World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) has partnered with eBay, the World's Online Marketplace to provide 20 lucky athletes with the “Ultimate Ironman Experience” through a charity auction for coveted entries to the 25^th Anniversary Ironman Triathlon World Championship being held on October 18 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

The eBay auction is the first phase in a two-year campaign to raise $1 million for the Kona Family YMCA. All of the auction proceeds will go to the Ironman Kona Community Foundation, which will donate 100 percent of the proceeds toward construction costs for a new YMCA facility to be built on Hawaii's Big Island. According to WTC president Lew Friedland, the WTC will pay all administration costs so that all of the monies raised will go directly to the YMCA.

“Over the years, we've had people trying to buy their way into our event and we've always turned them away,” said Friedland. “There are so many people who told us they would do anything to get into our 25^th Anniversary event that we thought this would be the perfect opportunity for us to do something good for the Kona community in the process. The YMCA has been providing services in the community for years, but has never had one central location. This is our chance to help make this a reality and leave something lasting for the community.”

The 10-day auction period will run from March 27-April 6 on www.ebay.com, with at least two slots available in each of the six age group categories. Each of the categories is open to both male and female athletes. For athletes who have always dreamed of racing Ironman with a sibling, spouse or training buddy, there will also be two “couple” packages available for bid. The minimum bid for each of the slots is $10,000, with all funds due by May 7. All funds paid are tax-deductible.

“eBay Sports is committed to helping athletes improve their performances by giving them access to the best gear and the most unique experiences in the world of sports,” said Bob Hebeler, vice president and general manager, eBay Sports. “By hosting the Ironman auctions on eBay, competitors have an exclusive opportunity to participate in a world class race, with the added benefit of raising funds for a new YMCA. Providing new and unique ways for fans to accomplish their fitness goals, while supporting charity, falls in line with eBay's mission to continually raise the bar on the sports experience.”

The charity slot breakout is as follows:

 Athletes must provide proof of age for their specific age group and must have completed at least a half-distance Ironman event within the past year, or must complete a half-distance event before the 25^th Anniversary Ironman Triathlon World Championship in order to validate their entry.

In addition to the opportunity to race at the world's most famous endurance event, lucky winners will also receive private registration in Kona, a course tour with an Ironman world champion, 30—minute personal session with an Ironman professional athlete and four VIP packages, including race-day passes and invitations to the race week functions.

The 20 slots being offered via the eBay auction have been added to this year's race, and are over and above the 200 lottery slots WTC awards each year.

Founded in September 1995, eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY; http://www.ebay.com) is The World's Online Marketplace for the sale of goods and services by a diverse community of individuals and businesses. Today, the eBay community includes tens of millions of registered members from around the world. People spend more time on eBay than any other online site, making it the most popular shopping destination on the Internet.

The Ironman Triathlon, considered to be the ultimate test of physical and mental toughness, is comprised of a 2.4-mile swim in the Pacific Ocean, a 112-mile bike through scorching lava fields, followed by a 26.2-mile run. The course must be completed in 17 hours with cutoff times applied to each segment. The first event took place on February 18, 1978 with only 15 men competing. Today, more than 50,000 athletes from around the world vie for one of 1,500 coveted starting slots at one of 24 Ironman qualifying races around the world each year.