The Heart of the Sound Triathlon (HOTS), which has taken place on Vashon for 11 years, has been cancelled this year due to lack of interest. The triathlon was scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 5, in Burton.

Bruce Cyra, who heads the annual event, said race organizers recently decided to call off the race after only a dozen athletes had preregistered for it so far. Usually about 120 adults and 40 children complete the triathlon, Cyra said, and by this time of the summer there are usually close to 100 athletes registered.

Cyra said that in the past about half of the triathlon competitors have been from Vashon, and he’s not sure why there was such a low turnout this year. Registration for the race was $70 for individuals and $100 for teams.

“It could be the sign of a poor economy, that people aren’t interested in doing something like this. Or it could be that people in Vashon Island aren’t interested in having a triathlon,” he said.

Cyra said that race organizers were also struggling to find volunteers to help with the triathlon. Since HOTS is a nonprofit event and triathlons require a large number of safety measures, Cyra said, many volunteers are required to put the race on.

“We don’t want to put people in danger,” he said. “We’d rather have no event than an unsafe event.”

Cyra said the HOTS board will now consider whether to hold the race next year. They will discuss whether changes may make it more appealing to athletes and whether they can find enough volunteers to continue the event.

“We need to gauge whether there’s enough community support to put this on,” he said.