La Jolla, California - ironguides, the leading lifestyle facilitation company for triathlon and outdoor living enthusiasts everywhere, announced today the dissolution of its partnership with professional triathlon team Team TBB announced in July 2008.
After a half year of many attempts to come to a common vision and equal partner status with Team TBB's management, including cross-ownership, knowledge sharing and an integrated business relationship, both parties came to the conclusion in late 2008 that all options had been tried to no avail.
"Despite our many attempts and heavy investment of effort to come to a mutually acceptable agreement with Team TBB, and coming at a time of great personal turmoil, ironguides has firmly established that we have extremely divergent interests and perspectives from Team TBB's managers on matters ranging from a general view on the sport of triathlon, triathlon coaching philosophies and training techniques, and the underlying business fundamentals, principles and practical arrangements required to come to a full, true and equal partnership. The talks that led to our original cross-ownership and partnership agreement were made with great optimism and high hopes on both sides", said ironguides Head Coach Marc Becker, "but we have to confront the reality that our differences are too great to enable a mutually beneficial partnership."
"Having worked with Team TBB"s Head Coach Brett Sutton since 2002 and having made the initial introduction between Brett and Team TBB's Managing Director Alex Bok due to the clear match I saw at that time between Brett's deeds and accomplishments and Alex's dream and vision, I had high hopes that ironguides and Team TBB were a perfect match when we announced our partnership in July 2008. Our attempt to work together came at a time of personal difficulties for myself, which Team TBB's managers worked hard to accommodate in our discussions. During this time ironguides and Team TBB made every effort to come to an agreement but there were simply too many discrepancies in our respective philosophies and vision to enable any effective collaboration" explained Becker.
In particular, the divergence between the athlete communities served by ironguides and Team TBB highlighted differences in the two companies' perspectives on triathlon. ironguides focuses on the needs of Age Group triathletes and a select number of elites (including 2007 Ironman Western Australia Champion and 9:06 Ironwoman Charlotte Paul, 8:28 Ironman Chris Dmitrieff, and 3:51 half Ironman Alun Woodward), while Team TBB is focused exclusively on developing budding elite-level triathlon talent into full-time, elite performers earning their living as true professional athletes. Our different athlete communities often require very different needs, coaching styles and sometimes training approaches. It is the strong belief of ironguides that working Age Group athletes with full-time jobs, family commitments and other social obligations are served by a significantly different style and approach to training.
As a former elite triathlete with sub-1:50 and sub-four-hour personal best times at the Olympic and half Ironman distances achieved while working full time, Head Coach Becker know first-hand the different requirements of the elite level performer and working Age Group triathlete.
Said Head Coach Becker: "We have greatly appreciated the exchange of information in both directions with Brett in the past seven years and wish he and Team TBB the very best in their vision and goals. We have a different path to follow than that of Team TBB, and we believe it is in our best interests to choose an independent path. This provides us control of our own destiny and enables us to continue our commitment to being the provider of coaching services for Age Group athletes and a select few professionals, all of whom we'll continue to work with to cement that for which Team TBB chose to partner with us in the first place: Our unsurpassed reputation for effective, professional service and support for athletes of all abilities and backgrounds."
The dissolution of this partnership frees ironguides to work more closely with media, event and industry partners of its own choosing, in carefully considered locations around the world, on terms mutually beneficial and acceptable to ironguides and its partners. ironguides is proud to serve a growing global community of athletes to help them facilitate their triathlon lifestyle.