Was hoping to get some advice about starting a tri club. I am currently in a triathlon clinic at the YMCA and have asked them why they do not set up a tri club as well. Big mistake as now I am responsible for sitting down with them and coming up with the answers (which I have some ideas but not all of them) I have been in other clubs but not one that is affiliated with someone like the YMCA. Currently the clinic meets Monday (bike), Wednesdays (run) and Friday (swim). These are all coached workouts (coaching could be better in the swimming part).
My idea is to have the new people from the clinic join the club after and build a club with veterans and newbies. There are a lot of triathletes in the area that are looking for something like this to be started up (me for one)
So any ideas would be appreciated. I have a local bike shop that is interested already as a sponsor, a running shop that would be interested and of course the YMCA for the facility (pool).
I’ve started a new small club in the area over the winter and we’ll be having our first meeting in a week. E-mail me with some of the questions you have.
I have been involved with setting up a tri club a couple years ago and a new bike team this year.
What I have done, and would be happy to help with, is
Create By-Laws - with help of atty
file Articles of Inc in CA as a tax exempt corporation
make phone call for FEIN from IRS
open checking account with the above items
apply for CA resale certificate
obtain club liability insurance
File form 1023 with the IRS to be recognized as a 501c3 charity
I am now the treasurer of a tri club, bike team and tandem bike club. It really is not that tough and I can help with most of it depending on what state you are in.
It is best to do this right away when you have people all fired up.
The woman who started our tri group looked at local area triathlon results posted on the net. She made note of people within a reasonable radius of our area and then phoned them to ask if they wanted to start a tri group. It was quite successful in getting our group going.
Let’s get the semantics right. Is this a club/team or an organization?
An organization will act as a comprehensive companion to the triathlete. It will provide expert resources, content, and training to the community. The organization will create leverage at local and national levels to obtain sponsors, ink major partnership deals, or obtain agreements with local governments and sports bodies (such as USAT). And of course it will have a comprehensive website as the front to physical offerings. This mode requires proper legal and fiscal structure. (incorporation or perhaps tax exemption). This mode also requires a team of dedicated executives with a passion for triathlon to create and execute on a multi-year strategy. If done right it would be a real business and would indeed enhance the triathlete community’s experience while also growing that community. Organizations are almost entirely independent and not an extension of a gym or pool or runners club or a store. True organizations are rare but the ones that exist and have done things right get real cash from sponsors (as apposed to mere singlets, water bottles, or discounts to over priced equipment).
A ‘club/team’, however is usually an extension of the ‘buddy list’. Throw a website at it and a few USAT certified triathletes acting as coaches and you have it. This mode may not require the rigid legal requirements of a comprehensive organization. Club/teams, which are quite common, are also quite often extensions of existing entities such as gyms or sport shops. These organizations will usually have a difficult time generating real sponsor cash (mainly becase they aren’t independent). They might end up with a few store discounts and a free singlet or two but that is basically it.