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Transfer my Ironman registration
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Had this thought the other day. Although I am registered I just recently found out I will probably not be able to do IMLP 13'. Basically it is 50/50 if I will be able to do the race and looking at the refund policy looks like I am out $500. So with those odds I probably will not even apply for the refund and just hope I can get up there and race. I completely understand not giving refunds but considering we are forced to register a year in advance or in some cases longer it would be a great WTC policy to offer transfers to open 70.3's or Ironmans. They could even say you have to prove a major injury or unexpected life event (i.e. birth, wedding, deployment, hardship).

So for instance I can't do IMLP but Texas and Louisville is not sold out and those dates would work for me so they could allow you to transfer your registration to a non-sold out event. I think most understand they can't give refunds but with so many events world wide and a few that don't sell out, or 70.3's that rarely sell out, don't you think this would be a good policy. Thoughts??
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [Quincyceltic] [ In reply to ]
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There really isn't any incentive for WTC to do this.

Right now they over sell the events, and expect X% to drop out. The other events get the same.

If they add in the ability to transfer to another race they just lost the chance of you paying them an extra 500. Basically, until someone else (Rev3, HITs, etc.) starts taking customers away from the WTC I don't see them adding this.

On the other hand, if another race does not typically sell out they might have a chance at getting some more merchandise out of you by letting you attend at a discount. Perhaps a 150 refund or 300 toward a different race?
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [Quincyceltic] [ In reply to ]
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Quincyceltic wrote:
Had this thought the other day. Although I am registered I just recently found out I will probably not be able to do IMLP 13'. Basically it is 50/50 if I will be able to do the race and looking at the refund policy looks like I am out $500. So with those odds I probably will not even apply for the refund and just hope I can get up there and race. I completely understand not giving refunds but considering we are forced to register a year in advance or in some cases longer it would be a great WTC policy to offer transfers to open 70.3's or Ironmans. They could even say you have to prove a major injury or unexpected life event (i.e. birth, wedding, deployment, hardship).

So for instance I can't do IMLP but Texas and Louisville is not sold out and those dates would work for me so they could allow you to transfer your registration to a non-sold out event. I think most understand they can't give refunds but with so many events world wide and a few that don't sell out, or 70.3's that rarely sell out, don't you think this would be a good policy. Thoughts??

why don't you give them a call or email them?
It never hurts to ask :)
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [Quincyceltic] [ In reply to ]
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They actually do this for the European races (and for whatever reason, South Africa is also included in "Europe").


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Race Transfer Policy
• all athletes that sign up for an Ironman or Ironman 70.3 race in Europe or South Africa can now be transfer to another race up until two months prior to the date of the race the athlete originally signed up for.
• it is not possible to transfer an entry more than once. Race entry transfers are £25 regardless of the reason for the athlete’s transfer.
• entries for races before August can only be transferred to races within the same calendar year. Entries for races after August (eg Ironman Wales) can be transferred to any race prior to July the following year.
• race entries cannot be transferred to any sold-out Ironman or Ironman 70.3 event.
• upgrades between Ironman 70.3 and Ironman races are possible, the fee of £25 and the difference in the entry fee will be charged.
• it is also possible to downgrade a race, although the difference in entry fee will not be refunded.
• race entries cannot be transferred to another athlete.

From http://ironmanwales.com/...w/withdrawal-policy/

They only introduced it there last year, and hopefully it'll make it here soon... like the Age Group rankings (AGR), that are being trialled in Europe before coming out in the US*.


* Awesomely enough, and mostly because not many people travel from the US to race in Europe, I'm 24th in the M35-39 AGR for US-based athletes. Of course, that's 2652nd overall, but I'm going with 24th. :-)

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http://ironvision.blogspot.com ; @drSteve1663
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [drsteve] [ In reply to ]
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Right. The drawback to this policy is that after spending the $50 insurance, it takes over 3 months to receive a refund.


_____________________________________
DISH is how we do it.
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [travelmama] [ In reply to ]
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I may have missed something, but there's no "insurance" in the European race transfer AFAIK.
As long as you're more than 2 months out from race day, you fill in a form, pay your "transfer fee" (25GBP/29Euro), and get a code that buys you entry into any other race that's open. I've not heard any reports that this is a slow process.

Refunds - they claim that it can take 28 days to process. Of course, the best you'll ever get back is half your money and if it's close to race day you get nothing.

Disclaimer: My only knowledge of this comes from having raced at Wales and got emails about the new transfer policy when it came out. If I'm mis-informed then I'm happy to be corrected.

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http://ironvision.blogspot.com ; @drSteve1663
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [LostNTransition] [ In reply to ]
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There really isn't any incentive for WTC to do this.

How about Customer Service?

It is the year of our Lord, Two Thousand and Twelve! Are we not in the age of computers? Up to a certain date (maybe 2 months out), how hard could it be for a $50 fee to make that transfer. The Marine Corps Marathon allows bib transfers, and they have done this well for years.

Shouldn't be that difficult.
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [drsteve] [ In reply to ]
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drsteve wrote:
I may have missed something, but there's no "insurance" in the European race transfer AFAIK.
As long as you're more than 2 months out from race day, you fill in a form, pay your "transfer fee" (25GBP/29Euro), and get a code that buys you entry into any other race that's open. I've not heard any reports that this is a slow process.

Refunds - they claim that it can take 28 days to process. Of course, the best you'll ever get back is half your money and if it's close to race day you get nothing.

Disclaimer: My only knowledge of this comes from having raced at Wales and got emails about the new transfer policy when it came out. If I'm mis-informed then I'm happy to be corrected.
Two years ago I planned on doing South Africa. My plans were derailed by injury and life however, I paid the 35 Euros insurance for a race refund (for housefire, illness, injury and whatever else). Proper information was submitted and a refund was to be given immediately. That was not the case. After multiple e-mail exchanges, nonsense from Sharon (or whatever her name is), lies about credit card transactions, calls to WTC in Florida, my refund was given 101 days later.


_____________________________________
DISH is how we do it.
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [Shamgar] [ In reply to ]
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Shamgar wrote:
There really isn't any incentive for WTC to do this.

How about Customer Service?

It is the year of our Lord, Two Thousand and Twelve! Are we not in the age of computers? Up to a certain date (maybe 2 months out), how hard could it be for a $50 fee to make that transfer. The Marine Corps Marathon allows bib transfers, and they have done this well for years.

Shouldn't be that difficult.

Could not agree more!
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [travelmama] [ In reply to ]
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travelmama wrote:
drsteve wrote:
I may have missed something, but there's no "insurance" in the European race transfer AFAIK.
As long as you're more than 2 months out from race day, you fill in a form, pay your "transfer fee" (25GBP/29Euro), and get a code that buys you entry into any other race that's open. I've not heard any reports that this is a slow process.

Refunds - they claim that it can take 28 days to process. Of course, the best you'll ever get back is half your money and if it's close to race day you get nothing.

Disclaimer: My only knowledge of this comes from having raced at Wales and got emails about the new transfer policy when it came out. If I'm mis-informed then I'm happy to be corrected.

Two years ago I planned on doing South Africa. My plans were derailed by injury and life however, I paid the 35 Euros insurance for a race refund (for housefire, illness, injury and whatever else). Proper information was submitted and a refund was to be given immediately. That was not the case. After multiple e-mail exchanges, nonsense from Sharon (or whatever her name is), lies about credit card transactions, calls to WTC in Florida, my refund was given 101 days later.

Wow, WTC really dropped the ball there! Glad you got your refund eventually.
That's not the current system though. There's no insurance that I'm aware of, and the new system came into effect on November 24th 2011. Maybe they're learning from dissatisfied customers?!

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http://ironvision.blogspot.com ; @drSteve1663
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [Quincyceltic] [ In reply to ]
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As everyone has pointed out, WTC sells out 3,000 spot races in minutes. They have no incentive to offer refunds or transfer policies. It would be good customer service but they clearly don't need to as their races are beyond popular. So people here (and everywhere) speak with your wallets or else just stop complaining.

So, Mr. OP, I feel your pain and it sucks, but you will not be getting a refund and believe me, plenty of people have already asked. Hopefully your plans allow for you to race in 2013.
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [Quincyceltic] [ In reply to ]
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I was registered for the 2009 IMLP and planned to register for IMC 2010. However I was deployed and not able to make IMLP or registration for IMC. They were willing to transfer my registration to any 2010 race. Unfortunately that was right at the time that WTC bought all of the races, except IMC, so they couldn't give me a direct transfer but they did refund my money. And, IMC was willing to let me register when I got back from deployment.

z


------------------------------------------------------------
zippy
There’s a smile when the pain comes;
The pain’s gonna make everything alright.
Last edited by: zippyz130: Nov 11, 12 18:55
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [Quincyceltic] [ In reply to ]
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Rev3 has a nice transfer policy



"Keep those feet moving!" Me
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [Shamgar] [ In reply to ]
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Shamgar wrote:
There really isn't any incentive for WTC to do this.

How about Customer Service?

It is the year of our Lord, Two Thousand and Twelve! Are we not in the age of computers? Up to a certain date (maybe 2 months out), how hard could it be for a $50 fee to make that transfer. The Marine Corps Marathon allows bib transfers, and they have done this well for years.

Shouldn't be that difficult.

Customer Service? HA! You know the rules when registering for the race. Don't like it? There are plenty of other races out there for you to do and 10,000+ other people who will gladly take that spot you're giving up....

Until races stop selling out and WTC stops making $ hand over fist, don't expect the policy to change...
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [Quincyceltic] [ In reply to ]
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Dude, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor a month after I signed up for IMWI in '09. It was stated to me they are a business and policy is policy. If they make an exception for one then many will follow and they were not going to go down that road. You knew the policy up front when you signed up, welcome to the IM donation club. I asked about deferment to the next years race and that was a no go either. You are screwed.

Owner of a few Speed Concepts since 2011.
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [btmoney] [ In reply to ]
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There really isn't any incentive for WTC to do this.

How about Customer Service?

It is the year of our Lord, Two Thousand and Twelve! Are we not in the age of computers? Up to a certain date (maybe 2 months out), how hard could it be for a $50 fee to make that transfer. The Marine Corps Marathon allows bib transfers, and they have done this well for years.

Shouldn't be that difficult.[/quote]

Customer Service? HA! You know the rules when registering for the race. Don't like it? There are plenty of other races out there for you to do and 10,000+ other people who will gladly take that spot you're giving up....

Until races stop selling out and WTC stops making $ hand over fist, don't expect the policy to change...[/quote]



Dude! ! ! At Ease. . . Didn't say, "I Hate It, and think they're a bunch of jerks!" Just was responding, and made the point of Customer Service. I'm signed up for IMTX once again, and will be at the race, health permitting. I also was just making the point about the MCM who Sold out 30,000 race spots in less than 30 minutes. They allow for bib transfers, and it would be very nice if WTC did the same.
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [Quincyceltic] [ In reply to ]
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....and everything continues on, of course the WTC doesn't care about you, they don't care about Triathlon, they only care about how much money they can extract from each customer.

cue, all the WTC lovers defending the company.


Of course there are options...Rev3, Challenge, Hits, and all sorts of independent long distance races, that actually care about you, the athlete.......only in North America is there a love affair with WTC.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>X
If you run long enough....something is bound to happen
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [runnerwv] [ In reply to ]
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Anyone with Challenge transfer experience? Thanks
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [travelmama] [ In reply to ]
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[quote travelmamaTwo years ago I planned on doing South Africa. My plans were derailed by injury and life however, I paid the 35 Euros insurance for a race refund (for housefire, illness, injury and whatever else). Proper information was submitted and a refund was to be given immediately. That was not the case. After multiple e-mail exchanges, nonsense from Sharon (or whatever her name is), lies about credit card transactions, calls to WTC in Florida, my refund was given 101 days later.[/quote]
One bad and one good experience for me in the last 2 years. I signed up for IM South Africa but then had to cancel. I emailled them and nada, emailled again still nada until eventually I gave up.

Last year I signed up for 70.3 Mallorca then transferred the entry to 70.3 Norway and it was flawless and made me a much happier bunny and I now sign up to races with more confidence meaning I'm more likely to do WTC races because of the transfer policy.

From my experience I think how well or badly you are treated partly comes down to the local organisation running the races, in the case of IMSA it's just poor and I do everything I can to put people off signing up for thier races now suggesting any other race in the calendar for them....as someone said, customer service!
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [ In reply to ]
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Hi All,

I was injured in my training and will not be able to compete in the Oceanside 70.3 that I had already signed up for. Does anyone know a good way to go around the system and transfer my bib, or am I s*** out of luck and take the small refund back?

Thanks
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [s784] [ In reply to ]
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s784 wrote:
Hi All,

I was injured in my training and will not be able to compete in the Oceanside 70.3 that I had already signed up for. Does anyone know a good way to go around the system and transfer my bib, or am I s*** out of luck and take the small refund back?

Thanks

If you can make it to the registration to pick up the package go and ask your club president if he/she knows anyone willing to buy it from you. If you go this route tell everyone not to go bragging about it:)
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [s784] [ In reply to ]
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You could race but turn it into an Oly by cutting the course like that girl in Florida.
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [hankscorpio] [ In reply to ]
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I don't think you want to cut a course on a military base. Shot on sight!
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [s784] [ In reply to ]
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s784 wrote:
Hi All,

I was injured in my training and will not be able to compete in the Oceanside 70.3 that I had already signed up for. Does anyone know a good way to go around the system and transfer my bib, or am I s*** out of luck and take the small refund back?

Thanks

An excellent first post from a brand new user to Slowtwitch. A casual search here will provide plenty of answers to possible ways to try to circumvent the agreement you made when you signed up, along with the ramifications if you get caught transferring your bib without the race director's consent.

I'm not saying I agree or disagree with the policy, just saying what it currently is. Caveat emptor!
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [s784] [ In reply to ]
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I am interested.

- Mevin Koats
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [LostNTransition] [ In reply to ]
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LostNTransition wrote:
There really isn't any incentive for WTC to do this.

I can see an incentive for WTC to allow transfers from sold out events like IMFL or IMLP to events that aren't sold out, such as IMLOU. This could be a win-win, because it provides a higher level of customer service, helps fill events that aren't sold out, and opens up another space to sell in sold out events. Maybe the cost to manage this sort of transfer isn't worth it for them?

____________________________________________
Don Larkin
Reach For More
http://www.reachformore.fit/
USAT Lvl1 Coach, NSCA-CPT, NASM-CPT, BS Exercise Science
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [Tri Wannabe] [ In reply to ]
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Tri Wannabe wrote:
Anyone with Challenge transfer experience? Thanks

I talked to a guy the other day that did signed up for a Challenge Penticton and decided to do Ironman Canda instead. He asked for a refund and got it right away.

Formely stef32
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [TriMyBest] [ In reply to ]
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Yeah - they could give refunds of say 75% and then resell the spot to another racer at a premium.
Win - win!
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [Mac] [ In reply to ]
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Mac wrote:
Yeah - they could give refunds of say 75% and then resell the spot to another racer at a premium.
Win - win!

They can't really resell the spots because they don't exist in the first place. If they have room for 2000 they sell 2500 slots knowing that 500 won't show. Under your plan they would only be able to sell 2000 slots up front.
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [NJSteve] [ In reply to ]
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Great thanks everyone, I appreciate all the feedback. Mevin, how could I get in contact with you?
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [s784] [ In reply to ]
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s784 wrote:
Great thanks everyone, I appreciate all the feedback. Mevin, how could I get in contact with you?

Now that.......honestly made me laugh out loud! Well played Steve, you get the post of the week my friend!!!
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [Thom] [ In reply to ]
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I can't help but wonder if there is a way for them to do some kind of refund+resell AND still have enough space for the day of competition. For example if they kept the cutoff for transfers out a ways they could still count on a fairly high percentage of no-shows. You'd think there is middle ground somewhere.
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [TriTrev] [ In reply to ]
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There are a lot of competitors that are 'IRONMAN-athletes' rather than Iron-distance Triathletes, and wouldn't consider a race like ours unless it is "IRONMAN' branded, but in many senses, it is the last five years of actions by Ironman/ WTC/ Provident Equity Partners that have created a space for races like ours.

If WTC/Provident hadn't so dramatically escalated pricing while pulling back on amenities, it could have been difficult for us to create a value based alternative. As it is, we can deliver a superior experience in a destination part of the world (minus the crowds on the swim and bike), in addition to a full Refund/Transfer and Race Registration Insurance program (Doctor says you can't race? 100% refund)

Now, with a successful first year behind us, the question long term is can we grow or tap into a following that is more interested in the race experience than just a brand name? If you are curious to see, or can support a race that is NOT Ironman-branded, come join us on June 30th this year...


.
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [tchesnutt] [ In reply to ]
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tchesnutt wrote:
...can we grow or tap into a following that is more interested in the race experience than just a brand name?

I'm not sure how well you understand your market. I don't race Ironman because of a brand name. I race Ironman because it is a big event. Despite all the complaining about crowded courses, a big part of the appeal of an Ironman is the size. They have a big event feel that is hard to match if you only have a fraction of the participants. I steer away from iron-distance races specifically because of the "race experience", and I suspect there are a lot of others like me.
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [Quincyceltic] [ In reply to ]
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I'm not a WTC fan, but I can understand why they won't let you transfer your entry to another race. IMLP is sold out. If you transfer your entry to another WTC event, then IMLP is down one $500 entry fee. Multiply this by 250 transfers (maybe more) and IMLP is out $125K. And with all of the events WTC produces, a transfer policy would require several new employees. I would estimate well over 10,000 transfer requests would be made every year.
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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [Thom] [ In reply to ]
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Quote:
I steer away from iron-distance races specifically because of the "race experience", and I suspect there are a lot of others like me.
I agree that many, perhaps the majority, at Ironman events crave that big-event experience - especially among the one-and-done crowd - the same goes for Marathons too.

That said, I think we do know our target market pretty well - it is different than WTC's, yet it also is a subset of the 500,000+ that have done an Ironman event to date. Some of those who will be attracted to our event like the distance, but not over-crowded conditions, some will use our race as a training event for their 'A' race of the year
(which could well be an Ironman), many are looking for a great race to do while on vacation in a beautiful spot of the world, and some will like it because it can be very economical - especially with a home-stay option. We hope that an increasing number come each year because their friends that have done the race give them a first hand recommendation.

The question will be over time can we attract 3-500 of them each year to our event? We think so, and look forward to showing them a good time here on the East Coast! :-)



.


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Re: Transfer my Ironman registration [Thom] [ In reply to ]
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Thom wrote:
tchesnutt wrote:
...can we grow or tap into a following that is more interested in the race experience than just a brand name?


I'm not sure how well you understand your market. I don't race Ironman because of a brand name. I race Ironman because it is a big event. Despite all the complaining about crowded courses, a big part of the appeal of an Ironman is the size. They have a big event feel that is hard to match if you only have a fraction of the participants. I steer away from iron-distance races specifically because of the "race experience", and I suspect there are a lot of others like me.

Well that and the draw of Kona. Anyone who want to go and thinks they can qualify, and that won't ever include me, wouldn't bother to do a non IM branded race. Now with the legacy program that is doubly true.

I'm relatively new to the sport, but I believe there use to be a few non IM races that had qualifying spots. Perhaps if some of the other series had a qualifying agreement with WTC it would increase the draw of those races. For example HITS has points, if you were in the top 10 point earners for a year you could have a slot.
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