Groups Battle For Triathlon Rights
By MANDY SHEETS

SEBRING — Although the date for the second annual Heartland Triathlon is set for July 15, organizers are still negotiating who is in charge.

Ridge Trails Association, a county-wide organization for the development of interconnected network trails, started the event but is now reluctantly striking a deal to give rights to the Sebring Chamber of Commerce. Both parties are considering entering an agreement for a five-year buyout, in which RTA would receive 20 percent of the triathlon’s profit for five years and then relinquish all rights to the event to the chamber.

The event was the brainchild of Dan Andrews, who pitched the idea to RTA a few years ago when he was vice president of the organization. Andrews worked with RTA for several years to plan the event and when he was hired as president of the chamber, he leveraged his resources there to recruit more sponsors.

Andrews resigned from the RTA board Jan. 29 but asked to retain his position as chairman of the triathlon.

Merritt O’Brien, president of RTA, said he assumed Andrews meant he would serve in that capacity through RTA, but about a week later he received a letter from Andrews saying the chamber would be running the event.

“We spent two and half years on this, and we put you in charge as an RTA member,” O’Brien said to Andrews at a meeting between the two parties Thursday. “I find serious fault with you usurping this event for the chamber of commerce.”

Andrews said the chamber’s board of directors told him because he committed so much of his time and the chamber’s resources, the chamber should be in charge of the event and should receive a share of the profits.

“The triathlon is a very viable event that the community really embraces,” Andrews said. “But I think the community also feels like it’s the chamber’s event.”

Jack Richie, RTA board member, said RTA didn’t plan the event for the recognition.

“The original reason for the triathlon, besides creating a great community event, was to find a cash flow for RTA so that we could work on our goals to establish trails,” Richie said.

Members of the RTA board said it’s not a large enough organization to single-handedly run the event, which is expected to attract about 500 athletes this year.

“I think we just need to figure out an amount we can agree on and you go your way and we go ours,” O’Brien said to Andrews. “I find fault with being involved by two and a half years in a project and getting shut out by one of our own.”

The agreement, which the chamber board of directors will vote on at its March 6 meeting, will give RTA 20 percent and RTA has no obligation to provide volunteers or help with the event.

“I personally think it’s a reasonable agreement,” Andrews told the RTA board. “It will give you the consistent revenue stream your organization needs to grow. Your organization doesn’t need to be running a triathlon. You need to be promoting the construction of trails.”