PETERSFIELD Triathlon Club has been forced to cancel its popular annual charity triathlon, costing local charity FitzRoy thousands of pounds as a result.
FitzRoy of Hylton Road supports adults with learning disabilities and autism, and was the triathlon club’s charity partner for the event, and now faces a £5,000 fundraising shortfall.
The triathlon on Sunday, September 23, has been cancelled as a new cycling event on the same day has booked roads normally used by the triathlon athletes.
Competitors in the 100-mile Velo South cycle race starting and finishing at Goodwood organised by CSM Active, will ride along the Rogate to Harting road, which the triathlon would have used.
FitzRoy chief executive Anna Galliford said: “We are extremely sad that the people we support will not benefit from the money that would have been raised at the 2018 Petersfield Triathlon.
“The triathlon club donation would have made a significant difference to some of the most vulnerable members of our local community.
“It’s hugely disheartening that the organisers of Velo South appear not to have considered the local communities they will be impacting.”
The date of the triathlon was decided last September, but the club says it was left with no choice but to cancel it, after it was announced that Velo South would be on the same day.
Petersfield Triathlon Club chairman Kim King said: “It wasn’t possible to find another route, or change the triathlon’s date, due to other local events around that time.
“We are angry and disappointed that we had no choice but to cancel the triathlon.
“As a local volunteer-driven event, it is enjoyed by many of the Petersfield community and more young people have been getting involved in the sport and volunteering.
“It’s unfair that we have been left with no choice but to give way to a larger event.
“The Petersfield Triathlon will be back in 2019, even if we have to choose a different time of year.”
The Triathlon Club and FitzRoy are urging CSM Active to cover the £5,000 fundraising shortfall which would go some way to mitigating the impact of the loss of this popular event.A spokesperson for CSM Active, organisers of Vélo South, said: “We are aware of FitzRoy’s concerns regarding the cancellation of the Petersfield Triathlon due to the date clash with Vélo South and have been working closely with their Director of Communications Marianne Radcliffe to try and find a solution.“As soon as we became aware of the issue we presented them with what we believe is a fair and generous package which will provide them with an opportunity to recoup the money they would have raised through the Petersfield Triathlon via an official charity partnership with Vélo South.“In addition to the fundraising platform this partnership will provide FitzRoy, we also included a range of publicity and networking opportunities for them to raise awareness of the fantastic work they do and draw attention to their wider fundraising projects for the year ahead. "The Fitzroy charity is currently considering whether they wish to take this opportunity up and CSM Active remain committed to working with them if they so wish to.“For context, we are anticipating Vélo South will raise around £2 million pounds for both local and national charities in 2018.”