i’m copying text from my last post on the other recent thread which is so long now i’m not sure who may read the whole darn thing. i feel compelled to do a separate post in case anyone has an interest in the follow-up on the questions surrounding water quality and venue testing for the New York City Triathlon;
ALL:
i just spent 40 minutes on the phone with Bill Burke at Premier Event Management. i initiated the call after hitting another point of frustration with the questions posed to date. Bill did not dodge the call. i prefaced the conversation with the comment, “…you may not want to talk with me.” he did however…and openly addressed the surrounding issues and questions. it was a frank exchange which did not involve raised voices, lawsuit threats, or any negativity in any fashion.
despite earlier indications or lack of clarification, Bill was and is the Race Director of the New York City Triathlon. no need to go into why that clarification was not presented earlier.
Bill knows his way around the sport. he reviewed the water quality data prior to the event. in conjunction with ITU and USAT staff on site, the water quality data was deemed to be within the window of acceptability and the race went on.
after talking with Bill about the safety factors he views in advance of an event, and how he applied those factors to the New York City Triathlon, i have no question he kept participant safety first and foremost on his list.
i did not, and will not, press Bill about the testing entity relied upon for the safety review at the event.
i will admit to having some second thoughts about the way this was all going.
after talking with Bill about some related sidebar issues, feel that i have been pushing something that maybe did not need pushing. for that i apologize to Bill and those connected with the NYC Triathlon. i am also sorry if i helped create a negative impression of the event in anyone’s mind.
still not sure if i want to jump into the Hudson, but that is an aside from the main points of this thread. still not sure if USAT should be allowed to keep safety data under a shroud, but for me now, that is another question for another debate.