Wildflower Triathlon 2017 Cancelled Due to Drough

Tri-California puts triathlon events on hold; focuses on event rental and traffic management division

Tri-California announced that it will not produce its iconic Wildflower Triathlon for 2017 – nor any of its other triathlon events – due to prolonged drought, the economic climate, and a decrease in triathlon participation.

Although the event planner pulled out all the stops to produce quality Wildflower events in 2015 and 2016 with alternate swim, run, bike, and run courses, participation was too low to make it economically feasible. In a ripple effect, low participation affected exhibitor, sponsor, and camping revenue. The financial losses proved too great to run the event without water levels high enough to hold it in one location.

Advertisement

Tri-California co-founder Terry Davis said, “In the 34 years that I have been producing the Wildflower Triathlons, I have never experienced anything that compares with the effect of the prolonged drought. There was only one year where we had to move the swim start from the Lynch area to the Harris Creek area, but the rains came in the winter and we were back to a Lynch with a full lake.” He added, “All of the other years for Wildflower starting in 1983 with 86 participants to 2007 with 7,000 participants were wonderful, exciting years filled with great hope, love and joy shared with the greater triathlon community, families and friends. Being involved with life changing experiences and creating memories for participants, spectators, family members, and industry visionaries has been a blessing that I will always reflect on.”

Davis anticipates returning the Wildflower Triathlon to its former glory once California’s drought is over and water levels are normal. He asserted, “There is not another event in the world like Wildflower and we need it in our sport.”

The same drought conditions that caused the Wildflower’s cancellation have also affected Lake Lopez in San Luis Obispo, cancelling Scott Tinley’s Triathlon for 2017.

At this time, Tri-California is not planning on producing any triathlons for the 2017 year. Davis explained, “The Wildflower Triathlon has been the base of our triathlon business and made producing the other triathlons possible. We will wait for the drought to end and then assess the triathlon industry to determine our future plans. We have downsized our business and staffing, augmented by volunteers and family as we were in the early days. We have had the honor of producing events over the years for companies such as Giants Enterprise, Nike, On Board Experiential (OBE), IMG and so many more. We have enjoyed working on The Giant Race SF, Nike Women’s Marathon, Human Race and helping out with celebrations like the San Francisco World Series parade, Oakland Warriors Parade, Superbowl 2016, Bay to Breaker and more. We are excited to see what the coming year brings us, and our athletes that faithfully follow us.”

Both Davis and his partner – wife Betsy Davis – are turning their focus to their growing event rental and traffic management division, TC Rentals, which will continue to operate at full capacity in the Greater Bay Area. “We want to thank you so much for everyone for supporting Tri-California Events, and we hope that you will continue to do so in the future,” expressed the Davises in a joint statement.

***

Main Photo by Kaori Photo.