Why not simply have both?

Why not have a points champion and a WTS Grand Final champion?

I'm not really for or against either method. I think you have to ask yourself what you want as your "world champion". Do you want it to be like the Olympics where it's a 1 day anything goes, or do you want it to be the best/most consistent over the year of racing.

There are cases where both structures work.

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@brooksdoughtie
USAT-L2,Y&J; USAC-L2
http://www.aomultisport.com

Already the ITU rules put a huge amount of weight on the Grand Final. If the Grand Final just had normal points, then GJ would already be champion. Having 50% more points availble at the Grand Final opens it up even further. But most importunately, the rules state that you final points total comes from your Grand Final points and your best 5 scores from the other races. Lets say you get 2nd (740 points for each 2nd place) in 5 races, so your points total is 3700. If you DNF the 6th race your total points will remain 3700, but if you win, then your total points only goes to 3760, only 60 more points. Finishing 39th at the Grand Final will increase your total points by 62, more than that win at the 6th race.

The Grand Final has a huge affect on the final rankings already. The way the rules are structured now the athletes has an incentive to race the majority of the races in the WTS, but still the Grand Final has the most weight. If the Grand Final has all of the weight, athletes may choose to race less in the WTS once they know they have qualified for the Grand Final.

meh. Look at the premises of the article:

• This was the type of romance that triathlon viewers craved. Who says? How can the author legitimately speak for all "triathlon viewers"? Weak....
• The one-day format gave a range of athletes a chance at glory. The author never articulates how the current series format penalizes (from a chance of glory standpoint) the entire field from their chance at glory. Hey, race the races and take your chances.
• It’s events like these that tell a story. Well, everyone who watches triathlonlive.tv (and that in itself; that is, that there is a streaming video business model that's making money and streaming video) is watching a story, the unfolding of a season-long series those that try to gain points. Why does it have to come down to a one-day event?
• Almost all agree that a World Series is a fair way of crowning the champion, and the most consistent athletes are rewarded. Well, there you have it. The professional field said it, and they're seemingly satisfied at the series format.

I don't see the conflict or the issue. Vote with your attention, attendance, and interest.