GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Organizers of the 2020 Grand Rapids Triathlon have postponed the 10th anniversary race as the situation around COVID-19 continues to evolve.
The event was scheduled to take place on June 14. It has now been postponed to June 13, 2021.
Tris4Health, the organizing committee, has been coordinating with USA Triathlon and was closely monitoring critical developments in recent weeks, including a recommendation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to cancel or postpone in-person events that consist of 50 people or more throughout the United States. Given the large size of the event and the required close contact of the sport of triathlon, the difficult decision has been made to postpone the event until next year.
“We realize that these are unexpected and difficult times and view the multi-sport community as part of our extended family. We are a small, family-owned business that puts on just a handful of events per year and rely on income from athlete registrations to host our events safely and effectively,” said Jon Conkling, Co-Race Director. “Canceling events is never an easy decision to make, and we know that this news is disappointing to a lot of athletes, just as it is disappointing to us. Our team began working on the 2020 race long before we had even put on the 2019 race. We have poured our hearts and souls, as well as thousands of hours, into this event. We are triathletes as well as race directors and understand the hours of training dedicated to racing, but this cancellation was made with the safety of the entire community in mind.”
In lieu of the physical event, all registrants will be offered a virtual option complete with timing, special edition medals and shirts and finisher pictures. This new replacement event is Grand Rapids VIRTUAL Triathlon 9.5.
This will be the default option for athletes who are already registered, and a portion of their registration fee will benefit the primary charity partner, Make-a-Wish Michigan, along with Kids’ Food Basket. The virtual option will be available for sign-up for those not currently registered for a flat fee and will run the whole month of June.
Athletes will also be given the opportunity to donate their 2020 race entry fee to be split evenly between Make-A-Wish Michigan and Kids’ Food Basket (after an administrative fee) or have it deferred for free to next year’s event.
All information regarding the postponement of this year’s event, including how to sign up for the virtual event can be found on Grandrapidstri.com.
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