Michael Epstein’s Zuma Foundation Wins Back Malibu Event and Announces Sept. Date for the Zuma Beach Triathlon

The on again off again drama around the Malibu Triathlon appears to finally be over – the Zuma Foundation has announced that the “Zuma Beach Triathlon will officially take place on September 13-14, 2025.” This year’s event will raise money for both the Boys and Girls Club of Malibu and the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF).

In case you missed all the drama around the event, here’s a “Coles Notes” recap of how we got to today’s news:

The Malibu Triathlon race founder, Michael Epstein, sold the race to Motiv Sports in 2017. Motiv Sports sold the race to Super League Triathlon (now supertri) in 2020. Then, in 2023, the city of Malibu created a “Road Race Ad Hoc Committee” to decide who should get the permit to put on both the one and only triathlon and running race the city allowed every year. Super League found itself suddenly competing for the rights to a race it had purchased three years before. Last January that committee gave the permit to run the triathlon to the Zuma Foundation – Michael Epstein is the Executive Director of the foundation. Super League owned the rights to the name “Malibu Triathlon,” so the event was renamed the Zuma Beach Triathlon.

Things got more complicated after that, though. After the Zuma Foundation cancelled the race last April due to “ongoing construction and repair issues on the Pacific Coast Highway, including the delayed completion of the Trancas Bridge project, among others …” Malibu City Council decided to re-open the RFP (request for proposal) process for the triathlon. Councillors felt that since the contract between the city and the Zuma Foundation hadn’t been signed, and the 2024 race had been cancelled, the bidding for the race permit should be opened up again.

Still with me?

According to the Council Agenda Report prepared by Kristin Riesgo, the Community Services Director for the city, there were five proposals received by the July 22, 2024 deadline. Three race organizations were interviewed by the Road Race Ad Hoc Committee, and it was decided that the permit should be awarded to the Zuma Foundation Inc. Changes made from Zuma Foundation’s first proposal included:

• Annual donations will increase 10% annually, beginning with $50,000 in 2025
• The Boys and Girls Club of Malibu will share production responsibilities and be the primary charity beneficiary
• Added Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) as a secondary charity beneficiary
• Added Kasey Earnest, Boys and Girls Club of Malibu, as a new Zuma Foundation Inc. board member
• Zuma Foundation Inc. created a Triathlon Safety Committee with key
  stakeholders, including Captain Jennifer Seetoo and Public Safety Commissioner Chris Frost
• Zuma Foundation Inc. designed an alternative racecourse that could be utilized if the Zuma Beach tunnel were closed

The City Council approved the report’s recommendation at a meeting on October 28, 2024. (You can watch that meeting here.)

The new race will “feature the first-ever Triathlon for Kids in Malibu on September 13 as well as the Zuma Distance and Olympic Distance Triathlons on September 14,” according to today’s release.

“The foundation has selected Boys & Girls Club of Malibu to support locally and will encourage participants to donate to the BGCM Emergency Relief Fund supporting local families affected by the recent Los Angeles wildfires while matching up to the first $10,000 of athlete donations,” the release continued. 

“Our hearts are heavy as we witness the devastating impact of the wildfires affecting our beloved community. Boys & Girls Club of Malibu is committed to providing critical support to families affected by the devastating Palisades Fire through loss of home, displacement, or loss of work,” said Kasey Earnest, Chief Executive Officer at BGCM and the new Zuma Foundation board member.

CAF will “be the exclusive and premier beneficiary of the Zuma Beach Triathlon’s Corporate Challenge.”

“We are thrilled to join forces with renowned race director Michael Epstein and the Zuma Beach Triathlon,” said Bob Babbitt, co-founder of The Challenged Athletes Foundation. “CAF was founded 32 years ago with triathlon at its core, and this partnership is a natural extension of our mission to empower athletes of all abilities. This partnership represents a perfect synergy, and I couldn’t be more excited for what is ahead.”

Registration for the event will open in February. More information can be found here.

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