False start for annual triathlon?

One of the longest running triathlons in the country may not return to Newport Beach this year.

Before its 29th anniversary, the Kring and Chung Newport Beach Triathlon may hit the wall as organizers and city officials tussle over the race’s traffic plans.

Jack Caress, director of Pacific Sports, thecompany that has run the race since its inception in 1978, said obtaining new course plans is expensive. Besides, he noted that his company has a working traffic plan from previous races. But city officials have complained about how the race has negatively affected traffic on race day in the past and are making new demands.

Pacific Sports also runs the Long Beach Triathlon, The City of Los Angeles Triathlon, the Huntington Beach Triathlon and the Catalina Marathon. Caress said he was certain city officials have deliberately worked against the race by making new requests and denying other plans.

“The hurdles we have been made to jump through have made it more and more difficult to facilitate the race,” Caress said. “I don’t think we are being treated fairly for an event that has worked for 28 years.”

Caress claimed that city officials met with everyone involved in the race last year except Pacific Sports representatives and that City Manager Homer Bludau said he did not want the triathlon to return to the city again.

Bludau said he was concerned about the race’s effect on traffic each year, including last year’s difficulty rerouting traffic around Jamboree Road south of San Joaquin Hills Road.

“It isn’t just a personal opinion,” Bludau said. “We have the responsibility to balance the needs of the community. This is a real time-consuming event not only for staff but for the community.”

Newport Beach Councilwoman Leslie Daigle, an occasional triathlon participant, said city officials have to concern themselves with more than just the race.

“We welcome events to our community but we also have requirements to make sure traffic runs smoothly,” Daigle said. “We apply uniform standards. We’re not asking anything more at this event than any other.”

Pacific Sports was given ample time to submit a revised traffic proposal, said Marie Knight, director of the city’s recreation and senior services. The company submitted incomplete plans, and it’s the company’s responsibility to prepare traffic plans, she added.

“We shouldn’t have to take taxpayers’ money to help a business,” she said. “A lot of outside businesses want to do their events in Newport because it’s a beautiful place.”

Caress doesn’t understand how rerouting traffic for less than two hours on one Sunday out of the year posed enough of a problem to shut down the event, he said.

“We’ve paid all our bills,” Caress said.

Kyle Kring, of the Kring and Chung law firm that has sponsored the triathlon for the past 10 years, agreed with Caress that city officials are throwing up obstacles.

“It seems like someone at the city just does not want to do the race,” he said.

Caress said he feels emotionally attached to the race since it was the beginning of his company and a longtime tradition in the sport.

“We have produced 13 U.S. championships. We have a lot of experience,” Caress said. “This event has been part of the history of the sport.”

The triathlon, which began as a competition between local restaurants, has grown to include 1,000 participants from all over the world. Each year the triathlon donates to the men’s and women’s UCI rowing clubs and involves several sponsors and local restaurants.

The race is scheduled for May 21, but Caress said race organizers are unable to take sign-ups now.

The course includes a half-mile swim of the Newport Beach Back Bay, and a 12-mile cycle and 5-K run around Fashion Island and through various parts of the Back Bay area. For more information on the event, rescheduling or indefinite cancellation visit www.pacificsportsllc.com.PHOTOS BY KENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOTSwimmers negotiate through slippery algae and knee-deep mud as they enter the water at the dunes during a past Newport Beach triathlon. Beth Carlson, the women’s winner in the elite division that year, was cheered on as she neared the finish line.dpt.27-triathlon.kt-CPhotoInfoI81ODHSK20060227ivbjyhknKENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)Jack Caress, the race director for the Newport Beach Triathlon, is unsure whether his event will be held this year because of disagreements with Newport Beach officials on route planning. The triathlon, which starts at the Newport Dunes, is one of the oldest in the country. dpt.27-triathalon-2-kt-CPhotoInfoI81ODGTF20060227hy6svakfPHOTOS BY KENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)Swimmers negotiate through slippery algae and knee-deep mud as they enter the water at the dunes during a past Newport Beach triathlon. dpt.27-triathalon-1-kt-CPhotoInfoI81ODGTD20060227hy6srgkfKENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)Jack Caress, the race director for the Newport Beach Triathlon, is unsure whether his event will be held this year because of disagreements with Newport Beach officials on route planning. The triathlon, which starts at the Newport Dunes, is one of the oldest in the country.