can i get a bottom line on this? specifically:

1. bbryant, you're asking that after an ironman race, that a list of people, their names, their times, who qualified for kona be presented publicly somewhere. here maybe.
2. noofus, you're saying this is a pretty easy thing to do. that it can be done in 20 minutes with a little excel talent. yes?
3. privacy issues. really? i'm not scoffing, just asking. i don't see any reasonable expectation of privacy here, since as a number of people noted these are facts publicly available just by going to the rolldown. and, is this the sort of thing that a person would find objectionable if it was published about him? that he qualified for kona?
4. cat burglars? if it's reasonably easy to find out who from chattanooga qualified for kona so that i can rob your house while you're racing in kona, can't i just find that out even if it's not published on slowtwitch?

so, how important is it? if we generate the info here, publish it here, after every race, is that of value and is that objectionable for privacy reasons?

" There is literally no reason other than morbid curiosity that anyone NEEDS that information."

Really Noofus, "literally no reason", are you sure? There is no reason NOT to put it in.

When I was doing ironman races I was always interested in seeing the time of the last qualifier in my age group, just to see what approximate time I should be aiming for on any particular course.
Also, of particular interest to me, just to check how far the roll down went.
I realize that it's not perfect but it was at least a rough estimate.

That's far from morbid curiosity, in fact it seems sensible.
When the last qualifier in my age group at the last ironman I did went from 45 minutes faster than me to 90 minutes faster, over 2 years, I decided it was no longer worth the investment.

The don't publish that stuff for 1 reason, they do not want to make it possible to be "audited/reconciled."

Let's say for instance that you knew who took every slot at every qualifying event, then let's say you knew every pro toeing the line, then also you knew who got in via lottery, and you also knew who got in via legacy.

With that information, you could cross reference the list of starters and see exactly who and how many spots were given away by some other means (executive challenge, publicity, OTHER sponsorship spots, other that we don't know about).

In no way would they want that to happen. WTC is committed to the "pier is only so big" argument. If one could learn that the pier is only so big but 200 people are on that pier from some means other than qualification or lottery or legacy, I think there would be some major uproar in the ranks of the AGers that are busting their asses to get their shot.

That number might be 50 or 100 or 300, I have no idea (and that is the point).

Interesting point. Makes me wonder (but not enough to look) if the number of starters each year at Kona is more or less the same? Does the Slowtwitch bike count each year total the same number of bikes? In other words do we actually know what the pier capacity has been stated at?

A thought that I have is that by keeping the information away from the general IM participant; WTC can get more people to think that they can chase the dream.
If one thinks they have a shot at it; they'll keep entering races and paying more $$.

Or, one could be like BLACKSHEEP above and decide the dream is no longer achievable and give up on IM; lowering revenue for WTC.
Having the info available freely will just show that it's not possible.

Hey, anything is possible - says so right on IM's website

Tongue in cheek...

Besides, the Jays will win the World Series - everyone knows this.