In late July, questions came to light regarding the Newport Beach Triathlon, scheduled for October 1st.

There was a series of articles posted on CaliforniaTriathlon.org as well as the article posted here:

RACE ORGANIZER ACCUSED OF SELLING NEWPORT BEACH TRIATHLON ENTRIES UNDER “FALSE PRETENSES”

The key point in these stories was that the executive director of the Newport Dunes Resort and Marina where a portion of the event was to take place, stated that the event was “Neither contracted nor permitted to occur.”

Pacific Sports did respond to the initial CaliforniaTriathlon.org article:

you should question the source of your information. We apply for permits, as we have for 39 years, and they are approved in typically around 10 days prior to the event. This is entirely typical. We have sanctioned the event as long as there has been the existence of USA Triathlon. ~ Pacific Sports

CaliforniaTriathlon.org did a great job showing that approvals taking until 10 days prior to the event are not at all typical in the first of two follow up articles.

Change To The Newport Beach ‘Triathlon’

A Statement Appeared On The Newport Beach Triathlon Website Yesterday:

“The Newport Beach Triathlon unfortunately was forced to cancel the swim portion of the event for 2017”

The statement goes on to say that the “Triathlon” will consist of Bike, Transition, and Run.

The swim portion of the event was removed, but they are still calling the event a triathlon. In reality they are now putting on a duathlon.

While there is skill and preparation that goes into the transition, to consider it a separate discipline for purposes of maintaining ‘triathlon’ status is questionable at best and deceitful and dishonest at worst.

While the swim portion was removed from the details, the event is also listed as a Triathlon on Active.com, where registrations are being accepted.

I have sent a message and posted on the Newport Beach Triathlon Facebook page asking if refunds will be offered to those that signed up for the event expecting a legitimate Triathlon. I also attempted to contact Pacific Sports directly, but they had previously blocked me on Facebook after I sent them a question regarding the Triathlon ahead of the article I wrote in July.

Pacific Sports, LLC

This is just the latest in a series of issues relating to events put on by Pacific Sports:

2013 Brooklyn Triathlon – postponed to 2014

2014 Brooklyn Triathlon – cancelled 6 days prior to the event due to dispute over police fees

2016 LA Triathlon – cancelled 4 days prior to the event over the supposed lack of an itemized bill

2017 Newport Beach Triathlon – Swim portion cancelled after failure to obtain agreement with venue

Athletes that signed up for the cancelled events reported difficulty in getting refunds, or that they did not receive refunds at all.

Disputes with Employees, Vendors and Contractors were highlighted in the 2nd update on Californiatriathlon.org.

USA Triathlon

From www.teamusa.org/USA-Triathlon/About/USAT

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 races and connects with nearly 500,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world.

I am of the belief that it falls to the governing body to take a stand.

First, they cannot sanction this event as a triathlon. The current event does not meet the criteria of a triathlon.

Second, as the governing body it would seem that they have the authority to refuse to certify events if the the company fails to meet a certain standard in putting on events. By holding these organizations to the highest of standards, it will force those organizations to improve their business practices if they wish to continue putting on USAT sanctioned events.

I have reached out to the USAT regarding this situation, and I will post a follow up if they chose to make a statement regarding The Newport Beach Triathlon or Pacific Sports.

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