In September 2009 the Oceania Triathlon Union achieved a milestone for the sport in the region with a Congress at the Gold Coast, Australia. In attendance at this Congress where representatives from eight National Federations from across Oceania including Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands, Tahiti, Solomon Islands, Norfolk Island, New Zealand and Australia.
Inaugural elections were held with Mr Geoff Stoddart (Cook Islands) elected as President of the Oceania Triathlon Union (OTU), Juliet Fahey (New Zealand) as Vice President, and Jenny Mann (Australia) as the ITU Representative for the Oceania region.
ITU Oceania Representative, Jenny Mann was “delighted to see delegates from the Island Federations in attendance and actively contributing to the future leadership and decision-making of the region. This is a big step forward, and an important milestone for triathlon in our region”.
Other planning meetings were also conducted with the approval of a new OTU Constitution, and drafting of some agreed goals for Strategic Development in the Island Federations of the region. These meetings were also attended by the ITU President Marisol Casado, Secretary General Loreen Barnett, Vice Presidents Bill Walker, Terry Sheldrake and Sarah Springman, and the Director of ITU Sport Development Libby Burrell.