As they line up for this weekend’s Challenge Family triathlon in Canberra, there is a very good chance the athletes will have already realised that they are part of something much more than just a race.
Anyone who takes part in a Challenge Family event understands that this is not purely about the swimming, riding and running; indeed, this is about being part of something special – a global community built on passion, connection, and pure love for the sport.
For CEO Jort Vlam, the impact of hosting these events means more than economic impact and sales revenues; it’s also about those things you cannot buy, such as atmosphere, belonging and an opportunity to live out your sporting dreams alongside like-minded competitors.
Togetherness and a strong community focus
The Challenge Family calendar – born out of, and in many ways inspired by, the success of the hugely popular Challenge Roth – has grown into an international series of races, with a reputation for delivering exceptional athlete and spectator experiences, a strong community focus and the goal of making memories for all involved.
As the series rolls into the Australian capital of Canberra this weekend, TRI247 caught up with a buoyant Jort Vlam to discuss the current and future plans for a race schedule that has continued to grow and thrive since its inception back in 2002.
“Our ethos comes from that feeling of belonging and doing something meaningful together, which has inspired all of us to do what we are doing now,” he explains. “We also believe that ‘togetherness’ is key to the longevity of the events and the growth of the sport.
“You can measure the success of an event in the number of viewers, or the economic impact for tourism, or the sales revenues for commercial partners. These are all valid and vital business objectives, but we believe the real success lies in host cities seeing improved social and health impacts, where tri-club members are getting motivated, where the youth get inspired, and where the biggest reward to volunteers is the smile of an athlete.
Making people’s dreams come true
“It can take some time to get the wheel spinning, but if you do it right, it will go on for a long time. That’s when you can say you’ve created a tradition. We are athletes ourselves, and we try to treat our athletes as we would like to be treated. We just want to make people’s dreams come true and to celebrate this together.”
And when they say ‘family’, they really mean it, with the focus very much on making everyone feel welcome, from the athletes through to the spectators, be they residents of the host city or tourists from afar.
“I think it’s about the things you can’t buy,” Vlam continues. “It’s the atmosphere, the Challenge Family feeling. From the silent moment of reflection before the start until the goosebumps at the finish line, it’s a long day. That requires sacrifices, support of the home front, and a year of preparation. We want to be there for the athlete from the moment they sign up until the moment they go home with their medal.
“We try to make that journey personal. We are a brand of people, not numbers. And a brand at which every athlete is treated as a hero, and where every athlete matters.”
Born out of the hugely popular Challenge Roth
After terminating their contract with IRONMAN in 2001 and deciding to go it alone under the guidance and vision of Herbert Walchshöfer, it took another six years before the first non-Roth event was held under the Challenge banner, with Wanaka in New Zealand joining the schedule.
Roth continues to be the inspiration behind everything they do. In an ideal world, they would clone everything about the Bavarian experience and transport it with them all around the world, but Vlam accepts it isn’t quite that simple.
“The magic of Roth is unique, and you can’t simply replicate that unless you’re a wizard. But of course, it always serves as a great inspiration for our other events,” he says. “It’s great that Roth helps with this, for example, with the new long-distance race in Quebec City. What we try to teach our organisers around the world is to remain self-critical. To always ask yourself what you can improve. To listen to the athletes and other partners.
“And that process is never finished. And you see it in Roth, too: every year, there is at least one new innovation. The team continues to develop the event. It’s one thing to reach Roth’s level, but people forget that it’s an even greater achievement to stay at that level and constantly exceed expectations.
“Roth remains the absolute top, but we are proud to have more legacy races on our calendar that have been around for a long time, like the iconic Challenge Wānaka and the Austrian races in Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee and St Pölten.”
Developing the sport as well as the business
The Challenge Family roster now includes more than 30 races across 20 countries and attracts thousands of competitors and fans every year. And they have no intentions of stopping there as they look to build on their success and play a key role in developing the sport as well as their business.
“I think the biggest achievement is that we have grown to be an established player on the market with a recognisable and authentic brand that is all about the athletes and helping the sport move forward,” said Vlam. “We do that with grassroots races in new territories and also with innovations like the 20-metre non-drafting rule, the first six-digit prize purse, and facilitating the pro athletes in their journey to professionalise.
“Triathlon is becoming more and more popular. It is very encouraging that we also see an increase in the younger age groups, and we are just releasing a student discount to stimulate that trend even more.
“I wouldn’t say we are mainstream yet, but I think we are playing a big part in getting the message across that everyone could do triathlon – not only those who train 20+ hours a week – and ideally, at some point in the future we will find ourselves in a world where triathlon is a mainstream sport and where athletes have a healthy choice of different event formats.
“And we will do this in the Challenge Family way: think global, act local. And we do this together with all our partners: the athletes, organisers, hosting cities, tourism organisations, sponsors, clubs, volunteers, federations and other parties in the triathlon industry.”
The Challenge Canberra middle-distance triathlon takes place in the Australian capital this weekend, with a 1.9km swim in Lake Burley Griffin, a 90km bike ride taking in some of the key sights such as the National Arboretum and Australian War Memorial, and finishing with a 21km run through Commonwealth Park.
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