USA Triathlon and Triathlon at Olympics

USA Triathlon is the national governing body for the multisport disciplines of triathlon, du-athlon, aqu-athlon and winter triathlon in the United States. USA Triathlon is a member federation of the U.S. Olympic Committee and the International Triathlon Union. Its headquarters are in Colorado Springs, Colorado. USA Triathlon coordinates and sanctions grass-roots and elite multisport events across the country and works to create interest and participation in those programs. USA Triathlon’s 135,000-strong membership is composed of athletes of all ages, coaches, officials, parents and fans working to strengthen multisport.

On the elite level, USA Triathlon is responsible for the selection and training of teams to represent the United States in international competition, including the world championships, Pan American Games and Olympic Games. It conducts national camps and clinics and provides coaching education programs. On the developmental level, USA Triathlon fosters grass-roots expansion of the sport, which is facilitated by the sanctioning of age-group events and triathlon clubs. National and regional championships are held for triathletes from junior to senior age divisions. USA Triathlon's mission is to provide excellence in leadership, structure and education for the growth and development of the sport. USA Triathlon's vision is to set the standard of excellence as a world leader in the sport by promoting a healthy lifestyle and encouraging participation and achievement. Triathlon in the United States has its roots set firmly in Southern California. The early races were held in San Diego’s Mission Bay. It was only natural that the initial interest for a national governing body came from the same area.

In 1982, two independent groups were formed, both with the purpose of providing government for the rapidly developing sport. On Feb. 16, 1982, James Gayton and John Disterdick founded the U.S. Triathlon Association. On March 15, 1982, Jarold Johnson, Michael Gilmore and Penny Little founded the American Triathlon Association. On April 9, 1982, the two organizations held a joint meeting in Sacramento, Calif. The two existing organizations merged less than one unified national governing body called the U.S. Triathlon Association. By the end of 1982, USTA membership had reached approximately 1,500. In 1983, an insurance and risk-management coverage agreement was signed and USTA turned much of its attention to sanctioning events nationwide. In August 1983, the name of the organization was changed to Triathlon Federation USA. The organization quickly picked up a colloquial name by members and athletes nationwide Tri Fed. During 1984, Tri Fed sanctioned more than 1,000 events.

In June 1985, the first National Board of Governors meeting was held in Springfield, Ill., to chart the direction of the young sport and its younger national governing body. Clear goals and objectives were set forth in several areas: creating a uniform set of competitive rules, enforcing those rules, continuing to increase the number of sanctioned events, improving the federation's credibility as a voice for the sport, providing a clearinghouse for members’ questions on training and technical information, promoting event safety and sponsoring championships. On Nov. 1, 1986, Federation representatives met with the U. S. Olympic Committee in Dallas. In this meeting the USOC explained the minor changes needed in the Tri Fed bylaws before the Federation’s application to the USOC could be accepted. At the end of 1986, membership had grown to 5,589 annual members.

In 1987, Tri Fed mandated that any athlete competing in a sanctioned event had to obtain an annual membership. Membership skyrocketed to more than 34,000. This mandate only lasted one year because the Federation recognized the policy, although fiscally positive in the interim, was detrimental to the long-term growth of the sport because it discouraged the novice triathletes from competing. In 1988, Tri Fed planned a move to its current home of Colorado Springs, Colo., a move that was consistent with the long-term Olympic goal of the sport and the federation, as the USOC is based in Colorado Springs.

In 1989, the International Triathlon Union and the Triathlon World Championship at the Olympic distance of a 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run was created. The Federation now had 24,729 members. Olympic Triathlon Tickets are easily available at Sport Ticket Exchange. It is a single point which offers you the Olympic Triathlon Tickets at very cheap rates. You can buy any of Olympic Tickets at secure and guaranteed system of Sport Ticket Exchange.