Member focus: supertri
Background
Formerly the Super League Triathlon, supertri is the first pro league in the sport of triathlon racing boasting the world’s best athletes racing in a closed-league format, combined with an award winning esports event. Originally launched in 2017 with a vision to make professional triathlon racing entertaining and inspiring in equal measure, the recent brand refresh and restructuring amalgamated all of its professional racing under a unified banner and focusses on “the fastest, most tactical, technical, entertaining and innovative triathlon formats on the planet”. Specifically, supertri organises:
(i) supertri - a closed-league format that pits the world’s best professional triathletes against each other in stadium-like courses.
(ii) supertri E – an innovative blend of real-life and virtual racing which has featured at the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Esports Week and includes the supertri E World Triathlon Championship, in partnership with World Triathlon, which is broadcast globally.
(iii) Mass participation events held across the globe, including the Chicago Triathlon and Long Beach Legacy Triathlon.
Northridge has advised supertri from its inception, assisting the brand to disrupt professional triathlon racing both in terms of the scale and structure of the competition and its appeal as a spectator sport. This has included advising on a wide range of issues, including investment in the competition, league structure and the licensing of team franchises, athlete contracts and the execution of innovative partnership agreements. It forms part of Northridge’s body of work advising on the establishment and structuring of new franchise competition models.
Ownership model
In addition to a branding overhaul, significant structural changes have been made to the competition and team ownership model. Northridge advised on supertri’s transition from league ownership to a franchise system, with each individual supertri team open to investment by separate legal entities and granted participation licences in the competition. For the 2024 season, the team roster is comprised of: Brownlee Racing, Podium Racing, Stars & Stripes Racing, and Crown Racing, each of which field a male and female team.
Commercial and technical partnerships
Earlier this year, supertri secured a long-term deal with MyWhoosh, the free-to-use virtual cycling platform. The deal grants MyWhoosh various rights across its competition offering, including that of Presenting Partner of supertri E. In conjunction with its sponsorship rights, including those relating to supertri’s hybrid racing competition, the platform will work closely with supertri to provide immersive and interactive experiences across the entire triathlon ecosystem. The partnership underlines both parties’ commitment to leveraging technology in order to make the sport more accessible to a global community and to offer an enhanced competitive experience on the professional stage.
Recent news
The supertri league season kicked off in August 2024, boasting 11 Olympic medallists from Paris 2024. The available prize pot for the new season received a significant boost from the previous year, with $925,000 now available for distribution to the leading men’s and women’s teams (up from $300,000), in addition to prize pots for allocation to the 5 fastest individual athletes and individual event winners in swimming, cycling and running. The distribution of prize money substantially rewards team racing and therefore encourages investment into the individual team franchises.
