You can't qualify at a sprint tri in the US.

The easiest criteria to meet is to finish top 3 at a race with a substantial prize purse. With lifetime series gone, and only a few Olympics with money left, that means finishing top 3 ager at a 70.3 or im event.

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Twitter | Kancman | Blog

EDRs are all draft legal sprints, or Rev3 Rush (where I got mine) was a double super sprint. But yes, there aren't any nondraft sprints where you could earn it. I would like there to be, I would love to race a pro field in a nondraft sprint like the Amica series a few years ago or the handful of local $4.9k races around the country.

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IG: idking90

Ah yes you're correct. Forgot about EDRs. Those are definitely more a path towards getting into ITU races. Doubt many folks are trying to qualify there so they can race long course.

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Twitter | Kancman | Blog

On my EDR-earned license, I've so far raced in an XTERRA and a nondraft Olympic. Racing the showcase super sprint in Milwaukee this weekend, but probably will race some long course next year because I don't think I'm getting much faster at short stuff. I realize my eccentric race schedule is the exception rather than the rule, though. I love all formats of racing.
The opposite what you say I s true, though. With the death of pro nondraft Olympic and thus pro qualifiers, I know that some of the CRP guys have gone and tried to cherry pick at Challenge and 70.3 races, since there are only so many EDRs per year and the next best option of nondraft Olympic races is gone. There are always AG and Collegiate Nationals as avenues, but those are crazy hard to get it.

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IG: idking90

But you know what I mean. There are people racing Pro at IM who earned their Pro card at shorter distances - and we all know that even being able to do a good Half doesn't automatically translate into being good at Full distance. And the reverse is true for that matter.

And besides, we're not just talking about the US here. There are countries out there that don't have set criteria, and essentially give you a Pro card if you ask nicely - OK, I'm exaggerating a bit, but seriously you get your Pro card by writing them a letter saying why you deserve one!

I am pro, but I was an union organizer for two years first, and am still in a union at my part time job (shout out to the UAW)


Half this thread says there are not enough pros at races (ppl noting challenge doesn't get pros, roth field was small, IMC only had 20 male pros and less than 10 female pros etc), the other half says there are too many pros, and we need to cut down on them.

One thing that made the last attempt at a meaningful union faultier was half the union trying to take away work from the other half by saying they dont deserve to be pros. This destroys solidarity and that kills any unions. The fact that this new "union" doesn't want to represent all pros and wants to in fact destroy some pros, is a possible fatal flaw. Also where that line gets drawn is always totally subjective, in fact, most pros draw it where they are and upward. I was 11th last year at my IM distance race so top 11 sounds right :-) This kind of subjective, worker-on-worker type of conflict is a mistake for any union. Focusing on a small handful of pros that are way off the pace isn't worth the lack of solidarity it creates. Frankly "whats a pro" is a great forum topic but a total cancer for a union.

Interestingly the platform of the union also says it wants to develop pros. I think they should focus on creating jobs not taking them away, you know, like a real union does. Thats something all pros would get behind and without ALL PROS you won't have solidarity and without solidarity you don't have a union.

A union is not, and never has been a website, or logo. Its workers standing together. That requires solidarity and that will only happen if the goal is to aid all of us.

Solidarity forever.

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