Building upon the success of the global TriClub program, Ironman announced today the expansion of the Regional TriClub Championship Series with the addition of the Ironman Asia TriClub Championship event. The inaugural Ironman Asia TriClub Championship will be hosted at the 2016 Ironman 70.3 Hefei triathlon on October 16, 2016.
Ironman is also pleased to announce that fresh off his victory at Ironman 70.3 Subic Bay, Craig “Crowie” Alexander will serve as an Ironman Pro Ambassador for these events. As an ambassador, Crowie will work towards bringing new athletes into the sport of triathlon while supporting various Ironman athlete development initiatives. The three-time Ironman World Champion (2008, 2009, 2011) and two-time Ironman 70.3 World Champion (2006, 2011) has proven to be one of the most successful and respected athletes to ever race Ironman events. With the recent Ironman 70.3 race additions, he is dedicated to seeing the sport grow in China.
“China is the next big frontier in our sport,” said Alexander. “I am really excited to be heading up there in October and November to attend the two new Ironman 70.3 races. It will be great to help spread the word about what an amazing sport triathlon is and the lifestyle that accompanies it.”
In showing this commitment, Crowie will participate in the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Hefei and Ironman 70.3 Xiamen triathlons taking place on October 16 and November 13, 2016, respectively. In Xiamen, he will compete in the professional field for a piece of the $25,000 USD prize purse. In Hefei, Crowie will race as part of a relay team for the international TriClub with the most competing members. In addition, he will also participate in a pre-race training run for the Chinese TriClub that brings the most athletes.
For the Ironman Asia TriClub Championship, top-ranked clubs from Asia will be invited to participate in the capital city of Hefei based on their 2015 ranking. Each division champion will be determined by each club’s top five race performances at Hefei.
For the 2017 Ironman Asia TriClub Championship, TriClubs will qualify by finishing in the top 3 of their division at one of the designated seven qualifying events throughout Asia in 2016 and 2017.
The 2017 Ironman Asia TriClub Championship Series qualification event schedule will include:
| Event | Date | |
| Ironman 70.3 Hefei | October 16, 2016 | |
| Ironman Malaysia | November 12, 2016 | |
| Ironman 70.3 Xiamen | November 13, 2016 | |
| Century Tuna Ironman 70.3 Subic Bay | March 2017 | |
| Ironman 70.3 Taiwan | March 2017 | |
| Ironman 70.3 Putrajaya | April 2017 | |
| Ironman 70.3 Bintan | August 2017 |
The Regional TriClub Championship series was launched in 2014 with the Asia Pacific TriClub Championship taking place that year at Ironman Australia. In September 2015, the inaugural European TriClub Championship took place at Ironman 70.3 Pula, Croatia and the inaugural Pan American TriClub Championship will take place at Ironman 70.3 Puerto Rico on March 20, 2016. With the addition of the Asia TriClub Championship in Hefei, clubs from regions around the world will have more opportunities to compete against each other at a Regional TriClub Championship event.
The Ironman 70.3 Hefei triathlon and the Ironman 70.3 Xiamen triathlon will each offer 50 age-group qualifying slots for the 2017 Ironman 70.3 World Championship taking place in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. In total, 30 slots to the 2017 Ironman World Championship will be allocated to top finishers of the 2016 Ironman 70.3 Hefei and 2016 Ironman 70.3 Xiamen events.
