After the latest round of teeth gnashing over the evils of WTC (gender equity, pro social media, slagging Pete Jacobs) I was casting about to think of another sport that has the peculiar organizational aspects of long course triathlon. In particular I note the following:
-the body which is the de facto governing agency for the "elite competitive" end of the sport is also a for-profit corporation that organizes the competitions themselves. I contrast this with various other sports where the "business end" is separated from the competitive governance. For example, short course triathlon has the ITU which is a not-for-profit entity that governs the rules and regulations around the elite competition, including the awarding of prize money, but the for profit end of the business is in the hands of individual race organizers which are (at least as I understand) notionally arms length from the ITU. Something like the Diamond League might be close, but if I understand it correctly they still get sanctioning from IAAF. Even in the big money sports, the governing office of a league (the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA) is notionally "not for profit" with the for profit revenues being located in the member teams of the league.
-the revenue for the sport is primarily driven from participation in the sport by a large group of competitors who are not in the elite wave, or the amateur competition. The closest thing I can think of that would match would be something like the Crossfit games - although I imagine they have a higher percentage of revenue from licensing broadcast rights.
-the agency that governs and profits from the amateur competition, also organizes and profits from the elite competition. This distinguishes it from something like running races where (at least as far as I understand) something like running races where there is no link between profiting off of the amateur competition and organizing and governing the elite competition.
-there is a relatively proprietary element to the de facto elite championship competition. I am of course referring to the "Ironman World Championship" which is strongly tied to the Hawaii/Kona location and WTC's hold over the licence for that event. I can't really think of anything that has a similar proprietary element an organizer can profit from. The closest analogies I can think of would be something like Augusta National and the Masters or the All-England Club for Wimbledon.
So much of what drives the conflict between WTC, the professional athletes and age group athletes is tied up in these factors. Where sports like hockey or golf had other close comparitors (baseball, tennis) to draw off of in terms of a model to govern these relationships and reach resolution, long course triathlon appears extraordinarily unique and I can't think of exactly what other sport can be used to model off of.
Any thoughts?
-the body which is the de facto governing agency for the "elite competitive" end of the sport is also a for-profit corporation that organizes the competitions themselves. I contrast this with various other sports where the "business end" is separated from the competitive governance. For example, short course triathlon has the ITU which is a not-for-profit entity that governs the rules and regulations around the elite competition, including the awarding of prize money, but the for profit end of the business is in the hands of individual race organizers which are (at least as I understand) notionally arms length from the ITU. Something like the Diamond League might be close, but if I understand it correctly they still get sanctioning from IAAF. Even in the big money sports, the governing office of a league (the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA) is notionally "not for profit" with the for profit revenues being located in the member teams of the league.
-the revenue for the sport is primarily driven from participation in the sport by a large group of competitors who are not in the elite wave, or the amateur competition. The closest thing I can think of that would match would be something like the Crossfit games - although I imagine they have a higher percentage of revenue from licensing broadcast rights.
-the agency that governs and profits from the amateur competition, also organizes and profits from the elite competition. This distinguishes it from something like running races where (at least as far as I understand) something like running races where there is no link between profiting off of the amateur competition and organizing and governing the elite competition.
-there is a relatively proprietary element to the de facto elite championship competition. I am of course referring to the "Ironman World Championship" which is strongly tied to the Hawaii/Kona location and WTC's hold over the licence for that event. I can't really think of anything that has a similar proprietary element an organizer can profit from. The closest analogies I can think of would be something like Augusta National and the Masters or the All-England Club for Wimbledon.
So much of what drives the conflict between WTC, the professional athletes and age group athletes is tied up in these factors. Where sports like hockey or golf had other close comparitors (baseball, tennis) to draw off of in terms of a model to govern these relationships and reach resolution, long course triathlon appears extraordinarily unique and I can't think of exactly what other sport can be used to model off of.
Any thoughts?