Tri Under Water

The LoneStar Tri in Galveston Texas this past weekend was something to remember alright. The expo was held inside nothing more than a circus tent with a concrete floor. This wouldn't have been bad except that Galveston starting taking on water. Was it the beginning of the lower plains flooding from global warming? Sure seemed that way.

On Saturday Rianna and I just made it to our booth which we had set up the night before when the rain started. It came down harder than I think I've ever seen rain come down. The intensities varied throughout the day but it was non stop. Forget leaving the building for anything unless you planned on getting dowsed. There was a band playing at 9am but the worst thing about that was that they were moved inside the circus tent because of the rain. It was VERY loud. I had to scream at the customers, literally. All this at 9am was not fun at all.

Around 10am we noticed that the floors had water creeping in from around all the edges of the structure we were in. Dealers starting moving everthing toward the center of the building. I think it was around 1pm there was a sudden flash flood in the building that covered the entire expo floor in water 1-3 inches deep. It was a major scramble to get stowed product up off the floor. Tired triathletes having just finished their race and taking in much needed food and fluids were booted off of tables and chairs to save valuable merchandise. Some dealers and reps weren't so lucky and lost hundreds of dollars of merchandise to the water.

Even though the rains stopped by the evening, we all still stood in puddles through the last day of the expo. The rains killed sales for everyone and I think that overall it was a horrible experience. Had the rain not come, this event would certainly have been a pleaser to the vendors/dealers/reps attending. I'll be back again next year. Overall, Endorfun Sports put on a great event. The weather and a couple of other minor glitches would not stop me from coming next year.