USA Triathlon's Recruitment Program Manager Is Here to Answer Your Questions About Its Recruitment Program & Rio 2016(Sponsored)

Will consider joining if you can provide assurances that this organization will not force democrat propaganda upon its athletes.

Pigg Riccitello Hobson wrote:

Hi Barb,

What financial incentive does your program have to entice recruits into the profession of triathlon?

Your program is for professional athletes who expect professional pay commensurate to a living wage and relative to other professional triathletes.

Is there a basic guaranteed salary? Irrespective of performance or drafting/no-drafting races? Can triathlon start to offer salaries to help athletes save towards there non-triathlon future, rather than just chase ITU points?

This seems like a big jump triathlon has not made but which you are in a position to influence (USOC, USAT, sponsors).

Thanks for your thoughts.

Certainly a great question. The financial piece is the least fun of all the parts of sport, unless you are winning! Just ask Gwen, she will be set for life.

The CRP resident program is the entry step for runners into the sport. One of the goals for athletes coming out of this program is to be have met the criteria to qualify for one of our National Teams, which does provide a living stipend and travel to races and coaching fees and a slew of other things. I'm not familiar with what USATF provides as comparison, but you can read about our Gold, Silver, and Bronze Teams, and Elite Athlete Development Program here:

The CRP resident program is a 1 yr program for females and 2 yr for males. It covers about 90% of what an athlete will need for to live on for the year-- living expenses, food stipend, coaching fees, gear, massage, travel, etc... It doesn't cover insurance, phone, car insurance and some bike fees to races. We invest a lot into these athletes who haven't proven themselves yet, but who we obviously see potential. That said, we want athletes to have skin in the game to. We also have partnered with Team Psycho, a Boston based triathlon club, who is a sponsor of these athletes.

Breaking into any sport is difficult. I've seen plenty of "elites" in my day race for 10 years and have nothing in the bank to show for it at the end except some amazing travel and life experiences. For some that is enough, and shooting for an Olympic team will always trump thinking about the future. And they will be able to use that experience as a way to get into a new field post-racing. Some treat sport as a small business, and if they aren't making money by year #3, then they will move on. I think it is all individual on how much one is willing to sacrifice and at what point to cut bait and quite "livin' the dream."

Barb Lindquist wrote:

The CRP resident program is a 1 yr program for females and 2 yr for males.

I'm curious why the women's program is shorter than men's. Do men take longer to develop?

wejo wrote:

Barb Lindquist wrote:

The CRP resident program is a 1 yr program for females and 2 yr for males.

I'm curious why the women's program is shorter than men's. Do men take longer to develop?

Don't get too caught up on the duration of the program. They really have no rules for it.

Insurgent, It sounds like perhaps you had some experience with the program? It'd be interesting to hear your take on it. Maybe you are someone who "made it", but statistically probably not. I'd be curious to hear what that is like. How quickly is that decision made (or realized) in most cases? Whats it like when you're decided to not be good enough? Hope this doesn't come across as a dig or troll, but realistically I assume most people who make it into the program don't make it much further?

This is a sponsored thread, no use in writing a bunch to see it deleted.

Insurgent wrote:

This is a sponsored thread, no use in writing a bunch to see it deleted.

Is there an email I can contact you on or maybe you could make a desperate thread? I've been very curious about the program and starting to get deeper into it. Would really like to know what wisdom you have! Thanks.

Agreed. I'm interested, but want to go in with eyes open. And realistic expectations

Insurgent wrote:

wejo wrote:

I'm curious why the women's program is shorter than men's. Do men take longer to develop?

Don't get too caught up on the duration of the program. They really have no rules for it.

Lots of back and forth here on the length of the program. To answer Weldon's question, it is shorter for the women because the men do take longer to develop and because the men coming in have not had the same swim background as our women. It goes back to the question earlier in the forum about why we have not had the success on the men's side as the women's side. They need to be treated differently.

We also are not so dogmatic as to have hard cut offs without regard to what is best for the athletes. For example, we have extended the time if an athlete had a set back due to illness or injury (or bike crash), which took a chunk of training time away, and didn't allow the athlete the full benefit of the program. A couple of females who we thought could be 2016 OT potential came in at a June instead of fall entry into the program. They made our last Olympic qualifier race with a chance at the OT. We allowed them to stay on, with a different financial set up since they were on the Nat'l Team and had graduated from the CRP, through this season so that they wouldn't have to chance coaches 5 months before Olympic Trials. On the flip side, the full year is not guaranteed. Athletes have been given swim benchmarks to hit at certain time intervals, and if progress is stalemated or not being made, their tenure with the CRP is ended. So from the outside, there it may look like USAT sets "rules" and then doesn't follow them (as one person who wrote in suggested), but there is a reason behind each decision.

The 99% wrote:

Insurgent, It sounds like perhaps you had some experience with the program? It'd be interesting to hear your take on it. Maybe you are someone who "made it", but statistically probably not. I'd be curious to hear what that is like. How quickly is that decision made (or realized) in most cases? Whats it like when you're decided to not be good enough? Hope this doesn't come across as a dig or troll, but realistically I assume most people who make it into the program don't make it much further?

99%, I'd be happy to connect you with some athletes who have come through the CRP. You can email me at

. I'd also encourage you to explore your potential by starting a conversation with me so that you can come to your own opinion on what we have to offer.

How are the spots on the olympic team decided? Do you have a single olympic trials race, or is there some sort of complex selection process? I'm asking because USA cycling is currently having big problems picking their team.

and Rio...

Hi Barb,

Thanks for taking the time to do this. I was wondering if you would still be recruiting in a year? I'm about to start my fifth year as a ~16:30 5ker and former high school swimmer (mostly a sprinter -25.5 50yd free in HS but also swam around 5:20 for 500m when I was in eighth grade).

Hi Barb,

I don't know much about Triathlon, besides some very casual awareness of the Brownlees, and Jorgenson.

The IAAF and UCI is going through a crisis of integrity with regards to its leadership and enforcement of anti-doping regulations. What is your confidence in the leadership of ITU with regards to ensuring a level playing field for clean athletes? WADA statistics show that Cycling took over 5000 samples, Athletics took over 12,000, and swimming took 4500+. But there were only 2006 samples in Triathlon. How confident are you that team USA is competing on a level playing field? With 5 sanctions laid out by USADA, Triathalon pales in comparison to Track or Cycling; what do you think separates triathlon from athletics or cycling in the way it embraces integrity?

The previous post may be deleted. So if it is, even though they are fair questions, I am curious what your stance is to the relative strength of Triathlon's doping/anti-doping culture compared to cycling, swimming and athletics. I also think it is worth explaining to your future talent pool what your official perspective is.

Okay, a non-doping question, because this is another interest of mine.

What is the TV braodcast situation with USA triathlon and the ITU? I ask because USATF is on a pay-to-play arrangement, and likely the American Track League, the new Track Town thing, and other innovative meets are pay-to-play to be aired on ESPN or NBC.

Universal sports, when it existed, showed international triathlon events. does the USA Triathlon organization have a plan for airing for triathlon events?

The recreational participant model has been what supports road running, the opposite of cycling or swimming. has the ITU articulated a direction for expanding its viewership? Are they aiming for more broadcasts, or bigger events in the sense of opening the event to locals/participants?

Actually, in general, I'm curious about the business model of different events. I really have no idea, and my questions stem from what I know about cycling, swimming, and track/road racing. I can't imagine there is any revenue sharing among broadcasters and athletes or sponsors; is there any push to change that arrangement like there is in cycling? Is there any organized representation of athletes or teams like has emerged from Velon or track athletes' unions?

I don't even know where to start asking questions, and maybe you're not the person to know the answer. My interest is in the way your sport has been self-sufficient without appearing to rely on viewership for its existence, a card that cycling and athletics plays often. Swimming gets away with not being on TV, and does just fine, but Triathlon even less so, unless you count the Iron Man championships. Do you think track and field should make as big a fuss as it is over viewership? Can it survive in a more condensed version like the ITU?

And I realize these posts may not be your area. I ask about anti-doping and marketing, and you are here to talk about participation and recruitment. Any info you can provide is helpful. I haven't taken the time to learn about the sport, and will be using your answers as a starting point.

I have a lot of experience as an "elite" triathlete with USAT back in the 2000s.

If you have questions you can shoot me an email at

trimess@hotmail.com

(Barb, you can too if you want).

Bottom line is that it's a pretty hard life, with not a lot to show for the majority of athletes that go through.

I know that USAT has had a lot of change at the top over the last 5-8 years, so I'm not sure how relevant my experiences are.

I think the minimum, bottom line times for a guy out of college should be:

Sub 5:00 in a 500yd free (even if back in high school)

Sub 15:00 in a 5000m on the track

If you're not meeting these standards, you're going to have a VERY tough task (even if you have these times you'll still have a very tough task).

I was a 5:00 swimmer in high school. Ran for a DIII program in college (PR of 15:18 indoor, but had mostly injuries junior/senior year). I made the podium at some continental cup races, was top US finisher at under-23 World's, usually finished mid-pack at World Cups, was somewhere between 9-15th in the US for 3-4 years. The most I made in a single year was about $10K. I lived at the Olympic training center for a few years, and USAT paid for that and most World Cup travel. I "retired" after 2008, feeling that I had mostly plateaued, and having lost my USAT support, it was a financial struggle to continue. In retrospect I should have gone into much more non-drafting racing (where you can make most of your money). Even today, most ITU racers in the US will have to supplement their income with non-drafting racing.

For clarification purposes, I'm a female.

Both of those times would be faster than Katie Zaferes did as a youth swimmer/collegiate runner. I'd assume you'd be an athlete of interest...