dasOlind wrote:
One unique aspect of Tri that very few other sports seem to replicate is the competition among adult amateurs, in most sports the amateurs are kids/juniors & many just have their parents living vicariously through them and/or at the pro/adult level if it’s a mainstream sport is people just following the pros because they have no life. Tri seems uniquely outside this mold, maybe only running, surfing, and some others (I don’t know what others) replicate it.
No, triathlon definitely isn't unique in that regard. That is true for so many, possibly most sports in many countries.
Sure, formal sport participation is definitely lower in adults. Adults have more responsibilities and are often too disinterested or lazy to engage in sport. Conversely, participation in some level of sport or exercise is widely considered a normal part of a child's development.
I think where triathlon is different is that it originated as an exclusively adult sport. The distances were unsuitable for children and you had to be over 16 or 18 to sign up for any race. It then had to adapt the sport and develop a junior program.
Correct me if I'm wrong with the following though. I'm under the impression that the US has a culture of non-professional adult sport that is quite different to many countries.
In many other western countries there are flourishing competitions for adult amateurs in just about any sport that has a reasonable junior following. As an adult, I can't think of any sport that I couldn't just join a club and play in a local graded competition. And I'm over 50.
The concept of having no option but to retire from your chosen sport after college (unless you become pro) seems alien to me. Equally the idea of a sport having no structure or pathway for adults outside of a college system seems detrimental to the sport.
Can adults of average ability just sign up with a club to play football (of any code), ice hockey, baseball, etc in any reasonably sized US city?