| who is the gold nugget |
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"A Woman's fitness event encouraging women of all ages and abilities to participate." The Gold Nugget Triathlon is dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls through athletics. We at Gold Nugget Triathlon believe that our women’s triathlon is more than just a one-day event. Women and girls train for this event year-round, and many sign up as a way of kick-starting a brand new training and fitness regime, and not only lose the weight they were struggling with, but change their lives in the process. Many of us who serve on the Board of Directors of the Gold Nugget have seen our own lives changed by this event, and this is what inspires us to work so hard for this event and this organization. Mothers and daughters train for this event together, as do groups of friends and colleagues. We are delighted to be able to put on an event that brings so many people together, and gets so many new women and girls involved in the sport of triathlon every year! The Alaska Women’s Gold Nugget Triathlon is put on every year by Gold Nugget Triathlon, Inc. (GNT), a not-for-profit organization founded in 2003. The event has always been put on by a massive volunteer effort, but the growth of the race over the last decade has necessitated some major changes. Since 2003 there is a Board of Directors (who are entirely volunteers, with no paid positions or monetary compensation of any kind) which oversees the staging of the event, and the other activities which the organization sponsors. The hours spent planning and preparing for an event of this scale number in the thousands, and therefore in addition to volunteer assistance, the GNT also contracts for certain services. Up & Running Event Management provides many services for our event such as timing, traffic control, course logistics and registration support. The Board members also put in countless hours throughout the year preparing for this event, performing functions like permitting and sanctioning, fundraising, policy-making, maintenance of the website, race-day ambience (music, AV), procuring of food, race-day vendors, and door-prize donations, etc. During the weekend of the race, and particularly on race day, several hundred more volunteers are needed to make the event run smoothly. We are very grateful to all who volunteer to make our event so fun and special for our participants! Gold Nugget Triathlon Inc. became a not-for-profit in 2003 in part so that we could receive tax-deductible donations. Most donations received go towards staging the event, which is an extremely costly endeavor. There are some years in which the race yields proceeds, which we then try to spend in ways that fulfill our mission. We provide financial assistance to participants for whom the entry fee is prohibitive. The Gold Nugget Triathlon has also provided assistance to several high school triathlon teams. We are continuously looking for ways in which we can support athletics programs that serve women and girls, and welcome feedback and suggestions from the community! Also, new in 2009, the GNT has begun soliciting donations from participants through online registration for a non-profit organization that provides some sort of service to women and girls that is either health (mental or physical) or fitness-related. The GNT matched this year’s donations at a rate of $2 per donation received. Since 258 particpants donated a combined total of $3265, the GNT donated $516. In 2009 we chose the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition to receive this total donation of $3781, and we look forward to choosing another worthy charity to receive next year’s donation. Thank you to all our participants who gave so generously to this cause!
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The Gold Nugget Triathlon is run by a volunteer board of committed directors, all of whom are interested in advancing sports for women of all abilities. They are:
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