate to have Rocky committed to leading the way,” said Joel Rosinbum, Chair of the USA Triathlon Board of Directors.
“Throughout his four-plus years at the helm he has shown an unwavering dedication to supporting and growing our sport, and the results of his vision for the sport’s continued upward trajectory have been clear in our country’s recent success on the world stage, the industry’s return to racing through the COVID-19 pandemic, and the emphasis placed on local race directors, coaches, clubs, officials and age-group athletes. The future of our sport is in good hands.”
‘Harris’ tenure has focused on increasing the value USA Triathlon provides its constituents, building on success in international competitions, and developing collaborative partnerships to help grow the sport.
‘The sport saw significant growth in 2019 after nearly a decade of declines, with increases in participants, members, officials, coaches, sanctioned races and certified clubs. Harris has also prioritized attracting non-endemic corporate partners and philanthropic donors to the sport, and the organization has more than doubled its corporate sponsorship support and funds raised through the USA Triathlon Foundation.’
“I feel fortunate to be able to continue to support and impact a sport that empowers people to pursue their personal goals and helps strengthen communities by encouraging an active and healthy lifestyle,” said Harris.
“The organization’s successes are a direct result of the talented and dedicated staff at USA Triathlon and the guidance and prowess of our Board of Directors; and the sports’ successes are a direct result of the innovative, passionate and committed multisport community. I look forward to being part of our wonderful community and serving our sport’s stakeholders for years to come.”
Harris spearheaded the creation of USA Triathlon’s Safe Return to Multisport Initiative in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to help race directors, coaches, clubs and athletes safely return to racing and training.
The initiative also included the ‘Race Local, Compete Nationally‘ campaign to support race directors through payment relief and flexibility, promotional support, resources and a COVID-19 Safety Certification.
USAT adds that, under Harris, the organisation has been committed to empowering, educating and engaging the multisport community to drive actionable change both across the sport and in their respective local communities in the diversity, equity, inclusion and access (DEIA) space, and has been recognized for its efforts four times by the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) with three DEI Choice Awards and one Advancing DEI Award.
Under Harris’ leadership, USA Triathlon was recognized as one of the Best Places to Work by Outside Magazine (2020 and 2021), the Best Employer in Sports by Front Office Sports (2020) and Best Workplaces by the Colorado Springs Gazette (2019).
Harris serves on the USOPC Para Advisory Council, the USOPC SafeSport Funding Task Force, the COVID-19 Task Force, and is Chair of the Association of Chief Executives for Sport (ACES).
