Youth Assistance

Gearing Up Program

A triathlon can be a life-changing experience for its participants. Unlike team sports, which usually end at the high school level, children can pursue triathlon or swimming/biking/running into adulthood and beyond. They may not wind up a scholarship athlete, but most can run a 5k, or sign up for their local masters program. The skills acquired from triathlon are also practical, as a skilled swimmer is typically a safer swimmer, and teaching your child to use a road bike provides them with a sneak preview of the rules of the road for when they learn to drive. Finally, though it starts as an individual activity, those who excel in the sport typically find themselves joining a team and/or forming friendships with fellow athletes in the sport. It is truly a sport where “the more the merrier” applies, and kids often find themselves in positive peer groups for years by getting involved in triathlon. Thus, the health and viability of triathlon as a sport depends on its ability to attract new participants.

Unfortunately, financial barriers can hinder access to triathlon for many families, who are understandably reluctant to spend large amounts of money, in advance, on a sport their child may not pursue long-term. And those kids whose parents stretch to fund their participation often feel the burden imposed by the financial realities of the sport. Finances also dictate the cost and availability of quality road bikes; as noted in our Buyer’s Guide, kids road bikes are being phased out of the market, and are usually quite expensive. We believe that the best way to help young athletes discover the sport without finances getting in the way is to provide them with bikes.

Therefore, we will sponsor five (and eventually ten) youth triathletes in Tampa Bay, Orlando, and the surrounding areas. We will lend each a youth-sized road bike and provide them with introductory training and ongoing support for it. We are calling this initiative the Gearing Up Program.

Depending on need and availability, we will also provide our Gearing Up athletes with race fee assistance.

The coaches you see bolded on our Coaches & Clubs page have also offered to provide our Gearing Up athletes (as well as any young athlete who finds out about them through this site ) with at least one introductory/orientation lesson, free of charge. 

Our goal is to launch with our first group of five kids in mid-May 2025. We will take applications March 8, 2025 (Citrus County Kids Tri) through April 26, 2025 (Meek n Mighty), and plan to have representatives at each of the Youth State Series events. We are looking for young athletes who have already tried a triathlon and would like the opportunity to pursue it as a sport, with a fall 2025 race in mind.

Gearing Up Terms

We want to provide the best experience possible for the athletes we sponsor, ensuring they receive a bike that fits, and assistance in case something goes wrong. As you can also see from our Coaches & Clubs section, we remain in need of coaches in many areas of the state willing to agree to help potential athletes. For those and other reasons, we have established several terms and conditions for participation in the program, including, but not limited to the following:

1. You must reside in one of the following ten Florida counties: Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lake, Orange, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk,  Sumter, or Seminole. Please be prepared to show proof of residency.

2. Only children born on or between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2018 are eligible. Please be prepared to provide a birth certificate upon request.

3. We will require two non-family references ( teacher, coach, clergy, etc.). We may also contact your current coaches.

4. We only provide road bikes designed for children in a very specific range of sizes. For this reason, we need to verify your child’s height, in-person, before we accept your application, We also ask that you measure your child’s inseam yourself, and provide us with that information. 

5. You must provide proof of prior participation in a youth triathlon of some sort in 2024 or 2025

6. You must sign a written contract, which will outline your responsibilities. It will also include liability and publicity releases, and you will be required to follow a parent/child code of conduct.

7. We will require you to attend an orientation session, and make regular contact with us throughout the program.

Please contact us with any additional questions you have about the program or application process

Race Day Assistance

Have an issue on race day? Forgot your race belt? Need a sharpie? Got a flat and suddenly need a tube that nobody makes anymore? We’re here to help with that, and more.

If you are a race director planning on having an on-site mechanic, please reach out to us in advance; we’d love to stock them with an emergency kit of now hard-to-find replacement tires and tubes. 

We plan on having at least one volunteer present with an emergency kit at each of this year’s state series events. If you are willing to assist us with this, or would like to request our emergency kit for another race, please let us know.

Charities

The following charities provide support to youth triathletes in Florida, and nationally. If you know of any additional charities you think we should feature, please reach out to tell us more about them.

The Chris Nikic Foundation – A charity foundation focused on providing athletic opportunities to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, founded by world-famous Ironman & ESPY award winner Chris Nikic. 

SLAP HPS Boosters – SLAP HPS Boosters, Inc is a 501(c)(3) organization that helps sponsor several Florida athletes in their journey through draft legal racing both here and throughout the country.

USA Triathlon Foundation – An organization that acts as a charitable arm for USA Triathlon aimed at encouraging participation, fostering inclusion, and developing Olympic and Paralympic athletes.