i-tri - Inspirational Triathlon Racing International

Watching the growth of the girls as they learn to bike swim and run is extraordinary! I participated in 2015 in their youth triathlon and was all in after that! The world in which we now live needs programs like i-tri more than we even know!

The chills I get each year when I see the i-tri girls cross the finish line of their culminating super-sprint triathlon shows me that my ongoing support of this worthy East End program is worthwhile. Taking at-risk middle school girls and transforming them is what i-tri does best.

I was introduced to i-tri through a friend who, for whatever reason, thought I would find this very original group of young girls and their purpose to be inspirational. As a 62-year old man with receding hair and extending stomach, I couldn't imagine what we would have in common. Boy, was I in the dark!

From the very moment I saw a YouTube video about i-tri, I was convinced that this growing group of inspired girls could use my support and I enlisted as best I could at the moment. I plan to keep supporting them as long as they need me and to inspire others to do the same.

Their impact on the lives of the children they help is monumental. The same girls go on to help others, too, so they've started to grow outward AND upward, which helps them get their message out there and more girls into their programs.

Watch their video on YouTube; there are more than one. And think about yourself as a pre-teen facing the challenges of school life, your lack of confidence and self-esteem. Whew! It was a lot for me to face when I was going into 8th grade. Today, kids this age seem to have even more pressures.

I-tri helps them get fit, eat right, exercise and develop skills in preparing to be a teenager. The transformation is hard to define, and their video just about brings you to tears of joy! Help them if you can. It's a lean organization, whose founder is hands-on 24/7 with these kids. I now walk with her every Tuesday and it's easy to see that she has that infectious kind of character that just makes you get up and go! I now know how she influences and empowers these young gals.

I have been a trainer to the girls since this organization started. What I have seen through the years is that this model really works. The girls get so much attention from fitness to self-esteem exercises that by the end of the season when they finally get to race in the triathlon they are completely transformed from shy and meek to strong and confident young girls!!

The best thing that could EVER happen to a young lady!!!!! I-tri is helping form champions!!!!!

i-tri is a wonderful, local program benefiting the future of our community, our children. i-tri provides the girls with skills and tools they will carry with them for the rest of their life; a true impression. I am proud to be part of this organization and encourage others to learn more about it at www.itrigirls.org.

I-tri is amazing!!! It really has changed lives! I love I-tri and think many others feel the same, I-tri is making girls the best that they can be! I-tri I think is shaping the future for women and girls!'

My daughter has been a participant of this program from the start and is now a member of the i-tri Empowerment Club at East Hampton High School. It has been an honor and a pleasure to see her and the other girls develop into strong confident leaders! The benefits of i-tri are far reaching and I look forward to a day when all girls have the opportunity to TRI!

I am an I Tri Alumni member and I can not express in words how wonderful this organization is. I Tri has given me one of the best support systems out there. I have learned through the help of my fellow friends and coaches that I can do anything I set my heart too. I Tri is one of the most amazing groups of volunteers, coaches, and peers coming together to inspire everyone, not only in the program but the community.

i-tri is an amazing organization run by dedicated volunteers. Giving young girls inner strength, self esteem, and supporting one another to complete a triathlon.
My daughter was selected to participate in the program the beginning of the year. We were excited, but still didn't quite know what it entailed.
My daughter's school grades had to be decent, she had to attend every meeting during the week and weekends. We also had to attend a series of nutrition programs as a family. Not once did these girls complain about training or meetings.
Never in a million years could I imagine the dedication & hard work that was involved & the pure joy to see my daughter run across that finish line!
My daughter has made more friends and is enjoying Cross Country at her school! Which I'm not sure she would have attempted had she not known what she could accomplish by being an i-tri girl!
We cannot thank Theresa enough for this opportunity! Sincerely, Anita

I am an attorney with Long Island Advocacy Center and had the great pleasure of learning about i-tri at our Annual Conference on October 11, 2013. Theresa Roden and her girls presented at our conference and were so inspirational. In my work at LIAC I speak to students and their families who are struggling to stay in school and graduate. As I learned at our conference, i-tri is an organization that is uniquely supporting at risk girls in an important and caring way. I realized that there are too few opportunities for young women to learn the skills they need to be resilient and confident when faced with obstacles and that without those skills they are at risk for failures at school and at life. I-try gives girls a safe a supportive place to learn that they are valued and capable. The supportive community created by these girls was evident in their presentation. They are becoming capable, strong, beautiful women! I hope that this programs grows so that all girls have the opportunity to participate in such a fantastic program.

I feel so fortunate that my daughter has had an opportunity to be part of i-Tri - an incredible life-enriching program. Through i-Tri she has learned self-esteem building skills, made lasting friendships and achieved the gratification that comes with going after a goal - a Triathlon - and achieving it. That alone has given her the confidence to try other new things. She’s learning that life has so many great things to offer if you’re willing to take a risk and push away that fear of failure.

My name is Noemi sanchez and my daughter Noely Martínez we went through a very terrible situation i-Tri program found us and supported all of my family, you have no idea what i Tri means to me and to many families like mine which benefits us. This program tells you in a few words how i Tri has helped Noely in many ways for both school and personally i Tri's grown stronger in every way and i has inspired me to participate in turbo tri and learned many things from this program. which is why today I'm proud to say I never knew
How much power the women could have and she will never know if she does not Try which is the what i-tri means to me. Thank you very much for all your support

I-tri has touched the lives of so many young girls in such a short time. I have interacted with the girls on numerous occasions throughout the program and have observed their transformation first hand. I have witnessed girls initially lacking self confidence, afraid and unable to swim or bike, cross a finish line, smiling with heads held high, after months of hard work and training. At that finish line, the girls are proud, their families are proud and I am proud to be a part of it all!

I am a board member and parent of an I- tri girl. This program is amazing not only for the girls but also for the families. I-tri teaches these girls they can do anything they set there minds to, these girls have become sisters a family where they don't judge each other they even go out of there way to help each other succeed . Theresa teaches them they are all the same and how to handle situations that may come up to be more confident and most of all not only to love each other but to love themselves. My other daughter is 11 and I am praying she gets chosen this year for I-tri not only do I want her in this program but for 4 years now she has watched her older sister grow and become so beautiful inside and out she wants to join the I-tri family so she can become just as confident and not care what the world thinks of her.

I have volunteer for I-Tri in the last couple of years and I am always amazed to see the faces of the I-tri girls and their families during the race and after crossing the finish line. What this program does for these families is life changing... It goes beyond training for and finish a triathlon...it is about teaching the girls about selfesteem, healthy eating habits, and that exercising can be fun. I have also seen how the program positively affects the families and seen parents actively participating in the turbo tri fundraising. I hope to see the program grow to other school districts in the East End.

I witness these amazing girls training for a triathlon in the neighborhood and wanted to get involved. As I became a volunteer I saw the changes in the girls as they worked their way through the i-tri program. I have been in education for 35 yrs and know that building ones' self esteem and confidence makes a tremendous difference in your life. Many of these girls didn't believe in themselves at the beginning of the program and now they are spreading their wings. You see it in their faces, their actions, and their words!! This is the most wonderful grass root program and we are lucky to have i-tri in our area.

As a parent of an I Tri girl I can attest to the hard work that goes into this program. The girls have to work hard as well as their families. The program actually helps all members of a family with better eating habits and choices. My daughter struggled but made it through a triathalon! Her family was so proud, she now feels that she can do anything as long as she works hard for it!! US Open here she comes!

It is rare to find a grassroots organization that has as much foresight as we see with I-tri. Their focus on ensuring their sustainability and planning for their long-term success, has enabled them to grow consistently and intelligently, while staying true to their mission. No one starts a nonprofit because they want to focus on fundraising, marketing, and business planning; however the rare nonprofit that focuses just as much on these issues as their mission is an organization that will continue to grow and achieve their goals long into the future. I-tri is that organization.

I have been an i-tri Girl since its pilot program in 2010. Not only have I benefited from the program- I have been able to be a mentor to new groups of girls each year. This year myself and two other girls from the first group started an i-tri Empowerment Club at our high school. My years in i-tri have given me the confidence to DREAM BIG and go for my goals. Last year I ran for class president and now I am the President of the Sophomore Class. I've learned about fundraising and networking through my time with i-tri and know that my life is on a great course because of all I learned being an i-tri Girl!

I-tri has been such an amazing expierience for my daughter, and for me also. The self confidenced gained from being able to complete a triatholon is priceless. Some of these girls couldnt swim or ride a bike the first day. By the end they not only learned how to do these things, they finished a race! They made friendships with othrr girls they may have otherwise missed out on knowing.
Aside from the training part of this program, they are also taught to have a possitive attitude. They are taught to believe that they can do anything. There is also a nutrion program for them to learn how to make healthy choices.
My favorite part of i-tri is that parents are included. There is a mother daughter retreat. Its a great day to hang out with all the girls and thier moms. I love having that day to bond with my daughter.
Best of all about this program is Theresa Roden. She loves our daughters as if they were one of her own. She made these girls a family. She is one of the most giving, positive people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.
Then there is the day of the race. I can not explain the pride and joy of watching my ,normally couch potato daughter, come running through the finish line. Sweety, but smiling, this year holding hands with a few of her i-tri sisters. I cant wait to see her do it again!


Our daughters come in unsure of themselves and leave as warriors that ran the race!