Green Initiative

The YWCA Women's Tri is committed to being the best event out there for attracting newcomers and educating them about the healthy, sustainable benefits of being a Triathlete. One obvious benefit is the physical health of our own bodies. But what if we could extend that gift to all of our friends, families and the larger community as well? We can! By participating in the race's Green Initiative, every athlete, volunteer, sponsor and supporter of the YWCA Women's Triathlon has the ability to make a direct, measurable and positive impact on the clean air, water and land we rely on to support us in training, racing and living healthy.

Why have a Green Initiative?

Very simply, there are environmental consequences of training and racing. For instance, we need to travel (which creates greenhouse gases). We need to eat, drink and buy things (which creates trash). When 1,000+ people get together those things can really add up and create a negative impact.

What are we doing?

The YWCA Women's has taken the Pledge of Sustainability, sponsored by Athletes for a Fit Planet, wherein as a baseline for 2010, we have committed to:

• Committed to only online registration, no paper registration forms
• Printed materials (postcards) were printed on certified recycled paper with soy inks
• No plastic water bottles at the finish line
• All cups, plates, napkins, silverware used will be compostable! Thank you, Ultragreen!!
• We have encouraged carpooling by creating a rideshare group on pickuppal.com (we hope to figure out how to make better use of this in the future).
• Bringing the race to Mpls means the vast majority of participants travel a shorter distance to the race, including the race management team that make multiple visits to the site for planning.
• We switched our race shirts to recycled polyester made by Greenlayer. And included a ¡§no shirt¡¨ option during registration.

In addition, the YWCA Women's Tri will create additional sustainable practices and partnerships with other local companies and brands committed to being environmentally responsible. Watch for specific details on these baseline objectives, how we're meeting (and exceeding!) them on the website and in future e-newsletters.

What can you do? Participate!

There are easy ways to help and do your part

• We will have designated recycling stations that will have options for compost, recycling (bottles and glass) and trash. Our Green Team volunteers will be on hand to help you properly sort items into the correct bins. Courtesy of Ultragreen, all of our cups, plates and silverware are compostable!
• Bring your own water bottle and fill it up from our water stations instead of using any cups! You can even leave a water bottle in your Bag Check bag for when you finish.
• Bring your old shoes to packet pickup! We will be collecting them for recycling! See below for more info.
• We encourage you to carpool with others if at all possible
  • Connect with each other any way that works, e.g. Google email group, Facebook, or our group on www.pickuppal.com
  • You may need to drive to bring your bike and gear. But can your family and fans take public transit and then ride home with you? Visit the Metropolitan Transit website.
• If you have to drive and would like to offset your and/or the race's carbon footprint, please consider supporting local organizations that work to conserve energy. We recommend:
  • Honor the Earth, based in Minneapolis, works to promote sustainable, renewable energy development in Indian country and the prevention of fossil-fuel development. If donating to Honor the Earth, go to https://www.honorearth.org/donate and put "on behalf of the YWCA triathlon" in the comments field of the online donation form.
  • The Minnesota Project, based in St. Paul, champions the sustainable production and equitable distribution of energy and food in communities across Minnesota. To donate, go to Minnesota Project-YWCA Partnership.

Shoe Recycling: Bring Your Old Running and Tennis Shoes to Packet Pickup!
We are partnering with the Recycling Association of Minnesota (RAM) to help recycle used shoes. In the Run in & Recycle™ program, used returned shoes are collected and sorted by the Adult Training & Habilitation Center (ATHC), a local vocational center employing adults with disabilities. The used shoes go to a local textile recycler, thus keeping valuable materials out of the landfills, and the Run in & Recycle™ provides meaningful employment opportunities for adults with disabilities. The Recycling Association of Minnesota is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization committed to promoting resource conservation through waste prevention, reuse, recycling, composting and purchasing practices using the most cost effective and environmentally sound methods available in Minnesota.

Volunteer
Encourage your supporters to join our green team and volunteer on race day.

Carpool with the Women's Tri PickupPal Group
The YWCA Women's Tri has created its own group for you to use for packet pickup, race day, classes or any other trips you plan or make on a regular basis. Go to www.pickuppal.com and search for YWCA Women's Tri under Groups. Buddy up and cut the CO2!

Athlete Quote:

This was a wonderful event. The YWCA did a great job! My son who volunteered is talking about doing it again next year and the friend that I did this with is also talking about next year (and we're going to try to get more friends involved). It was such a positive experience for all of us! Thanks so much for all the hard work that you and the Y did. It was my first Tri, but it won't be my last! I'm looking forward to next year