USA Triathlon Revamps Race Director Quality Control Program

USA Triathlon announced improvements to its race director quality control program, which aims to elevate the standards of USA Triathlon-sanctioned events by increasing race director accountability.

The program was developed based on recommendations and input from the volunteer-run USA Triathlon Race Director Committee. It empowers event participants, spectators and fellow race directors to inform USA Triathlon of potential event sanctioning violations, especially those that may impact athlete safety.

“Accountability and transparency are good things. If the level of quality can be raised across the board, it will trickle down and we will all see a benefit from an improved quality of events, particularly in the area of safety,” said Eric Opdyke, Chair of the USA Triathlon Race Director Committee. “Kudos to USA Triathlon for listening to race director feedback and adopting a quality control program.”

The system also enables USA Triathlon to better understand the details of its more than 4,300 sanctioned events and clinics nationwide, while improving the flow of communication between race directors and the organization.

“The quality control program was created as a way to proactively educate and inform race directors, while providing ample opportunities for improvement when issues arise,” said Andy Horn, Event Services Senior Manager at USA Triathlon. “These measures will help race directors nationwide maintain the high level of safety, quality and value that participants expect when attending a USA Triathlon-sanctioned event.”

The process of accountability begins when a member of the multisport community files a complaint to USA Triathlon using an online submission form, available by clicking here.

Upon receiving a complaint, USA Triathlon will open an investigation, gather statements and facts from relevant parties and speak directly with the race director. USA Triathlon will then issue a decision, and if a violation has occurred, work with the race director to help him or her understand the cause and implications of the error. In many cases, the race director will have multiple opportunities to correct the issue to avoid further disciplinary action.

All decisions and resulting remedial action will be taken with athlete safety as the highest priority, while also addressing competitive fairness, logistical ease and general athlete experience at USA Triathlon-sanctioned events.

For more information about the race director quality control program, and to find more resources for race directors, visit usatriathlon.org/racedirectors.

About USA Triathlon: USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon, as well as duathlon, aquathlon, aquabike, winter triathlon, off-road triathlon and paratriathlon in the United States. Founded in 1982, USA Triathlon sanctions more than 4,300 events and connects with more than 400,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work at the grassroots level with athletes, coaches, and race directors – as well as the USA Triathlon Foundation – USA Triathlon provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. USA Triathlon is a proud member of the ITU and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).