I agree and disagree. I tend to think it depends on what type of racing.
I tend to think that IM is expensive to attend, enter and to race. What I see however is the immense commitment that it requires as being the biggest deterrent amongst those in my club. They just don’t have the time with work and family commitments to devote so much training for a single weekend event. They have to do this with their spouses blessing and that is also a big ask of the family. Many more commit to 70.3 racing as it is significantly less demanding.
However, what I do see is a boom in non-WTC racing. My club and the clubs in the region are all booming. There has been a deliberate fostering of an involvement culture from little little kids all the way through to multi-world champions. There isn’t the pressure to buy expensive kit or expensive bikes. Many of us have at some time competed on MTB’s and lots do compete just on banger road bikes – it really doesn’t matter. Kids are competing on just whatever they happen to have and many don’t even use trisuits etc. At club level, the club for a long time has been able to cover club costs so to go racing there has been no charge and up until this year there has been no charge for club membership. We have an interclub series of racing which is about $10 to race at each of the clubs venues but you also get prizes and a BBQ. Also, many of the competitive younger athletes are now pursuiting sprint, draft, ITU racing. Actually within the club ITU racing is booming for Australian races and in support for the world championship events that are hosted in Australia.
My opinion is that triathlon is expensive if people want it to be expensive or if the focus is on outright performance. Shift the focus back to family involvement, fun and participation, likewise also a culture to a positive and supportive environment where everybody backs, encourages and supports every other and things will change. Some will still look for that edge and some will just be out there having a great time at minimal cost.
Have to also remember that ST does not remotely reflect the thinking process of what is going on at grass roots level.
Edit: What does a great club with cost effective fun look like? This is a neighboring club who are growing rapidly and doing things really really well. Its worth scrolling through their pics to see how things are done with their Friday night racing and like all of the clubs in this area, there are no/few super expensive bits of kit. Triathlon isnt necessarily about WTC, big dollar racing, or top of the line equipment to be competitive.
https://www.facebook.com/cowratriathlonclub
I tend to think that IM is expensive to attend, enter and to race. What I see however is the immense commitment that it requires as being the biggest deterrent amongst those in my club. They just don’t have the time with work and family commitments to devote so much training for a single weekend event. They have to do this with their spouses blessing and that is also a big ask of the family. Many more commit to 70.3 racing as it is significantly less demanding.
However, what I do see is a boom in non-WTC racing. My club and the clubs in the region are all booming. There has been a deliberate fostering of an involvement culture from little little kids all the way through to multi-world champions. There isn’t the pressure to buy expensive kit or expensive bikes. Many of us have at some time competed on MTB’s and lots do compete just on banger road bikes – it really doesn’t matter. Kids are competing on just whatever they happen to have and many don’t even use trisuits etc. At club level, the club for a long time has been able to cover club costs so to go racing there has been no charge and up until this year there has been no charge for club membership. We have an interclub series of racing which is about $10 to race at each of the clubs venues but you also get prizes and a BBQ. Also, many of the competitive younger athletes are now pursuiting sprint, draft, ITU racing. Actually within the club ITU racing is booming for Australian races and in support for the world championship events that are hosted in Australia.
My opinion is that triathlon is expensive if people want it to be expensive or if the focus is on outright performance. Shift the focus back to family involvement, fun and participation, likewise also a culture to a positive and supportive environment where everybody backs, encourages and supports every other and things will change. Some will still look for that edge and some will just be out there having a great time at minimal cost.
Have to also remember that ST does not remotely reflect the thinking process of what is going on at grass roots level.
Edit: What does a great club with cost effective fun look like? This is a neighboring club who are growing rapidly and doing things really really well. Its worth scrolling through their pics to see how things are done with their Friday night racing and like all of the clubs in this area, there are no/few super expensive bits of kit. Triathlon isnt necessarily about WTC, big dollar racing, or top of the line equipment to be competitive.
https://www.facebook.com/cowratriathlonclub