CHANHASSEN, Minn. & TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IRONMAN and Life Time—The Healthy Way of Life CompanySM (NYSE: LTM), today announced the appointment of 12 women to its founding Women For Tri™ Board of Advisors.
Long recognized for their profound impact upon the sport of triathlon, the two organizations launched the Women For Tri™ initiative with a vision to welcome and empower new female triathletes to be part of the sport’s continued exponential growth. A board selection committee led by IRONMAN and Life Time reviewed more than 650 applications and narrowed the field to 12. The team of appointed influential women, who collectively represent an impressive wealth of professional and personal achievements, were selected to develop a five-year strategy and action plan for the movement.
“We are very pleased with the tremendous outpouring of interest in this initiative, choosing just twelve women for the board was certainly not easy. I would like to thank all of the applicants for sharing in our passion to develop female participation and grow the sport of triathlon,” said Andrew Messick, Chief Executive Officer for IRONMAN. “Women For Tri will play a very important role in the future success of triathlon and we look forward to collaborating with Life Time and the Board of Advisors on this initiative.”
The new board will work to unite and empower female athletes of all ages and fitness levels by breaking down barriers to entry and helping more women accomplish their fitness goals in a sport that continues to thrive internationally. Both IRONMAN and Life Time consider the recent and continued growth of female participants in triathlon of vital importance to the sport and endurance industry. Recently, Life Time powered by IRONMAN held an Indoor Triathlon Hour at 77 Life Time destinations nationwide that saw a female participation rate of 54 percent.
“The Iron Girl® series (owned and operated by IRONMAN) and the Esprit de She series (owned and operated by Life Time) both continue to see enormous growth among new triathletes,” says Kimo Seymour, Senior Vice President, Life Time Media and Events. “The goal of Women For Tri is to mobilize greater interest in the sport and provide an approachable, accessible and meaningful platform for women to achieve their fitness ambitions through triathlon.”
One of the areas of focus for this initiative will be the creation of a Women For Tri Ambassador Team to develop and lead a networking and social community for women in triathlon. The Ambassador Team will mentor and help cultivate new athletes, while providing support to first timers throughout their training all the way to the finish line. The community will remain connected via social media through the #womenfortri hashtag.
The inaugural Women For Tri Board of Advisors includes:
MEREDITH ATWOOD, Roswell, GA
Attorney, Blogger, Author
Meredith
authored Triathlon for the Every Woman, a funny, informative book
that empowers women of all backgrounds to become triathletes. She’s an
attorney as well as a USAT Level 1, Youth and Junior certified triathlon
coach, and contributor to Triathlete Magazine. Meredith completed
her first IRONMAN® triathlon in 2013 and blogs at SwimBikeMom.com.
HILLARY BISCAY, Tucson, AZ
Professional Triathlete, Owner
Smashfest Queen, Inc.
Hillary is a professional triathlete and
coach with 66 full distance finishes under her belt, including a win at
IRONMAN® Wisconsin. She’s also the first person to record six
Top 5 IRONMAN® triathlon finishes in one season. Hillary is
the Co-Founder of Smashfest Queen, Inc., a women’s sport and casual
apparel company.
BONNI BROOKS, Fairbanks, AK
National Director, Team In
Training
Bonni is a National Director for Team In Training at
the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, providing coaching and team support for
participants in a variety of athletic events across the world. Team In
Training athletes, in exchange for training and support, raise money
towards cures for blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. In
total, Team In Training has trained more than 500,000 runners, walkers,
triathletes, cyclists and hikers, raising more than $1.4 billion to fund
lifesaving research.
CASEY CORTESE, Denver, CO
Vice President Marketing,
Transamerica
Casey is a marketing expert with several strategic
ties to the active lifestyle and business communities. She’s also
responsible for the creation of several award-winning sponsorship
programs, most notably the Janus Charity Challenge, a national
triathlon-based fundraising initiative which raised nearly $55 million
for charities throughout the U.S. In February 2015, she’ll be working to
complete a half marathon on every continent.
LEESA EICHBERGER, Encinitas, CA
CMO, Consultant
Leesa has
over 20 years of experience in consumer marketing, and was most recently
the CMO of Jenny Craig. While at Jenny Craig, she was named one of the
Top 100 CMOs on Twitter. She has a passion for health, wellness and
fitness, and has been an active triathlete since 2007. Leesa also serves
on the Board of Directors for the California Avocado Commission.
MOIRA HORAN, Spring Lake Heights, NJ
Co-Founder, Jersey
Girls StayStrong Multisport Club
Moira has participated in
countless marathons, IRONMAN®, IRONMAN® 70.3®
and other triathlons since 1993. Her focus over the past several years
has been on sharing her experiences and training others as a USA
Triathlon Coach Certified Level 1 and Level 2 Total Immersion Swim
instructor. She founded the Jersey Girls Triathlon in 2010 and started
the Jersey Girls StayStrong Foundation in 2012.
CRIS HOWARD, Reston, VA
Global Project Director, Covance
Cris
created the Well Steps® program providing turnkey wellness
solutions such as individual health coaching to companies large and
small. Johnson & Johnson awarded Well Steps® program with
its Chairman Award and implemented the program in a series of clinical
trials spanning 41 countries. Cris has eight years of triathlon
experience.
KATHERINE KELLY LANG, Hollywood, CA
Emmy-Award Winning
Actress
Katherine is an Emmy-Award winning producer, actress,
spokesperson/ambassador of Breakaway from Cancer and avid triathlete.
Her love for the sport and extensive social media following will help
the initiative reach a new audience, empowering a large group of her
supporters to try the sport. Katherine has competed in two IRONMAN®
70.3® events and plans to do an IRONMAN® triathlon
this year.
BROOKE MALLICK, Chicago, IL
Marketing Manager, Gatorade
As
a part of the Gatorade team, Brooke was charged with running G-Feat, an
initiative Gatorade implemented internally to encourage its employees to
be more active. G-Feat’s main pillars of focus: education, training and
competition, and athlete outreach, which are synergetic with the work
the Women For Tri board will be tasked to carry out. She has
participated in multiple triathlons, including the IRONMAN®
70.3® Racine triathlon.
JULIA BEESON POLLORENO, San Diego, CA
Editor in Chief,
Triathlete Magazine
Julia is the Editor in Chief of Triathlete
Magazine, and is deeply rooted in the sport of triathlon. She will
be instrumental in content development and education for both beginner
and elite athletes. Julia, a mother of two children, is a multiple-time
IRONMAN® and IRONMAN® 70.3® finisher.
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Phoenix, AZ
U.S. Representative, Arizona
– 9th Congressional District
Kyrsten
is the first sitting Member of Congress to complete an IRONMAN®
triathlon. She also enjoys competing in Life Time Tri and Esprit de She
events in her home state of Arizona. Kyrsten has previous experience
bringing women into the sport and is passionate about the opportunity to
use her influence to drive Women For Tri.
DR. KAREN SMITH, Newport Coast, CA
Sr. VP Global Head,
R&D, Allergen
Karen is a frequent speaker at Women in
Business, and sits on the Board of Advisors of the California
Chapters for Girl Scouts and the Susan G. Komen Foundation in Orange
County. She won the 2014 Orange County Women in Business Award,
and is known as a respected leader in the community with an extensive
background in business and the health/medical field. She recently
completed her seventh IRONMAN® triathlon.
For more information about the Women For Tri™ movement, visit www.ironman.com/womenfortri or contact womenfortri@ironman.com. Information on how to join the Women For Tri Ambassador Team will be announced in the coming months. For more information on the IRONMAN brand and global event series, visit www.ironman.com. More information about Life Time Athletic Events can be found at www.eventsbylifetime.com.
Media may contact press@ironman.com or athleticeventspr@lifetimefitness.com.
ABOUT IRONMAN
The iconic IRONMAN®
Series of events is the largest participation sports platform in the
world. Since the inception of the IRONMAN® brand in 1978,
athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE® by crossing
finish lines at the world’s most challenging endurance races. Recognized
for excellence through distinguished events, world-class athletes and
quality products, IRONMAN has grown from a single race to a global
sensation with more than 190 events across five unique brands: IRONMAN®,
IRONMAN 70.3®, 5150™ Triathlon Series, Iron Girl®
and IRONKIDS®. For more information, visit www.ironman.com.
ABOUT LIFE TIME FITNESS, INC.
As
The Healthy Way of Life CompanySM, Life Time Fitness
(NYSE:LTM) helps organizations, communities and individuals achieve
their total health objectives, athletic aspirations and fitness goals by
engaging in their areas of interest — or discovering new passions — both
inside and outside of Life Time’s distinctive and large sports,
professional fitness, family recreation and spa destinations, most of
which operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Company’s healthy
way of life approach enables members to achieve this by providing the
best programs, people and places of uncompromising quality and value. As
of Jan. 26, 2015, the Company operates 113 centers under the LIFE TIME
FITNESS® and LIFE TIME ATHLETIC® brands in the
United States and Canada. Additional information about Life Time
centers, programs and services is available at lifetimefitness.com.
