Polar, a wearable sports and fitness technology company, announces a partnership with i-tri, an East Hampton-based program fostering personal empowerment through triathlon training for middle-school girls. Through this partnership, i-tri girls will train with Polar heart rate monitors to incorporate the technology component of STEM learning into their curriculum. The data-based training will educate girls on the physics and biology of their bodies during exercise while providing real-time, personal data to continue training motivation and boost self-esteem. As a part of i-tri’s integrated STEM-based curriculum, The Science of Triathlon, the girls will also be part of a study to determine the effects of technology on their training process.
“Polar’s partnership with i-tri is a major step in empowering adolescent girls to be active and understanding from a young age how real-time data is a reflection of what goes on inside our bodies. We believe that data is a major motivating factor for athletes of all ages, and we look forward to further promoting that inspiration and providing resources to help,” said Tom Fowler, President of Polar U.S. “Introducing an active lifestyle early is key for encouraging healthy habits throughout adulthood, and we support i-tri’s mission of personal empowerment through sports, science and education.”
Since its formation in 2010, i-tri has noticed educational gains, specifically in science, from girls who were in the program. With the Polar partnership, girls can take their learning a step further by analyzing their own data. By giving girls a goal of completing a triathlon, i-tri is also boosting confidence by giving them the physical and mental tools to achieve that goal.
“Because of their long-standing history of accuracy, Polar was the clear choice when we decided to partner with a sports technology company,” said i-tri Founder and Executive Director, Theresa Roden. “After training for and completing my first triathlon in my thirties, I saw more than just a physical transformation – I saw the way it positively affected me from an emotional and self-esteem standpoint, and I wanted to create a community to foster those same goals for girls in their formative years. We are confident that the technologies Polar offers will help do exactly that while also helping to create the next generation of engineers and scientists in the process.”
About i-tri
i-tri is an empowerment program that utilizes sport as a tool, achieving unparalleled behavioral, social, academic and physical results through our unique program that utilizes empowerment workshops, exercise programs and triathlon training (swimming, biking and running instruction and training) all integrated with our Science of Triathlon (STEM) curriculum, mentoring programs and nutrition workshops that culminates every year at the BNB Hamptons Youth Triathlon in July, where every girl crosses the finish line…which is really just the beginning for them.
