Race Director Certification

USAT Race Director Certification Program

A listing of all RD Certification courses can be found at the link below. Courses are posted as they are confirmed.
2010 RD Certification Course Listings

A directory of all Certified Race Directors can be found here: Certified Race Director Database 

Information on Level 2 RD Certification and Recertification can be found here!
Level 2 and Recertification Overview
Continuing Education Opportunities

What is Race Director Certification?

Race director certification is a 16-hour education course that generally takes place over two days. The culmination is the awarding of certificates to race directors who successfully complete the course requirements.
This course will address the latest in race directing methods, insurance/risk management trends, and USAT sanctioning compliance. While the certification course is not mandatory for race directors who sanction their events with USA Triathlon, the program is extremely valuable to both new and seasoned event directors.

The following are some highlights of the many benefits of the program:

• The latest risk management and race directing information available, presented to you in a manual, along with the opportunity to network with other race directors from around the country. Discussion time throughout the course will allow you to talk to other event directors and share experiences you all have.
• Complimentary Annual Membership to USA Triathlon – only Certified Race Directors have access to this free membership.
• Special access to sponsors – we are continually working with the marketing department to provide additional sponsorship opportunities available only to certified directors. Current purchase program deals available to Certified RDs: Polar Bottle, Garmin, Bluff City Sports, One Million Revolutions.
• Special access to online insurance certificate system – insurance certificates can be printed directly from the insurance company's website.
• Lower sanction/insurance costs for USAT sanctioning – Certifying race directors will keep our insurance premiums low and thus the cost of sanctioning for all certified race directors. Certified Race Directors receive a sanction fee discount in 2010.
• Priority consideration for championship event hosting.
• Discounted Advertising in USA Triathlon Life magazine.

• Discounted USAT Membership mailing list.

Prerequisites

Race Directors who currently sanction events with USAT must be in full compliance with all sanction guidelines and pre- and post-race requirements before consideration for certification is allowed. Potential attendees who have not yet sanctioned an event with USAT will be expected to meet all requirements once they sanction an event and will be monitored for compliance along with all other Certified Race Directors. USAT reserves the right to refuse attendance to a RD Certification class or revoke certification privileges based on failure to meet minimum requirements. Race Director Certification is NOT required to sanction an event with USA Triathlon.

Other Important Information

You can read some Frequently Asked Questions about the course here:  
Frequently Asked Questions

A sample of the class schedule can be found here: View Schedule

Questions about these educational opportunities, cancellation and refund policies, and any other inquiries should be directed to Liz Tucker.

This information is updated as we confirm additional certification opportunities. For information on cancellations, refunds, and other policies in place for these programs, please email Liz Tucker.

Wait List Policy

If a Race Director Certification class reaches its participant limit of 20, a wait list will be started for that specific class. To be added to the wait list, email Liz Tucker and indicate the location that you wish to attend. If cancellations occur, participants will be added to the class in the order they were added to the wait list. The wait list does NOT roll over to subsequent courses.

Completed Courses 2010

January 22-23, 2010 - Jacksonville Beach, FL
Attendees at the Jacksonville class were: Franco D'Ascanio, Sven Folmer, Marc Primanti, Steven Tomboni, Brent Dorenkamp, Rayne Herzog, Rosemary Chriswisser, Elizabeth Cockerham, Denise Croft, Cathi Rodgers, Nikita Dorcinvil, Stephen Curran, Daniel Shaffer, Bill Touth, Joe Kelly, Rob Grimes, Kevin Reid, Crisp McDonald, and Jason Hatfield.

February 10-11, 2010 - Colorado Springs, CO
Attendees at the Colorado Springs class were: Scott Berlinger, Jane Bockus, Justin Clark, Michelle Curry, Paul Fitzgerald, Mark Garonzik, Michelle Higdon, Scott Kennicutt, Kacee Lawver, Frank Lowery, Meg Lowery, Erin Lyons, Kori Mannon, Patrick McGee, Brannon Potts, Samantha Pruitt, Joy Rasmussen, Richard Rostant, A.J. Sills, Amy Underwood, Tom Wilkas and Dave Will.

March 4-5, 2010 - Tucson, AZ
Attendees at the Tucson class were: Ron Barbani, David Benjes, Debbie Claggett, Jeff Donatello, Kat Donatello, Craig Elsner, Tara Elsner, Greg Fawson, Andrew Ferguson, Ryan Griessmeyer, Katie Hawke, Mark Lamper, John McGovern, John McPhilliamy, Frederic Moras, Denise Novicki, Cherie Starr, Reid Swanson, Shawna Thiessen, Jon Wilkinson, and Michael Yanez.

March 25-26, 2010 - Waikoloa Village, HI
Attendees at the Waikoloa Village class were: Bunny Bonnes, Tina Clothier, David Cobb, Sheryl Cobb, Cole Freestone, Janna Hagensick, Kenny Krell, Erin McKinley, Stefan Newbury, and Janice Sklar.

April 15-16, 2010 - New Orleans, LA
Attendees at the New Orleans class were: Chris Batista, Mike Bowen, Jim Boylan, Doug Bradshaw, Jackie Brown, Mike Butler, Doug Cairnie, Teresa Coplen, George Defoy, Parker Edmiston, Grady Howes, AunJelle LaFleur, Russ Larson, Geoff Layne, Megan Melgaard, John Murray, John Smith, Mark Sortino and Amy Spielberg.

May 7-8, 2010 - Providence, RI
Attendees at the Providence class were: Jerrod Rushton, Charles Apigian, Amber Truhanovitch, Melissa Johnson, Wendy Peel, Chris Bowcutt, Rachel Leif, Vicki Ford, Charles Melton, Claire Cloutier, Lisa Blansett, Diane Bolger, Jamie Crombie, Craig Strong, Maris DiTolla, Travis Hart, Bryan Miller, Dale Yake, Jamie Ranney, Brewer Rowe, and Cameron Mitchell.

Completed Courses 2009

January 14-15, 2009 – Colorado Springs, CO
February 20-21, 2009 – Walnut Creek, CO
March 19-20, 2009 - Boston, MA
May 1-2, 2009 - Chicago, IL
May 22-23, 2009 - Austin, TX
September 24-25, 2009 - Salt Lake City, UT

Completed Courses 2008

January 9-10, 2008 – Colorado Springs, CO
February 8-9, 2008 – Indianapolis, IN
March 1-2, 2008 - Chula Vista, CA
April 24-25, 2008 - St. Petersburg, FL
May 15-16, 2008 - Annapolis, MD
September 12-13, 2008 - Minneapolis, MN

Completed Courses 2007

January 11-14, 2007 – Colorado Springs, CO
Race Director Certification was launched at the 2007 USAT Congress. The inaugural class of 72 event directors can be seen below!

February 24-25, 2007 – Honolulu, HI
March 23-24, 2007 – Boston, MA
April 13-14, 2007 – Birmingham, AL  
May 26-27, 2007 – Austin, TX
July 1-2, 2007 – Hillsboro, OR