FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
10 February 2022

LONDON: The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) today announced that its Professional Athlete Board has unanimously voted to reduce the age group registration pricing in its inaugural PTO Tour.

Having announced the three-part race series in early January, the PTO’s commercial team received immediate feedback from the PTO Professionals that the pricing of the events did not align to its goal of growing the sport. The PTO Tour events are owned by the PTO Professionals and as such, the professionals are the hosts and age group athletes are their invited guests.

Apologising to the age group community and to PTO Professionals for the error, the PTO’s CEO Sam Renouf said:

“We are excited to add age group racing to the PTO Tour this year. This will allow fans to not only watch the greatest athletes on the planet – but to step up and challenge themselves in competing at the very same event. In planning this, we looked at other bucket list events, including world championship triathlons and the major marathons. With closed road courses, grandstand seating, the chance to get closer to pro athletes, ancillary events for friends and family to enjoy and unmatched event merchandise, our goal is to create unforgettable VIP moments for every age-grouper.

“Having often shared the concern that age group pricing is too high, we initially priced our events lower than the championship events we took inspiration from, with the aim of making the sport more accessible. We also sought to remove the pain points in such races, such as mandatory extra fees and continual upselling for items we feel should be all-inclusive.

“However, having spoken with our PTO Professionals, we quickly realised that although we believe PTO Tour events will soon become bucket list races on every fan’s calendar, this is not a status that we can automatically assume. 

“Like an ambitious young athlete, we must first earn our stripes through proven results before we can be compared to the greats.

“We apologise for not recognising this at the outset and hope that the triathlon community can forgive the error. We are grateful for the structure of the PTO, which provides the chance for the immediate feedback of the PTO Professionals when we’ve misstepped. Following a unanimous vote from the PTO Athlete Board, we have subsequently reduced all age group pricing by 50% and will automatically issue a refund to all existing entrants to reflect this.”

The inaugural PTO Tour consists of the PTO Canadian Open in Edmonton, Canada, on 23-24 July, The Collins Cup in Bratislava, Slovakia on 20-21 August and the PTO US Open in Dallas, Texas, on 17-18 September. The PTO Canadian and US Open will feature racing over the 100km and 25km distances and The Collins Cup over 100km where age group athletes will not only race their race, but also get a VIP experience to watch the greatest PTO professionals battle it out for the US$1,000,000+ prize purse.

About the Professional Triathletes Organisation:
The Professional Triathletes Organisation is a not-for-profit entity consisting of professional male and female triathletes who have come together to form a representative body which not only gives them a meaningful voice in the way the sport operates but a means to contribute to its growth for the benefit of the entire triathlon community. The PTO seeks to showcase the passion, talents, determination, struggles and achievements of its dedicated professionals through iconic events, reimagined broadcast and compelling storytelling, inspiring global sports fans to watch, engage and participate in Triathlon.

Age Group registration is now open.
Sign up at events.staging-ptowebsitelivewp.kinsta.cloud/pto-tour/

Contact
Jane Hansom
Head of Communications
E: [email protected]
M: +44 (0) 7703 481 478