1. Racing for a Cause Cepatrihawks.com

2. NAMI- National Alliance on Mental Illness

3. Mission Statement
To use the passion and dedication of the multi-sport community to raise awareness of adolescent issues related to mental health.
To empower youth, ages 13-19, in the Central Pennsylvania area to become healthier both physically and mentally through endurance sports.

4. USA Triathlon
You MUST purchase a membership through USAT in order to race. Purchasing a yearly membership gives you some benefits throughout the year.
Youth Annual- $10
Applications for membership can be found at usatriathlon.org
Age Groups
Junior Elite: 16-19
Youth Elite: (Must be in the 8th grade or above)

5. USA TRIATHLON About Membership
USA Triathlon offers an Adult ($50) and Youth ($10) Annual Membership. This 12 month membership eliminates the requirement to purchase one-day memberships for any USA Triathlon sanctioned event and comes with exclusive sponsor discounts from USA Triathlon Partners.   
USA Triathlon’s membership program is comprised of 510,000+ members living a healthy lifestyle. Annual Members of USA Triathlon receive information to take their training to the next level, access to great discounts on products and services, and the satisfaction of providing support for programs designed to promote and grow multi-sport throughout the country.
Some examples of initiatives members support are:
Youth development
Club growth 
Ensuring safety and fairness at over 4,243 multisport events 
Coaching certification 
Olympic team development 
Promoting the benefits of the multisport lifestyle

6. Training
Athletes will largely be responsible for their own training with some group training sessions announced from time to time as requested/needed. This will be determined as we go based on the group. These group sessions will be utilized to train as well as discuss different aspects of the sport and its goals such as safety, nutrition, as well as positive thinking and coping skills.
I will post a training calendar on our website (yes we have a website already thanks to Caz)
This calendar will be important to keep up your training and to keep track of meeting dates and group training opportunities
Training is flexible. You do what you can when you can….just remember that you will be standing on that start line…preparation is key!

7. Race Schedule
Team will select sprint distance races to focus preparation. The following races are the proposed race for the inaugural year:
Keystone State triathlon- Sunday, August 27th (Ages 13 and over as of 12/31/2017)
Sprint Tri- .5 mi swim/18.2 mi bike/3.2 mi run
2018 High School National Championships
This year the 2017 USA Triathlon High School National Championships will be hosted in conjunction with the USA Triathlon Collegiate Club National Championships on April 21, 2017 at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
There are many others we can consider- Summer swimming makes Saturdays an issue, but we can work around that and find races you want to do.
Athletes may race as often as they wish, but the group will be all in for the team A race.
I will contact the Race officials to see if they will extend a discounted registration for our team members, but you will have to pay to race. Perhaps we can do a fundraiser or two to help with this???? Maybe find a sponsor in the area…I am all ears!

8. Team Uniforms
We will have team tri tops designed and made available to purchase. The hope is to find monetary donations to help defray some of the cost of the uniforms. Purchasing the top to be worn at races will heighten awareness of the team and its mission and make us more visible. I will get more information together regarding pricing as we move forward. Thoughts on the design?

9. Added Benefits of being a Tri-Hawk
Tri-Sports – 20% off all orders.
Xterra Wetsuits – Providing us with used suits at $20…regularly $300. (yes they are cleaned and only need a little TLC with patch and they will be ready to go).
Rudy Project (Helmets and Sunglasses)- waiting to speak to them but should be able to get a % discount on items.
… many others in the works- (we need to determine our needs)
including bikes and bike maintenance

10. Getting Started What you will NEED to have
SWIM
Goggles- any goggles will work, again, be sure that they seal well and that they are comfortable. Open water swimming is a bit different, you don’t want leaks during your swim leg. It is best to have the team uniform which is designed to be worn for all 3 legs of the race. Wetsuit is optional but not necessary. We might be getting a great deal form Xterra.
BIKE
Any bike will work, but a decent road bike with multiple gears is suggested as you will be hitting hills as well as flats. This is definitely the biggest hurdle a triathlete faces as bikes are not cheap. Perhaps you know someone who trusts you enough to let you borrow theirs? If you use a mountain bike or a hybrid, you should probably invest in some road slicks so that you aren’t fighting that aspect as much.
RUN
Good running shoes. Your old kick around shoes may not be the best thing to use and could lead to injury. Make sure that you have shoes with proper support and that they fit well as you will be logging some miles training and racing. I do get a discount through a membership with the running warehouse, so let me know if you want to order something specifically.
Clothes
Tri specific shorts are best. These can usually be found relatively inexpensively. We will just go with black bottoms. Buy whatever brand you want, I usually go with what is on sale/clearance. The Tri Top mentioned previously takes care of much of this issue, its worth having in my mind.

11. HOW FAR DO I HAVE TO RACE ? What are the different Distances???
Full Iron
2.4 Mile Swim/112 Mile Bike/ 26.2 Mile Run
Half Iron
1.2 Mile Swim/ 56 Mile Bike/ 13.1 Mile Run
International (ITU)
1.86 Mile Swim/ 49.6 Mile Bike/ 12.4 Mile Run
Olympic
.93 Mile Swim/ 24.8 Mile Bike/ 6.2 Mile Run
Sprint
.5 Mile Swim/ 12.4 Mile Bike/ 3.1 Mile Run
Most races allow for relay events…your goal is to do one sprint on your own, but we can certainly have relay teams racing if they are offered at the races chosen.

12. WEBSITE www.cepatri-hawks.com
Caz Mikula has been gracious enough to help design a website which we will continue to develop. Many links can be found there: