Why did we cancel?
This past weekend, Josh Nemzer and I, along with our entire DMSE team, were faced with perhaps the most gut wrenching decision of DMSE’s 25-year history. It was the question of whether or not to cancel the 2006 Boston Triathlon given the severe weather forecast. Ultimately, it was cancelled and we want to explain to all of our athletes, sponsors and volunteers exactly what went into this difficult and most challenging decision.
In the week leading up to the race we watched the track of hurricane Ernesto and the path the storm would take. The forecast called for inclement conditions throughout race weekend. Our first concern was about the water quality due to heavy rain.
We monitored the weather forecast hour-by-hour and were in constant contact with a representative from the National Weather Service (NWS) who provided us with continuous updates.
All the information we were receiving indicated a 90% chance of high winds and significant rain fall. As it turned out, Saturday brought no rain but there was an 8-9 foot chop in the harbor and wind gusts up to 22 mph.
At 11am on Saturday, we convened a committee of 11 to discuss and determine our course of action. Those people included a representative from ITU, a representative from USA Triathlon and DMSE medical coordinator, swim coordinator, bike coordinator and other experienced DMSE consultants.
The general consensus at that time was to eliminate the swim segment due to the high chop, high winds, chilly temperatures (64 degrees) and the strong probability of water quality deterioration. The discussion turned to consideration of a run-bike-run event (Plan B). Although not ideal, we had already planned for such an occurrence and had designed a course and plan for both the age group participants as well as the elite/pros. However, we were informed by ITU that the first elite/pro run needed to be 10K in length while the second run would be 5K…we were hoping for the opposite based on our existing timeline. This format would throw our timeline off such that the bike segment of this event now would have extended another 30 minutes or so more than what we had permission to do so by State/Local authorities.
We informed all the athletes checking in on Saturday to check the race web site at 6pm Saturday for further details on the status of the event.
After both the elite/pro meeting and the age group meeting, a few of us convened once again to re-assess the situation, once again calling the NWS for an update. It became very apparent that two things would occur on Sunday – we would have a lot of rain and it would be very windy…these two would be a dangerous combination on this particular course.
At that time (around 5:45pm Saturday), Josh and I, along with the ITU and USAT representatives, met to make the final decision. We believed that both the swim and the bike course would be UNSAFE for the athletes and thus made the decision to CANCEL the event. We have managed over 700 events and never have cancelled an event before. This was not a quick decision. In fact, it was perhaps the most difficult decision I have ever had to make as a race director. We wanted to communicate it as quickly and to as many people as possible. That communication included:
Why did we decide to cancel on Saturday at 6pm versus wait until Sunday morning? We put trust in the weather reports we were receiving and felt cancellation was inevitable. Thus, we felt it would be unfair to “inconvenience” hundreds and hundreds of individuals by making them come into the World Trade Center only to find out that we were cancelling the event. As it turned out, it started raining at about 4am on Sunday and as such validated our decision to cancel given the rain and wind on this “urban” course.
What were the main reasons for this cancellation?
Our pre-race position on safety is clearly stated in the application. We discuss cancellation of the event in order to assure the safety of our all our participants.
Post race comments such as the one below are reflective of the vast majority of communications received:
We are ALL very, very disappointed. Everyone – athletes, sponsors and management – invested a lot into this event. We must all be in this together. Our primary goal has always been the safety of all involved with the race.
A few of us drove out onto the bike course Sunday morning during the rain around the time the bike segment would have been happening. Without question, bike accidents would have occurred. Based on what we experienced and what we saw, we know the right decision was made. More importantly, we know that based on our decision, no one got hurt.
Regarding our next steps, it will take us a few weeks to sort out all the ramifications of cancelling the event. We want to make sure that we take the fairest course of action. There are a wide range of options being considered. We will continue to use this website as the primary mechanism for communicating our decisions as well as our action steps. Please be patient. We are working on this as quickly as we can. We will be back in touch.
We want express our appreciation to all those who support our decision and for everyone’s understanding.
Dave McGillivray
Josh Nemzer
_________________
This past weekend, Josh Nemzer and I, along with our entire DMSE team, were faced with perhaps the most gut wrenching decision of DMSE’s 25-year history. It was the question of whether or not to cancel the 2006 Boston Triathlon given the severe weather forecast. Ultimately, it was cancelled and we want to explain to all of our athletes, sponsors and volunteers exactly what went into this difficult and most challenging decision.
In the week leading up to the race we watched the track of hurricane Ernesto and the path the storm would take. The forecast called for inclement conditions throughout race weekend. Our first concern was about the water quality due to heavy rain.
We monitored the weather forecast hour-by-hour and were in constant contact with a representative from the National Weather Service (NWS) who provided us with continuous updates.
All the information we were receiving indicated a 90% chance of high winds and significant rain fall. As it turned out, Saturday brought no rain but there was an 8-9 foot chop in the harbor and wind gusts up to 22 mph.
At 11am on Saturday, we convened a committee of 11 to discuss and determine our course of action. Those people included a representative from ITU, a representative from USA Triathlon and DMSE medical coordinator, swim coordinator, bike coordinator and other experienced DMSE consultants.
The general consensus at that time was to eliminate the swim segment due to the high chop, high winds, chilly temperatures (64 degrees) and the strong probability of water quality deterioration. The discussion turned to consideration of a run-bike-run event (Plan B). Although not ideal, we had already planned for such an occurrence and had designed a course and plan for both the age group participants as well as the elite/pros. However, we were informed by ITU that the first elite/pro run needed to be 10K in length while the second run would be 5K…we were hoping for the opposite based on our existing timeline. This format would throw our timeline off such that the bike segment of this event now would have extended another 30 minutes or so more than what we had permission to do so by State/Local authorities.
We informed all the athletes checking in on Saturday to check the race web site at 6pm Saturday for further details on the status of the event.
After both the elite/pro meeting and the age group meeting, a few of us convened once again to re-assess the situation, once again calling the NWS for an update. It became very apparent that two things would occur on Sunday – we would have a lot of rain and it would be very windy…these two would be a dangerous combination on this particular course.
At that time (around 5:45pm Saturday), Josh and I, along with the ITU and USAT representatives, met to make the final decision. We believed that both the swim and the bike course would be UNSAFE for the athletes and thus made the decision to CANCEL the event. We have managed over 700 events and never have cancelled an event before. This was not a quick decision. In fact, it was perhaps the most difficult decision I have ever had to make as a race director. We wanted to communicate it as quickly and to as many people as possible. That communication included:
- A statement posted to the official race website.
- An e-mail sent to all competitors who had previously supplied us with their e-mail address when they registered.
- The race hotline phone message also reflected the cancellation. We called as many organizations and individuals involved in the race as possible to inform them of our decision.
Why did we decide to cancel on Saturday at 6pm versus wait until Sunday morning? We put trust in the weather reports we were receiving and felt cancellation was inevitable. Thus, we felt it would be unfair to “inconvenience” hundreds and hundreds of individuals by making them come into the World Trade Center only to find out that we were cancelling the event. As it turned out, it started raining at about 4am on Sunday and as such validated our decision to cancel given the rain and wind on this “urban” course.
What were the main reasons for this cancellation?
- Concern for the safety of ALL competitors.
- Unsafe swim course – chop, strong currents, low temperatures, deterioration of water quality, concern for lifeguards and boats in the water (note: cruise ships even cancelled their service due to unsafe conditions).
- We have time and time again emphasized the fact that this is an urban/metropolitan course. This is not a rural, countryside venue. This is the Big Dig, this is the asphalt jungle (no disrespect for the city). In a flash, roads, catch basins, sewer covers, steel grates, light poles and much more can come and go. We even had to deal with a tunnel collapse. We didn’t know from day to day what we were going to get BUT we were on top of it and we did make sure in one way or another it is safe for the competitors. Producing an urban triathlon is exciting, however, it does come with a number of risks. We continuously made everyone aware of that.
- With wind and rainy conditions the pot holes fill, oil coats the road, and road paint and steel bridges all become slick and hazardous, and the course simply becomes exponentially difficult to maintain.
Our pre-race position on safety is clearly stated in the application. We discuss cancellation of the event in order to assure the safety of our all our participants.
Post race comments such as the one below are reflective of the vast majority of communications received:
“With this e-mail, I would like to express my unequivocal support for your decision to cancel the 2006 Boston Triathlon. I know that it was difficult to call off an event that you had been planning all year, but I know you made the right choice. You placed the athletes' safety above everything else. I wish more race directors had the kind of courage and good judgment you showed yesterday evening. Thank you once again for your exemplary decision making process on Saturday. I support your decision without reservation.”
We are ALL very, very disappointed. Everyone – athletes, sponsors and management – invested a lot into this event. We must all be in this together. Our primary goal has always been the safety of all involved with the race.
A few of us drove out onto the bike course Sunday morning during the rain around the time the bike segment would have been happening. Without question, bike accidents would have occurred. Based on what we experienced and what we saw, we know the right decision was made. More importantly, we know that based on our decision, no one got hurt.
Regarding our next steps, it will take us a few weeks to sort out all the ramifications of cancelling the event. We want to make sure that we take the fairest course of action. There are a wide range of options being considered. We will continue to use this website as the primary mechanism for communicating our decisions as well as our action steps. Please be patient. We are working on this as quickly as we can. We will be back in touch.
We want express our appreciation to all those who support our decision and for everyone’s understanding.
Dave McGillivray
Josh Nemzer
_________________