Categorized | Multi-sport, Sports

Ironman announces lottery changes

MEDIA RELEASE

Ironman has announced that the Ironman World Championship Hawaii State/Big Island Lottery will no longer operate in its current form and announced new plans for a 2015 Ironman World Championship Hawaii State/Big Island Drawing.

Legal residents of the state of Hawaii will have the opportunity to enter the new Hawaii State/Big Island Drawing from May 31 to June 5.

The drawing will offer 44 slots to the Ironman World Championship triathlon presented by GoPro.

Of the 44 slots, 24 will be awarded to residents of the Big Island and 20 slots will be awarded to Hawaii state residents who do not reside on the Big Island.

Hawaii residents may enter the drawing for free online at www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/americas/ironman-70.3/hawaii/athletes/hawaii-residency.aspx

Prior entries are not valid.

To ensure their health and safety, drawing winners will be required to show proof by Aug. 25, 2015, that they have completed a triathlon that consists of at least a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1 mile run between Oct. 11, 2014 and Aug. 23, 2015.

Winning entrants that meet all eligibility requirements will also be required to pay the registration fee for the 2015 Ironman World Championship triathlon presented by GoPro.

We are proud to honor our heritage by offering residents from the state of Hawaii and the Big Island the opportunity to race at the Ironman World Championship.

—

Earlier this month, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has announced World Triathlon Corporation has agreed to forfeit more than $2.7 million in lottery proceeds to the U.S. government. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, WTC was allowed to give away the chance at slots, but could not charge athletes for the chance to win.

Ironman issued the following response to the Kona lottery decision:

“We are proud of the longstanding tradition of the Ironman Kona Lottery. Thanks to the vision of Ironman Co-founders, John and Judy Collins, the Ironman Lottery has changed lives and provided athletes of all abilities the opportunity to participate in the world’s most challenging and iconic one day endurance event, the Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

“The Ironman Kona Lottery has operated in a substantially similar manner since 1983. Several months ago, the Tampa office of the U.S. Department of Justice contacted Ironman to claim that the Ironman Kona Lottery is not compliant with existing lottery and gambling laws.

“Since that time, we have fully cooperated with the Department of Justice through a series of meetings and correspondences. As a result of our cooperation, the Department of Justice and Ironman have come to an agreement to no longer operate the Kona Lottery in its current form.

“While we do not agree with U.S. Department of Justice’s interpretation of the relevant statutes or that there has been anything untoward or inappropriate in our operation of the Ironman Kona Lottery, Ironman chose to settle so that we can focus on our priorities – our athletes and our events.

“Our 2015 winners of the Ironman Kona Lottery are unaffected by this agreement and their slots will be honored.

“We continue to believe in the Collins’ vision for making the Ironman World Championship accessible to athletes of all abilities and plan to announce new plans later this year.”

— Find out more:
www.ironman.com

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.