USA Triathlon backs off on fees for national team athletes after uproar
"We understand and acknowledge we had a significant miss in the rollout"
Yesterday we reported that USA Triathlon was taking lots of flack after announcing a new tiered membership program that required those wanting to compete at the world championships to get the most expensive option, which runs $400.
USA Triathlon gets hammered by athletes over new membership fees
Yesterday, though, USA Triathlon announced that it was updating its membership options and would no longer require athletes to “purchase the Platinum package to race and be part of Team USA for 2024.”
Here are the details of yesterday’s announcement:
There is no requirement to purchase the Platinum package to race and be part of Team USA for 2024. We will keep the program status quo – utilize your annual membership (will automatically transition to Silver) and pay the spot fees associated with the races in 2024. No change, and no additional requirements for 2024.
Financial issues
It comes as no surprise that the news has been well received by athletes, and events like the World Multisport Championships Townsville slated for August will no-doubt be breathing a big sigh of relief – they are expecting a large US contingent for the race.
As we reported yesterday, the new membership pricing is no-doubt a measure to try and get ahead of the financial issues that have plagued USA Triathlon for the last few years. According to the organization’s website, it lost $2.9 million in 2022 and $1.8 million in 2021. With the Olympics coming this year, one imagines that expenses aren’t going to be less for USA Triathlon, which will no-doubt put some pressure on the organization.
“So far so good,” commented Kenneth Fleischhacker on Facebook. “But it just appears as if you are kicking the can down the road. What measures are you taking to reduce expenses. If none, you will only be even more in the red, next year.”