Super League on Malibu: “This decision would set a very dangerous precedent for the industry”
With Malibu City Council apparently set to give the race permit back to the previous owner, Super League may lose the event it purchased in 2020
Photo by:
Darren Wheeler - That Cameraman/SuperLeague
Last night we reported on the news (see below) that the City of Malibu appears ready to sign a five year deal with the Zuma Foundation, which appears to be run by former Malibu Triathlon race director and owner Michael Epstein, for the one and only triathlon permit the city would hand out.
We’ve heard back from Super League’s communication director, Adam Leitch, who provided the following statement:
An RFP process is ongoing with the road race ad hoc committee of Malibu City Council to determine which events should be eligible for a permit in the years ahead. The City Council is due to address the RFP process and bid winners at the City Council meeting on December 11.
Super League Triathlon is extremely disappointed by the decision of the ad hoc committee to recommend a permit for a triathlon to be issued to Michael Epstein, who has sold the triathlon in the past for commercial gain, and we would urge the full City Council to consider all the facts in their deliberations. Super League remains the legal owner of the event and its IP, and this decision would set a very dangerous precedent for the industry in general and all who want to invest in sporting events.
Super League Triathlon has owned Malibu Triathlon since 2020 and steered it through the challenging times of COVID, raising substantial funds for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) as well as revitalizing a race with a tremendous history and legacy in the sport.
If this decision is made not to award a new permit, it will be the end of 38 years of the Malibu Triathlon as we know it and its proven substantial fundraising for CHLA, which has so far brought in $18m for pediatric cancer research, as well as being an important part of the community and delivering support for a significant number of local charities and businesses. We believe that we are the only operators in the process that can deliver events on this scale and with this level of impact for the community and charity.
Super League remains committed to the event for the long term and is calling for a fair and transparent decision making process. We remain ready and eager to engage in conversation about the future of the event and hope our continued requests to do so will be answered.
We’ve yet to hear any official statements from the City of Malibu or Michael Epstein, who emailed former participants in the Malibu Triathlon yesterday to let them know that “final approval of the recommended agreement by the Malibu City Council will take place on December 11, 2023.”
We’ll continue to follow this story as it develops over the next week.
