Email from Hy-Vee Triathlon on Changes Due to Flooding

Below are the contents of an email to the particpants of the Hy-Vee Triathlon:

As participants of the 2008 Hy-Vee Triathlon we know how disappointed you must be to learn that we are hosting a Dry Tri this year due to extreme weather conditions. Trust us; we are very disappointed by the situation as well. While you’ve been training for months preparing for this race we’ve also been busy getting ready and were excited to watch all of you compete in each of the three events. Unfortunately we can’t control the weather and had to come up with a plan that keeps each of our kids, junior and age-group participants safe.

Since the Dry Tri announcement was made, we have received many questions and concerns from participants—we hope this e-mail will help field those.

First of all, please understand that eliminating the swim portion was the very last option on our list to consider. Over the past few weeks we met with various communities in the greater Des Moines area to host the swim event. However, all of these bodies of water, which include Gray’s Lake, Easter Lake, Copper Creek Lake, Raccoon River and Lakewood Lake, have all been impacted by abnormal amounts of rainfall and less than ideal temperatures, resulting in high bacteria counts, beyond the allowed limitations. To ensure that our kids, junior and age-group participants are safe, we had to do what was best and avoid potential health concerns and problems by eliminating the swim.

Having said this, USA Triathlon has asked us to continue exploring any options to accommodate an elite swim. While we are doing this, we are not optimistic we will find a swim venue that will be suitable to accommodate an elite swim, let alone an age-group swim. If there are dramatic improvements, we will consider any options to host the triathlon, but are currently proceeding with our plans for a world class duathlon.

Finally, unfortunately we are not offering refunds or the option of transferring registrations to those who are now unable to participate. If you read through your registration form again, you’ll see that the form explains our no-refund policy—this policy still remains in effect.

We greatly apologize for any inconvenience this causes but hope you’ll all join us on June 21 and 22 for what promises to be an exciting event!

For more info on the Hy-Vee Tri, click here to see my other blog entries.