La Jolla, Calif. – July 10, 2000 – The World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) and Active.com (www.active.com), the leading online registration company for participatory sports, today announced a partnership to provide online registration for the 2001 Ironman Triathlon lottery. Athletes can now register for the lottery - which features 200 open spots for the October 6, 2001 Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Kona, Hawaii - online at www.ironmanlive.com. or www.active.com).
"For 17 years, the Ironman lottery has given everyday triathletes an opportunity to race among the world's best," said Lew Friedland, president, World Triathlon Corporation. "Now, for the first time, participants worldwide can take part in that same process through the ease of the Internet."
The Ironman Triathlon World Championship is one of the most "in demand" athletic events in the world and qualifying for the event gets more difficult each year. The lottery provides another option to enter the race.
Requiring a non-refundable application fee of $35 (USD), the lottery offers 150 spots for United States citizens and 50 spots for international applicants. WTC and Active.com are offering early registrants - participants registering prior to August 30, 2000 - $20 coupons good toward future online purchases at Road Runner Sports (www.roadrunnersports.com). The deadline for lottery applications is February 28, 2001.
"We're pleased to partner with World Triathlon Corporation and are excited about the opportunity to offer triathletes from around the world the convenience and time savings of a Web-based lottery application process," said Dave Alberga, president and chief executive officer, Active.com. A key component of this partnership is Active.com's selection by WTC as the exclusive online registration provider for the 2001 lottery.
After processing all lottery entries, Ironman officials conduct a computerized drawing. If selected in the lottery, athletes must complete a half-Ironman or greater distance triathlon in order to validate their spot. Lottery spots are non-transferable and are only valid for the year in which the athlete is selected. For more information, contact Priscilla Fraiegari, WTC, at 727.942.4767 ext 320 or Priscilla@ironmantri.com.
About World Triathlon Corporation
World Triathlon Corp. is owner of the Ironman Triathlon World Championship and the Ironman Triathlon trademark, which it licenses to 14 other triathlons in Europe, North America, the Pacific Rim and Africa. The company is based in Tarpon Springs, Florida. The Ironman championship is the year's key event for triathletes, comprised of a 2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bike race and 26.2 mile run. Competitors have 17 hours to finish the race, with cutoff times applied to each segment of the race. The race is based in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, and includes nearly 1,500 competitors, ages 18 to 80, from 50 countries, including the United States. The race's purse is $325,000.
About Active.com
The leading online registration company for participatory sports and recreational activities, La Jolla-based Active.com (www.active.com) has solved age-old problems for event directors, league administrators and park directors by moving their inefficient, paper-based registration process to the Web and giving them a powerful set of data management tools. Active.com is used and endorsed by the most influential sports governing bodies and has exclusive partnerships with major Internet and media outlets. For participants, Active.com provides the most comprehensive worldwide database to find, learn about and register for sports and recreational activities online. For more information, visit www.active.com or call 888-543-7223./p>