About UCLA Triathlon

The UCLA Triathlon Team is student-run organization and an official club sport of the UCLA Recreation Department. In addition to a structured coached program for students, UCLA Triathlon also provides coaching and a team atmosphere for staff, faculty, alumni, and community members. UCLA Triathlon also hosts public clinics, youth and elite summer camps, and a program designed to support the involvement of blind athletes in triathlon.

How Does the program work? (Training)
The club program includes a custom and periodized training program, designed by coach Gareth Thomas, which aims to peak athletes for specific races throughout the season. The program also includes weekly workouts coached by Gareth and his coaching staff. All club members also have access to the world-class athletic facilities at UCLA. Below is an example of a periodization program developed for the team.

How does the program work? (Racing)
The team selects the key races that the team will focus on that season. These mainly include sprint and olympic distance races. The team covers travel and loding expenses for key races. The triathlon season begins in March and runs through October, with most key races occuring in April/May and September.

For more information, please visit: http://www.triathlon.ucla.edu/

There’s a place on the Southern California coastline where courage has many faces …a home for heroes where perseverance comes through the door with a first name …a caring organization where dreams are nourished and brave hearts strive daily to reach lofty goals. This place is unlike any other in the world. This is the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF).

Quick Facts
CAF Established: 1997
First SDTC: 1994
Funds Raised: More than $11 million
Grants Distributed: More than 2,100
Age of Grant Recipients: 5 - 69

How Did It Begin?
CAF grew out of a desire to assist one athlete – trailblazing below-knee-amputee endurance racer Jim MacLaren – who suffered a devastating second accident while competing in a triathlon. Hit by a car during the bike leg, Jim was paralyzed from the neck down. His many friends quickly decided to raise funds for his recovery, and organized the first San Diego Triathlon Challenge (SDTC) – an annual fundraising triathlon event at La Jolla Cove. From this modest beginning arose a more important mission – to make sure that people with physical challenges have the same freedom to enjoy sports that the rest of us take for granted.

How Do We Help?
Since 1994, CAF has raised more than $11 million – allowing the Foundation to satisfy thousands of funding requests from challenged athletes in all 50 states and dozens of countries. Eighty-two cents of every dollar raised by CAF provides funding, programs and a growing endowment fund that is getting challenged athletes into the game - and will continue to do so into the future.. Whether it’s a $2,000 handcycle, helping underwrite a $15,000 running prosthetic or arranging enthusiastic encouragement from a mentor who has triumphed over a similar injury, CAF’s mission is clear: give those with the desire to live active, competitive lifestyles every opportunity to compete in the sports they love. At the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece 45 of the 235 participating U.S. athletes (almost 20 percent) were supported by CAF. More recently at the 2006 Winter Paralympic Games in Torino, Itlay, CAF supported 23 of the 56 (41 percent) participating U.S. athletes.

For more information, please visit: http://www.challengedathletes.org/