Lake Lure, N.C. is hosting the inaugural Collegiate Community Triathlon for college-level triathletes on Saturday, Mar. 31, 2012 at Rumbling Bald Resort. The overall goal of the exhibition event is to showcase collegiate triathlon as a future NCAA Emerging Sport for Women while creating an opportunity for current collegiate club triathletes, both males and females, to experience Team, Draft-Legal racing with their college peers.
Two different triathlon race styles and distances make up the one-day event. First, the sprint race - with wave starts for collegiate men, women, and the general public - consists of a 500 meter swim, 22 kilometer bike and 5 kilometer run. The Collegiate Team Draft-Legal race is gender specific for collegiate athletes only and features a 1 kilometer swim, 30 kilometer bike and 6 kilometer run.
For triathlon to first qualify as an NCAA Emerging Sport for Women, 10 institutions must submit official letters of support to the NCAA stating their desire to consider triathlon as a varsity sport. Currently, five institutions have produced support letters: The Air Force Academy, Monmouth University in N.J., University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Adams State College in Colo., and University of Arizona. A sixth school, Marymount in Arlington, Va., has publicly announced their intentions to submit a support letter.
Once the ten letters of support are submitted and the NCAA Membership votes to place triathlon on the NCAA Emerging Sport List, NCAA intercollegiate athletic programs may offer triathlon as a varsity sport and have their triathlon program's financial funding, coaching positions, and scholarship opportunities apply towards Title IX gender equity requirements. Sport organizers will then have 10 years to get 40 institutions to sponsor varsity triathlon and become an official NCAA Championship sport, meaning the NCAA will conduct and fund a post season championship.
Why Women Sports Focus?
The focus primarily on women is due to the fact that institutions must offer scholarships and fund their athletic programs equivalent to the gender ratio of its undergraduate student body in order to comply with Title IX gender equity requirements. For example, an institution with an undergraduate gender ratio of 55 percent females to 45 percent males needs to have 55 percent or their funds and athletic participation opportunities going to female student athletes.
Considering the large number of scholarships and financial support for sports such as football, collegiate athletic departments must achieve appropriate balance by offering a number of viable, popular women's varsity teams. Triathlon is proving to be an extremely popular sport for women. Of the 1,166 athletes at the 2011 USAT Collegiate National Championships, 468 (40 percent) were female.
Why Lake Lure, N.C.?
After personally witnessing the 2011 Lake Lure Olympiad's sprint triathlon and grueling Race to the Rock (a 25 mile bike to the top of Chimney Rock Park), the Collegiate Community Triathlon organizers were so impressed by both the town's beautiful landscape and the community of dedicated volunteers that they approached town officials with the proposal to host the inaugural Collegiate Community Triathlon.
Already bustling with a plethora of outdoor activity, Lake Lure and its surrounding Blue Ridge Foothills are quickly becoming a preferred destination for high-profile teams and prestigious events. In addition to the Collegiate Community Triathlon, the charming mountain town is hosting the 2012 National Open Water Swim 1-Mile Championship on Aug. 25 as part of its annual Lake Lure Olympiad Sports Festival on Aug. 24-26. (LakeLureOlympiad.com). The lake itself has become a premiere practice destination for collegiate rowing teams like University of Connecticut, Ohio State University, West Virginia University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
How to Register:
While the exhibition is dedicated to collegiate athletes, 100 general public race slots are available on a limited basis as a way to share the energy of collegiate triathlon racing with the community during this landmark event. Registration is available at SetupEvents.com or via the links to follow.
Collegiate Team Draft Legal Races (collegiate only): http://www.setupevents.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=event_detail&eventclass=Triathlon&eventID=2152
Schedule of Events:
8 a.m. - Men's Collegiate Sprint Wave
8:05 a.m. - Women's Collegiate Sprint Wave
8:15 a.m. - General Public Sprint Wave
10 a.m. - Men's Collegiate Team Draft-Legal Race
12:15 p.m. - Women's Collegiate Team Draft-Legal Race