USA Triathlon Announces Speakers for 2007 Congress : trifuel.com

USA Triathlon Announces Speakers for 2007 Congress

CONGRESS 2007: SPEAKERS
Julie Moss, Joe Friel, Bob Babbitt part of lineup for annual USAT event

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - USA Triathlon's Annual Congress offers something for everyone involved in multi-sport. This is the third in a series of articles highlighting the various aspects of the 2007 event being held January 9-14 in Colorado Springs, Colo.

USA Triathlon is bringing in a strong list of keynote speakers and presenters who will share their expertise and experiences during Congress's numerous workshops and sessions.

"In 2006, USAT delivered upon a promise to create a dynamic and successful Congress for our various constituent groups.For 2007, the bar has been raised even higher and we are well on the way to meeting that challenge by assembling one of the most impressive line-up of speakers this event has ever seen," said USAT Executive Director Skip Gilbert. "We are bringing industry and business experts to Colorado Springs which shall help define our Annual Congress as the event to attend for anyone who embraces the multi-sport lifestyle."

Following is the list of notable speakers who will speak at general sessions and at athlete-focused workshops. Additional speakers for other Congress workshops will be announced at a later date.

· Dan Hawkins, head football coach at University of Colorado
· Julie Moss, inspirational Ironman competitor and race announcer
· Peter Burwash, founder and president of Burwash International, featured speaker and consultant on leadership
· Bob Babbitt, triathlon legend, author, publisher and radio personality
· Joe Friel, coach, author, and columnist
· Kevin McKenna, USOC Aquatics Specialist
· Mike Ricci, USA Triathlon Level III Certified Coach
· Monique Ryan, sports nutritionist, consultant, author and columnist
· Peter Haberl, USOC sport psychologist
· Marc Bonnet-Eymard, 2006 Overall Age Group World Champion

Dan Hawkins - Friday Morning General Session Keynote Speaker
When faced with filling a coaching vacancy and rebuilding pride in a program embroiled in recent scandals, the University of Colorado turned to Dan Hawkins last December. The fact that he had compiled a 53-11 record at Boise State with an innovative offensive attack, while his team won of shared four Western Athletic Conference titles, helped his cause. But it was his positive attitude, confidence, and genuine concern for his players and coaches that attracted Colorado administrators to the 45-year-old coach.

Hawkins has a spirit and enthusiasm that are contagious and his passion for life is visible by those around him. He has been called a natural communicator for his ability to connect with a variety of audiences: from high school recruits, to administrators, fans, and alumni.

Hawkins is a 1984 graduate of the University of California-Davis, earning a bachelor's degree in physical education. In 1993, he earned a master's degree in educational administration from St. Mary's (Calif.) College.

At Boise State, Hawkins had a knack for molding a talented group of players and coaches into a dominating force, part of the reason he was named the WAC Coach of the Year on two occasions (2002, 2004) and was a finalist for the 2004 Paul "Bear" Bryant College Football Coach of the Year Award.

Julie Moss
Saturday Morning General Session Keynote Speaker
To etch a place in the public's psyche, a sport needs a defining moment. In triathlon, there is no debate. The sport struck a chord in the public's consciousness on February 6, 1982 when Julie Moss, a 23-year-old college student working on a senior thesis, stumbled, fell, and crawled to the finish at Ironman Hawaii. Television caught it all, a few moments that changed the fledgling sport forever.

We watched her huge lead evaporate over the last few miles of the run as Kathleen McCartney stole her glory, passing Moss 15 feet shy of the finish line to win the grueling event. But Moss did not quit. While her body gave out, her will did not. She crawled through the darkness, then lunged with her left hand, touching far more than the finish line.

Even today, many of the veteran athletes who have been part of the sport for over 20 years remember the day Moss crawled across the line.

A professional triathlete from 1982-1993, Moss wrapped up her career as a competitive triathlete in 2003 with the New Zealand Ironman and one final run at Kona. Today Moss works in event promotions and as a race announcer, working with the TriCalifornia and XTERRA Series as well as the Nike Women's Marathon.

Peter Burwash
Sunday Morning General Session Keynote Speaker (Sponsored by Wilson Sporting Goods)
As one of the world's best tennis coaches, Peter Burwash has coached and played in over 134 countries on five continents. A Canadian champion and Davis Cup star in the 1970's, Peter Burwash won 19 International singles and doubles titles during his years on the tennis tour. Today Peter Burwash is one of the busiest entrepreneurs. He flies an average of 264,000 miles a year in the process of managing Peter Burwash International, the world's largest and most successful international tennis management firm (founded in 1975), and conducting seminars for organizations searching for revitalization and inspiration.  Peter Burwash is internationally sought after as a speaker and gives over 100 speeches and seminars per year. A gifted and highly entertaining featured speaker, Peter Burwash has motivated audiences worldwide. His knowledge encompasses a broad range of topics including tennis, leadership, service, and health and fitness.   Peter Burwash is also the author of 10 books, including: Tennis for Life, The Key to Great Leadership, Improving the Landscape of Your Life, Total Health: The Next Level, Dear Teenager, Total Tennis, Becoming the Master of Your Dash, and Peter Burwash's Aerobic Workout for Men.

Bob Babbitt
Master of Ceremonies - Thursday through Sunday
Bob Babbitt has been around multi-sport since its inception in the early 80s. He is a six-time finisher of the Ironman Triathlon World Championship and has completed over 30 marathons and over 150 triathlons. He became the tenth inductee into the Ironman Triathlon Hall of Fame in 2001.

On the professional side, he is the co-founder of The Gen A Network and Competitor Publishing, which reaches over three million readers nationwide on a monthly basis. For the past 14 years his company has created the Official Program for the Ford Ironman Triathlon World Championship. Outside of publishing, Babbitt hosts a weekly radio show called The Competitors which focuses on endurance sports. He has also co-hosted a number of events for ESPN including the IronKids Triathlon Championships, the San Diego Marathon, The PowerBar XTreme Golf Open as well as Ironman events in Canada, Germany and the Canary Islands.

Babbitt is the creator of the Land Rover Certified Muddy Buddy Ride and Run Series (www.muddybuddy.com), which in 2005 featured seven events around the country and attracted over 11,000 participants. He has co-authored books with Mark Allen, Ken Souza, and Julie Moss, and his book, "25 Years of the Ironman Triathlon World Championship," is now in its second printing. And he is also one of the founders of the Challenged Athletes Foundation (www.challengedathletes.org ), an organization that has helped over 1,800 disabled athletes worldwide. The charity has raised over $7.5 million dollars since 1993.

Joe Friel
Age Group Cycling Workshop - Saturday 10:30 to noon
Age Group Recovery Workshop - Satuday 3:45 to 4:30 p.m.
Joe Friel has trained endurance athletes since 1980. His clients have included elite amateur and professional road cyclists, mountain bikers, triathletes, and duathletes. They have been from all corners of the globe and with American and foreign national champions, world championship competitors, and an Olympian. Among the many books he has authored are TheTriathlete's Training Bible,Going Long (co-author),Your First Triathlon, The Paleo Diet for Athletes (co-author), and Total Heart Rate Training. He holds a masters degree in exercise science, is a USA Triathlon and USA Cycling certified Elite-level coach.He was a founding member of the USAT National Commission Coaching. He is also a featured columnist for Inside Triathlon and VeloNews magazines, and writes feature stories for other national, international magazines and websites.

Kevin McKenna
Age Group Swimming Workshop - Saturday 9 to 10:15 a.m.
Kevin McKenna is a USA Triathlon Level II Certified Coach, but he may best be known for his work in training Olympic caliber swimmers and multisport athletes. He has worked with Olympians Alison Wagner, Hunter Kemper, Ryan Bolton, Nick Radkewich, Chad Senior and Anita Allen. He has worked as the Aquatics Specialist for the United States Olympic Committee for the past six years. As an athlete, McKenna competed at California State University, was a seven-time NCAA All-American, was a nine-time U.S. Swimming National qualifier, and competed at the 1980 Olympic Trials. He is also an American Swim Coaches Association Level 4 coach and holds his Swim America Director License.

Mike Ricci
Age Group Running Workshop - Sunday 9 to 10:30 a.m.
Mike Ricci is a USA Triathlon Level III Certified Coach and has been coaching endurance athletes since 1989. Ricci has coached multi-sport athletes, swimmers, and runners of all abilities from all over the world. He was selected to write the training programs for both the Short and Long Course USA World Championship Teams for the past four seasons. Ricci the head coach for Team D3 Multisport and has been the Track coach for the Boulder Triathlon Club since its inception. He is also a USA Cycling Certified Coach.

Monique Ryan
Age Group Nutrition Workshop - Sunday 10:45 to noon
Monique Ryan, MS, RD, LDN is a nationally recognized nutritionist with over 22 years of professional experience. She has a diversified practice with specialties in the areas of women's health, sports nutrition, disordered eating, and wellness and disease prevention. Ryan was a member of the Performance Enhancement Team for USA Triathlon, USA Cycling (Women's Road Team), and Synchro Swimming USA up to the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. She works with the Timex Multisport Team, also consults with the Chicago Fire Soccer Team, and was the nutritionist for the Saturn Cycling Team for the 1994 to 2000 racing seasons. Monique is a prolific nutrition writer and has written Performance Nutrition for Winter Sports, and is also author of Performance Nutrition for Team Sports, Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes, and Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition. She is the author of over 150 published articles. For the past fifteen years, she has written sports nutrition articles for VeloNews- The Journal of Competitive Cycling, and has written regularly for Inside Triathlon since 1994, and is a regular contributor to Outside Magazine. She has also contributed to the website for Terry Precision Bicycles and has written for Her Sports, Triathlete and Women's Sports & Fitness. Monique has also contributed chapters to Sports Nutrition: A Guide for the Professional Working with Active People (first edition). She has appeared on CLTV, FOX TV, and the ABC and CBS news. Monique has a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition and Dietetics and a Master of Science Degree in Nutrition. She completed her clinical training at Northwestern Memorial Hospital Medical Center in Chicago. She is a registered dietitian (RD) and licensed in the state of Illinois (LDN),and is a member of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and is an ACSM Health Fitness Instructor.

Peter Haberl
Age Group Mental Preparation Workshop - Sunday 4 to 5 p.m.
Peter Haberl, Ed. D. works as a senior sport psychologist for the United States Olympic Committee. Through the USOC, he provides individual and team consultations and counseling sessions to various resident and national teams and athletes at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Before joining the USOC in 1998, Peter served as the sport psychology consultant for the 1998 U.S. Women's Ice Hockey Olympic Team. He has been working with the U.S. Women's National Ice Hockey Team since 1996, providing sport psychology services at four International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championships (1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2005) and three Olympic Games (1998, 2002, 2006). He served as the sports psychology consultant for USA Triathlon at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Over the last Olympic summer quad leading up to the Athens Olympic Games Peter has worked mainly with US Diving, US Synchronized Swimming, USA Triathlon and the US Women's Volleyball team. Peter also coordinated the sport psychology component of the USOC Athlete SUMMIT program until 2004. Born in Austria, he received his undergraduate degree in sports science from the University of Vienna, Austria, and earned a master's degree in counseling and his Ed. D. in counseling psychology at Boston University. He is a licensed psychologist in Colorado. Peter played professional hockey in Europe for 10 years, representing Austria at two World Championships.

Marc Bonnet-Eymard
Age Group Time Management and Planning Workshop -- Sunday 1:45 to 3 p.m.
Raised in New England, but presentlyresiding in Winter Garden, Florida, Marc Bonnet-Eymard has become the "elite" among age group triathletes. The 35-year-old is fresh off of capturing the overall men's title at the ITU Age Group World Championship in Lausanne, Switzerland after a second place finish in 2005. He is also the reigning USAT national champion at both the short course and sprint distances.

The 2005 USAT Male Triathlete of the Year, Bonnet-Eymard was an All-American Division III swimmer at Tufts University and has been racing triathlons as an amateur since 2002.He holds a master's degree in Health Science and works as a Pathologists' Assistant in Orlando, while working withbeginners and elite amateurs as a USAT Level I certified coach. He plans to race professionally in 2007.

For more information, including detailed workshop schedules and information on general Congress sessions, go to http://www.usatriathlon.org/events/2007_congress.htm.

Check back in the coming weeks for articles highlighting the following Congress components:
· Technology in Training
· Vendors Expo

USA Triathlon is the national governing body for triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and winter triathlon in the United States. USAT sanctions 1,800 races and connects with more than 70,000 members each year, making it the largest multi-sport organization in the world.

Please visit USA Triathlon's web site at www.usatriathlon.org.