2008 opens with the news that the National Federation is willing to join efforts. The news is badly received by most athletes who view the National Federation as a nuisance and are suspicious of their intentions. The drawback of working together is that all the athletes taking part at the race MUST sign up for Federation membership and belong to a club. We will explain later why most of the clubs listed as "triathlon clubs" bear the letter "K" in their acronym, which indeed stands for... Karate... another story. 

Anyway the news is not well received by the community and attendance at the race suffers. Schiniathlon is deeply concerned that it might affect its image and the atmosphere it has worked so hard to create, the relationships with the athletes it had developed. 

With just above 50 athletes at the race, the prospects look grim but Schiniathlon is committed to make things work and communicate in lengths about the advantages of being supported by the Federation as opposed to being bullied by it. 

2008 will prove to be a turning point in the relationships with the Federation...