I would contact the race director first and see what reason is offered for failing to submit the full refund as noted on active.com. I would not let them get away with only refunding $30. It has more to do with principle than anything else. They are stealing from you if they are trying to get away with this.

Unless there is a very good reason for not submitting the entire refund to you, I would contact USAT so that they are aware of the situation.

I would absolutely do what you can to get a refund, however, in signing up for IMUSA next year, I read the entire disclaimer, which states(I'm paraphrasing) that the majority of the money to put on a race is spent prior to race day. This money goes into planning, hiring services, buying the needed equipment and supplies, etc. Therefore, if IMNA makes its best efforts to put on the race, but is unable to do so due to unforeseeable occurrances, you are not entitled to a refund. You will be entitled to entry for the following year....but you have to pay for that all over again.

That said, I think that you are probably lucky if you get any more than you already have, and legally, you are probably at the whim of the RD, given the disclaimers you have to sign absolving the RD of any responsibility for anything.

I'm a cheap b@st@rd, so I'd try to get the money. I just don't think it's very hopeful. BTW, have you noticed that active has been really pushing the whole "we don't ever do any refunds ever under any circumstances!" thing recently? I don't remember that from the springtime.

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He included a note (bit of a sob story) about how they could not refund all the money - how they were going to go broke if they did, how they had undermined the costs of cancelling the event, how they needed to salvage the club and were doing this for the greater good of the sport, bla,bla,bla.

Funny thing is they are non-profit: "... is a not for profit corporation involved in the promotion of the sport of triathlon through the production of sporting events and sports education. Our Goal is to create interest in and promote the development and growth of the sport of triathlon through the education of adults and youth and to strive for excellence in the production of our sponsored events and group programs."

There was no disclaimer that I'm aware of aside from the one from Active.com. But, Im not asking for a refund from Active.com. Im asking for a refund (100% refund) from the race organizers. The race organizers actually put up their own "disclaimer" of sorts AFTER the fact on Active.com: "If anyone has registered on Active.com or with us please understand you may obtain a refund OR you may stay registered for the race next August. The race will take place as usual next year on August 22, 2004 at Brodie Park on West Hill Lake in New Hartford. Sincerely, ..."

Another interesting thing is that some people got $30 refund while other got $39. Very odd.

What a bunch of crap - that is what Event Insurance is for. I would demand a FULL refund and let the RD know that road construction is NOT a sudden thing in most circumstances. When asking for a usage permit maybe he(she) should have asked "oh, by the way - you plan on tearing up that road?". I know that this year at the Tim Man Half there was construction...the RD let everyone know about 2 months ahead of time - there were no issues.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

"Another interesting thing is that some people got $30 refund while other got $39. Very odd."

Could the difference be the one-day USAT fees?

I feel your pain but I reread the bold print and I cannot find the word "full" anywhere. He could have sent you $5 and been within the parameters of his statment. I really think there should be some policy on the national level so everyone knows how much they are going to be refunded if they are refunded at all. It would make the choice whether to accept the refund or the future entry a lot easier. I would have taken the entry if I was only getting 30% back.

Bob Sigerson

Road construction is rarely unforeseen. It's planned years in advance. The only exception I've seen is when a major accident causes major road/bridge damage that requires immediate attention.

I wonder how Bill Phillips likes all the new stuff he got himself with your "donation" for the sport.





people sicken me

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

But road construction is also rarely completed in a timely manner. And construction delays in one area can cause the whole schedule to get messed up for other projects.

When you state that you will give a "refund" back, that means you give 100% back, not 30% or 39%. Should then guess that when he said there would be water provided at the race, that the water was going to be from his backyard pool? Come on, lets not even go there. Lets leave the mind games and play of words out of this.

People that signed-up the same week and were USAT members got different amounts. My buddy got $39 - I got $30. Same sob note to both of us, just different checks.

There was no road construction that was delayed. It was new road constructions which somehow he was not aware of and somehow left no alternate routes.

This triathlon had around 1000 people signed-up. At a $100 per entry, this guy just made $70,000. Thank God he is non-profit!! Funny thing is that if you go to the website, he lists about 20 sponsors, so not sure how he can claim to have spent $70,000 on a race that never happened when most if not all of the costs were most likely covered by the sponsors.

It bad enough when races are cancelled on race day because of weather or you suffer an unfortunate event and can't make the race. To lose $70 like this though is a bit hard to swallow.

What I wrote after the quote and it didn't appear was how irresponsible that statement was. How did Record know that Bearis was one of many to request a refund? What if he was the only one. How many sponsors keep contributing when there is no race? I would be willing to bet the RD lost money this year and is looking at a break even next year because he will get a lot fewer new registrations with all the holdovers.

Bob Sigerson

Sig,



You may be (and I hope you are) correct. However, with the recent rash of complaints about RD's and some that I know of (like at Lake Geneva WI) - it seems that the RD has the power to do what he wants when he wants no matter what. We dont know what this guy did with the money, but I can ASSURE you that the money was not all spent. I think that the RD in a situation like this has the responcibility to make public all of the financials for the race (that never was) so people can see where their money was spent. If the RD had 1200 T-Shirts made and they are now rags...fine...prove it. I have heard stories however, in Road Racing of RD's shorting a race one year to pool money for the next and "sweeten the pot" for awards to try and attract bigger names to their gig. Now, how would these 1000 people who paid $100.00 each feel if that was the case here? What if the RD was about to fault on his car loan and saw no other way? What if allot of things...It may be a shame but we just cant trust people to do the right thing any more...

I just think that the RD should post his numbers...and if he is NFP he should have no issues with that at all.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

"This triathlon had around 1000 people signed-up. At a $100 per entry, this guy just made $70,000. Thank God he is non-profit!!"

What does him being "non-profit" have to do with anything. Not sure there is such a thing as Non-Profit. It may be just a buzz word for Tax Exempt which means the entity does not pay income taxes. It does not mean he is not taking a salary and benefiting from the $70,000. Also, being a non-Profit does not mean it is a charitable organization so your $70-$100 may not be deductible if you do itemize on your return.

End of the day you are out $70.

Willy in Pacifica

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Willy in Pacifica

This is the same race director whose races are no longer sanctioned by USA Triathlon due to misrepresentation of sanctioning.http://nytri.blogspot.com/...1_nytri_archive.html

By the way, I got $39 back, I'm a yearly member.

Record9Ti

"I just think that the RD should post his numbers...and if he is NFP he should have no issues with that at all."

If CATS is indeed a "Non-Profit" entity then they are not paying income tax. They would have had to apply with the IRS to become a Tax Exempt entity and they must file Form 990 annually if their revenue is greater than $25,000. If all of this is true then they must supply anyone who asks with their past three years of the Form 990. This form will ahve the financials on it. If they collected $100,000 for the cancelled race then they diffinately have to file the form and most likely have had to in the past if they put on prior races.

Look on the IRS web site for Form 990 and look at the instruction. It spells out exactly what they are required to give you and how soon after you request it they have to give it to you.

Willy in Pacifica, CPA

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Willy in Pacifica

From USA Triathlon's Angela I. Flannery

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 28, 2003) --

USA Triathlon announced Monday that it will not sanction any 2003 events put on by the Connecticut Area Triathletes (CATS), a non-profit corporation run by race director Bill Phillips.

USA Triathlon came to this decision after learning that Phillips was promoting the Summer Tri Series as USA Triathlon-sanctioned, when he had not actually applied for sanctioning. This means that there was no insurance provided for these events and they will not count toward USAT rankings.

Phillips also collected $7 one-day license fees from race participants; but this money was never turned over to USA Triathlon. One-day license fees are actually $9.

If you participated in a CATS event this year and paid $7 for a one-day license, please contact Phillips at (860) 673-2477 or at swike7ct@aol.com to receive a $7 refund.

Now THAT sure sounds like fraud.

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I agree - this should have been handled better but there is no way there were 1000 people signed up. 300 tops. In any case, there's no excuse for not providing a reason why some people got a full refund (Yes - some did) while others only got 30 bucks.
I hope this mess gets cleaned up because there's a real need for an active club and racing in the area.

Last two years there were about 400 people. With the way Triathlon has been growing, I would be surprised if less than 450-500 signed-up. But even then, why return 33% and keep 67%. Means the guy is still pocketing over $30G. And why favor some people and give them 100% refund and others 33%?

This guy has issues-major issues. He has stolen from people in the past and he seems to have done it again. He has given CATS, USAT and Triathlon in general a bad name.

I agree, we need an active club and racing in the area but this is NOT it and I am NOT going to be the one funding it, at least not this way. Let someone else start an active club and races, or is this guy the only option?

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