The Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) has announced that for the first time in North America, prize money will be offered at a Paratriathlon Championship. Male and female athletes in all six Paratriathlon classes will compete against each other for a $4,500 total purse at the Accenture Challenged Athletes National Championship held during the 2012 New York City Triathlon.
To identify the winners, male and female “par” scores have been developed for each of the six Paratriathlon classes. The individuals who come closest toor beatthese targeted times will be declared the winners. Prize money will be awarded for first ($1,000), second ($750), and third ($500) place to the overall male and female finishers. The par scores for each category will be posted on the NYC Triathlon website.
“We are very excited to team with Accenture (headquartered in Dublin, Ireland) and Korff Enterprises (New York, New York) to present the Accenture Challenged Athletes National Championship,” said Virginia Tinley, CAF executive director. “Our mission is to provide unique sporting opportunities to physically challenged individuals, and in doing so, to educate and inspire the general community. This event does all of those things, and introduces an exciting new format that will enable the ‘best of the best’ male and female paratriathletes to rise to the forefront.”
To ensure that challenged athletes across the United States and around the world have the opportunity to participate in this unique race, CAF will offer travel stipends of up to $1,000 in travel support to 15 qualified challenged athletes. Individuals can apply for these grants through the CAF website and will be chosen at the discretion of CAF.
