PRESS RELEASE
Los Angeles, September 15th 2008
UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) is proud to announce the launch of the first ever scholarship program for Triathlon in the USA. This program provides support, resources and expertise to talented Triathletes who wish to develop their athletic ability to its maximum while completing a first class education.
Current UCLA students Brittany Day and Brady OBryan are the recipients of the two scholarships available for the 2009 season. For both it will be just their second season as Triathletes. Brittany was a member of the UCLA swim team before switching to Triathlon with immediate success winning her age group at several SoCal Triathlons in 2008. Brady is a teen Triathlon sensation from Texas whose goal is to become the youngest ever winner of the Hawaii Ironman World Championships.
The athletes will be targeting success in the WCCTC (West Coast Collegiate Triathlon Conference) and US national championships. Furthermore they will be attending many of the local SoCal events including the Los Angeles Triathlon, Malibu Triathlon and new Playa Del Rey Triathlon, which is a benefit race for the UCLA and USC teams.
The scholarship provides each athlete with a personal coaching program from team head coach, Gareth Thomas which includes regular lactate testing and video analysis. Furthermore, they will be supported with regular physical therapy treatment from Pro Physical Therapy, receive pro bike fits from Nate Loyal and a full package of equipment including nutrition products from PowerBar, Xterra wetsuits, eyewear and helmets from Rudy Project and Powertap powermeters. They will also receive a generous race expense budget.
Coach Gareth explains, This program has been 5 years in the making. Over that time we have grown the team from just a handful of members to a group of 60+ athletes who regularly train together. Each week we have between 6 to 9 hours of coached workouts and each athlete does even more training on their own. We now have a performance development program and the administrative support to rival any program out there and the aim is to attract the funding to allow us to offer a further 6 more scholarships with even deeper support for 2010.
Team President David Quiros adds, The launch of the program firmly establishes UCLA as the number 1 school to attend for the aspiring Triathlete. Furthermore, our future plans include building a Triathlon specific training center here on campus and continuing to acquire a vast range of equipment so that everyone who joins our team can train and race like a professional
UCLA Triathlon is an official UCLA Recreation club sport. In addition to a structured coached program for students, UCLA Triathlon also provides coaching and a team atmosphere for staff, faculty, alumni, and community members. UCLA Triathlon is committed to helping all members, from elite to beginner, reach their athletic goals.
The team website can be found at www.triathlon.ucla.edu
For sponsorship inquiries please contact Performance Director & Head Coach, Gareth Thomas by email at gareth@coachgareth.com
If you are student Triathlete and wish to be considered for a 2010 scholarship please contact team membership director Michelle Kelly by email at triteam@ucla.edu
12 Responses to “UCLA Launches The First Triathlon Scholarship Program In USA”
Leave a Reply
COMMENTS:12 Comments
POSTED BY:editor
SHARE THIS ARTICLE:
CATEGORIES: News
TAGS:
What about tuition? The coaching/performance package talked about in the article is wonderful, but tuition and room and board are incredible expenses and unfortunately they are not mentioned. I know that the sport is not recognized as an official NCAA, NAIA, (or any other college sport governing body), which is problematic for recieving direct funding from an athletic department or university, however, this is where grants could and should be written or other steps be taken to provide students with funding to be used directly for their education. I think this is when we will be taking great steps forward in the sport. I am sure that I will be slammed by many people for this post, but I just think that it needs to be something that is thought about when teams start offering “scholarships” to athletes.
This is a terrific and necessary step for our sport of triathlon. As an olympic marathoner in 1992, I attended the meetings in the olympic village and promoted the addition of triathlons into the olympics.
It is unfortunate that it has taken so much time to develop, but great to see that scholarships are finally being developed. Apparently we have a ways to go before becoming a full fledged collegiate sport, but this should be our goal as a supporting body. The question we should be asking is, “What can we do to help speed the process along?”.
Jeanette Allred-Powless
1992 Olympian
American River College Head Track Coach
American River College Head X/C Coach
Ride for A Reason Youth Triathlon Coach
Level II Certified USAT Coach
Level II Certified USATF Coach
YES!!! this is such good news. i like triathlons and have been told that i am good at them, but have not found a reason to take them seriously cuz i won’t help me with college. maybe this will pave the way for more programs!
im a junior in high school i love triathlons and i just got done racing in the junior olympics any college that will provied triathletes a scholarship for the most underrated sport in the world im verry interested in i love the idea
I am interested in the triathlon scholarship program. Who could I contact?
I am very interested in the progam. I am looking for a scolarship to study and to practiced the triathlon. I lived in Colombia, and I would like to have more information about requirements for applying to the scolarship.
Thanks!
I am a junior in high school. I live in McDonough, GA. I am on the USA Southeastern Junior High Performance Team. I have just competed in the Sprint National Championship in Tuscaloosa, AL. I held 3rd through T2, but dropped back to 7th on the run. Come to find out I had a stress fracture in the lower inside of the shin. I am very interested in this scholarship opportunity and would like a little more information. There is more information about me on the website I made.
Are you still continuing with this scholarship???
Hi My name is Libby I have been a national finalist in triathlon and was selected for the NZ team to the world Champs in Hungary
I have noticed your site and an very interested in your triathlon Scholarship program And would like more details please
thanks Libby
I am a Triathlete and im interested in getting a scholarship, who do i contact?
Hi I’m josh I’m 18 and Ive been doing triathlon for about two years now and this upcoming summer I get to travel to different states to race. And I saw your scholarship I’m already a sponsored athlete but I was wondering if you help sponsor with tuition as well?
Hi my name is Jordan and i am i am a pretty good triathlete and looking for a school with a triathlon scholarship how do i get more info.