I am going to assume the price won't go down but it will just stay stagnant if no one is signing up.

LOL - they are struggling! Hard to feel sorry for that bunch of opportunistic price gougers.

I like it as a way to increase participation. It should work like an airplane ticket. Maybe they will even price guarantee just in case the price ever goes down.

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Oui, mais pas de femme toute de suite (yes, but I am not ready for a woman straight away) -Stephen Roche's reply when asked whether he was okay after collapsing at the finish in the La Plagne stage of the 1987 Tour

I think the new payment plan option is the most interesting:

Payment plan option

→ Because: We know you're saving for that new bike.

Athletes who register within the first 90 days of the general registration period will have the option of paying via a three-part payment plan. Athletes who choose to take advantage of this will be charged the Tier 3 price in three equal installments. To elect the payment plan, athletes must register under the "Payment Plan" category during the first 90 days of the general entry period and make the initial $250 payment. They will then receive instructions on when to expect the next payment link and due dates for subsequent payments. All three payments must be completed for an athlete to race – partial payments will not be refunded or honored as race entries. Athletes electing the payment plan may also take advantage of the deferral option listed above once all three payments have been completed.

My take: IM supply (racing spot quantity) too high versus current demand (participants), so it's a polite way of saying their prices are coming down, with the goal of selling more supply and hopefully revenue increasing or at least staying flat.

I'm not a fan. It used to be if you signed up early you got the best price but they are basically using this as a way to increase the revenue from popular locations where they get a lot of signups early/events that are known to sell out. Simply a money grab for them and more money out of our pockets. #RaceLocal

Full disclosure, I'm racing a IM 70.3 event this weekend as the run literally goes past my house so hard not to race when its in your backyard.

If you sign up early under this new pricing structure you still get the best price. I'm not sure what your gripe is.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

Is the "best price" going to be lower than the previous "best price"... or are they just going to jack things up at the popular venues? Better be pushing refresh at 120rpm if you want in at a good price at Tempe.

Sounds like they are going the airline route. Certain # of entry slots will be lower than the rest. Like someone else mentioned, probably to boost numbers at some of the less populated events. They saturated the market and now it's coming back to bite them

I welcome all three changes -- lower prices the earlier you sign up, no-charge deferral to same race next year and a three-installment payment plan.

These all lower the risk of committing early to a race that may be a year away. I've been injured and had to kiss most of my registration fee good-bye in the past, and a reasonable deferral policy is pro-athlete.

Not everybody has the financial headroom to plunk down a full registration fee at once, so the three-installment plan doesn't make IM races any less expensive, but spreading out the payments hurts a lot less.

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Sharon McN
@IronCharo
#TeamZoot
Clif Bar Pace Team 2003-2018

As a bike racer I marvel at triathlon pricing. Where registration involves terms likes "risk," "planning," and "installments."

I just registered for my regional championship bike race. $45.

But we both sign a death waiver, right?

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Sharon McN
@IronCharo
#TeamZoot
Clif Bar Pace Team 2003-2018

They updated the texas page and did a facebook live thing today.


http://www.ironman.com/...8.aspx#axzz4kUW2po3a

I think the inventory-based model is incredibly interesting, and I'd like to see it play out. I see it as a system that would really only benefit a series with multiple locations.

If they strategize and price it right, you can limit the faster sell-outs, and spread the people across the region. Rather than things being unbalanced, it could potentially bring more events to the 25% sold mark quicker, then move on to 50%, etc.

I think it's a far better way of generating interest to the general public instead of the old model of how many Kona slots there were.

So Boulder and I think Texas went on sale today with the new tiered pricing. In less than 2 hours, all the Tier 1 pricing is gone for Boulder. How many registrations do we think they even had at the Tier 1 price? 100?

EDIT: Texas Tier 1 is sold out too.

One slot gets sold and now they can promote "TIER 1 SOLD OUT!"..... smart move on their part, it does create a sense of urgency.

I checked IMTX shortly after noon, maybe 20 minutes and saw tier 1 sold out. My guess is enough awa people registered prior to today (myself included) so take that out of contention, however little of a quota that may have been...

I am curious to see how well they sell with the new 90 day deferral policy, that was really the most attractive thing for me.

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808 > NYC > PDX > YVR
2024 Races: Taupo

What's the price breakdown per tier?

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Boulder "Tier 1" pricing sold out too. Good marketing strategy, truthfully I don't mind it.

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Tough Times Don't Last, Tough People Do.

650 first (702 after active juice), 700, 750, 785

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808 > NYC > PDX > YVR
2024 Races: Taupo

$52 for active fees? nice work if you can get it.

I realize races are expensive (thanks WTC!) but if you have to finance a race you should really consider doing a different race.

indeed 52... my assumption is it is a percentage so it would be slightly more with higher tiers

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808 > NYC > PDX > YVR
2024 Races: Taupo

Do you know how much tier 1 registration cost?