As I reflect back on 2013 and the work done by the Women’s Committee, I have to give high marks and thanks to the dedicated committee members who have worked together to inspire participation, growth and leadership. Below, I want to share a few highlights of our work this past year:

• Revamped and streamlined the Women’s Committee (WC) grants application and voting process.

• Awarded (two) $1,500 grants to women's triathlon clubs who are doing great work.

• Awarded seven women scholarships to the USA Triathlon Leadership Webinar Series.

• Increased the WC communication platform with articles, blog entries and Facebook posts. At this time we have 388 “Likes.” If you have yet to visit our page, please visit us at facebook.com/USATWC and be sure to “Like” and “Share” posts.

• Launched "Share Your Strength" Campaign to encourage, grow and support women in leadership roles in governance.

• Signed a book deal with Human Kinetics to publish a book, “The Women's Guide to Triathlon.” This is a collaboration to highlight prominent female athletes and coaches in support of women's growth and development in triathlon.

• We had a successful weekend at the USA Triathlon Age Group Nationals in Milwaukee, Wis., where our board presentation was well received and we had a strong presence at the expo. This provided a great opportunity to reach out one-on-one with many triathletes and hear their concerns on women-specific topics and issues in our sport.

• Increased awareness and interest in the upcoming vote to determine triathlon as an NCAA Emerging Sport for Women. The vote is January 15, 2014, here are some links:

NCAA Triathlon: usatriathlon.org/about-multisport/ncaa.aspx

Sign the Petition: change.org/petitions/show-your-support-for-triathlon-to-become-the-next-ncaa-emerging-sport-for-women

In our next blog entry we will highlight some leadership and sports projects that the committee members, a diverse group of women with varied triathlon experience, are involved in. As always, please feel free to reach out to any of the committee members with any questions and be sure to check back to see what we have going for 2014!