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WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship
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https://www.triathlon.org/news/article/2020_world_triathlon_champions_to_be_crowned_at_wts_hamburg




What a bait and switch.

Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [TheStroBro] [ In reply to ]
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This has been discussed a bit on the ITU discussion thread. Announcing 9 days before a regular event that it has now changed to a World Champs is crap. Athletes from the southern hemisphere can't get there to contest. Their countries have closed borders resulting in almost no international flights. Daily we are seeing in the media stories of Aussie residents still trapped overseas for months unable to secure flights home. This makes it really hard to obtain govt approval to leave the country, as such we see only one athlete had the capacity to travel to Hamburg to race. She has her partner from Europe so has a base to live and will not be stranded. For others it was too hard and too risky to travel to a race which gave no Olympic or wts points anyway. Suddenly it changes to THE WORLD CHAMPS and it's too late to organise, even if they now wanted to. A real kick in the guts for those athletes, especially with both the reigning Hamburg champions, Birtwhistle and Stanford stuck in Aus. even athletes already on the start list are aware how unfair the change is and many have voiced their opinions on the social media announcement. How can a world championship be declared when so many in the world can not be there. They don't want it.
Last edited by: chrisb12: Aug 28, 20 20:05
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [chrisb12] [ In reply to ]
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To me the big issue is the short notice. If this had been announced three months ago, everything you mention would still be true, but would have a different perspective.
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [ecce-homo] [ In reply to ]
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ecce-homo wrote:
To me the big issue is the short notice. If this had been announced three months ago, everything you mention would still be true, but would have a different perspective.

Yes they would have had the chance to decide if all the risks and effort might be worth it, now they have no chance.
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [chrisb12] [ In reply to ]
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this is a bizarre description of the facts. hamburg always has been the world championship for the mixed relay and the september date has been on the calendar for months. anyone in a country with tough travel restrictions had months to figure out a way to get to hamburg for the mixed relay WCs. moreover, the individual race was on the calendar all summer and was the only WTS race that was definitive. bermuda and montreal were postponed to future unknown dates so all summer everyone knew that hamburg was on for the first weekend in september and would include the mixed relay WC and that maybe there would be two other races, one of which was in a country that has been fining foreigners $500,000 for not quarantining. so all of these athletes you say are getting screwed were planning on competing for the WC by skipping the only race with a definitive date (which also had a WC attached to it) all summer and then racing (and presumably traveling to despite not being able to travel to hamburg) 2 others with unknown dates (one of which nobody really thought had any chance of happening due to canada's strict measures)? there is no way that anyone who seriously was intending on competing for the WC was planning on skipping hamburg, the only definitive race on the calendar. this is an awful year that everyone is looking to get over with but ITU actually hosting a WC (2 for that matter), unlike nearly every other sport, is something to be applauded (as opposed to attacked).
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [TheStroBro] [ In reply to ]
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What is the problem with this.
It is 2020 and ITU is making something happening.

Each country has had the same information about the Corona this year. Yet they have done different things. And the results have been from good/smart to poorly.

But back to the racing.

We get a race in 2020.
That is great.
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [Halvard] [ In reply to ]
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Having a race? Not a problem. Designating it as a World Championship for 19/20? HUGE PROBLEM

Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [TheStroBro] [ In reply to ]
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would you have preferred for ITU not to have declared it a WC and then kept the prize money at the lower levels? canada and bermuda told ITU that it cannot host races in their countries so hamburg is the only venue left standing. be happy there is a race (actually 2) with beefed up prize money and stop whining.
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [mag900] [ In reply to ]
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Not sure how you can applaud them for announcing this 10 days before a race.

Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [TheStroBro] [ In reply to ]
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Why is it a "huge" problem?

Are you saying that athletes from countries that manged to deal with Corona should sit out due to the lack of capabilities of the government in other countries??
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [Halvard] [ In reply to ]
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10 Days notice bud.

Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [TheStroBro] [ In reply to ]
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the mixed relay was a WC for months so it's not like this venue suddenly became a WC venue. which top athletes other than flora have no interest in mixed relay WC medals or points for tokyo?

ITU was holding on hoping that montreal and bermuda would work out for a mini 3-race championship series. when montreal and bermuda pulled out with only hamburg left, what did you want ITU to do? cancel hamburg too to avoid your whining?
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [TheStroBro] [ In reply to ]
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TheStroBro wrote:
10 Days notice bud.

And again. Why is it a problem???

If some countries or athletes do not want to race. Then they should stay away. It is as easy as that.
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [TheStroBro] [ In reply to ]
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bud, who would be racing if there had been a 30 day notice? don't tell me the aussies because they knew all summer that it was the mixed relay WC and they are a gold medal contending mixed relay team so they weren't coming no matter how many days notice they had.
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [Halvard] [ In reply to ]
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Actually, for Canada, it’s an insurance problem. It might be the same for Australia, nz. It would be interesting to know if itu was communicating to theses countries that the race was becoming a world champ.

Also, there is NO Olympic points associated to this race. Several NFS were telling their athletes that if they can race but they will not get their expense covered.

For sure, it’s great to have a race, but calling it world championship is just wrong.
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [alex_emetique] [ In reply to ]
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alex_emetique wrote:
Actually, for Canada, it’s an insurance problem. It might be the same for Australia, nz. It would be interesting to know if itu was communicating to theses countries that the race was becoming a world champ.

Also, there is NO Olympic points associated to this race. Several NFS were telling their athletes that if they can race but they will not get their expense covered.

For sure, it’s great to have a race, but calling it world championship is just wrong.

So because of internal problems in Canada. All other countries and athletes hava to suffer???

Maybe Canada should do something about their problem. Instead of expecting the world to be on hold.
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [TheStroBro] [ In reply to ]
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TheStroBro wrote:
Having a race? Not a problem. Designating it as a World Championship for 19/20? HUGE PROBLEM

Its a bit like the US rounders association deciding their own series of rounders is the World Series when nobody else is playing. 🤔
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [BobAjobb] [ In reply to ]
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BobAjobb wrote:
TheStroBro wrote:
Having a race? Not a problem. Designating it as a World Championship for 19/20? HUGE PROBLEM


Its a bit like the US rounders association deciding their own series of rounders is the World Series when nobody else is playing. 🤔

except it's not a bit like that as everyone was invited and a couple of countries have passed.

canada wasn't going to allow its own athletes compete in montreal if it happened so it's not like canada is the poster child of supporting athletes here.
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [mag900] [ In reply to ]
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I just got am email that the WCS Montreal Oct 2-4 is cancelled as Canada extended restrictions on international visitors to Sep 30th.

Good for ITU making Hamburg a world championships. At least we are having one and if you cannot travel, well that is too bad but it's a world's for those who can this year. This year is weird so if you can make it to the start line then you race those who can.

I am Canadian and stuck with no races here but it is what it is.
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [BobAjobb] [ In reply to ]
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No, it would be like World Athletics declaring a World Championship insert random country on ten days notice.

MLB isn't a world federation, however, even though many countries compete internationally in baseball, the yearly pinnacle of the sport is the World Series. And it hasn't been done on short notice either.

Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [mag900] [ In reply to ]
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Hamburg has always been the mixed relay world champs, it has never been an individual world champs. The difference is federations who didn't send teams for all the reasons they decided may still have athletes who would have liked to contest an induvidual world champs and possibly try to get themselves there. Even if there weren't individual world champs is a big deal for athletes, it opens big doors in sponsors, opportunities etc. There are some real contenders who can't be there. As I said a kick in the guts for them to find out at the last minute there will be a world champion and no way can it be them now. Remember they were just missing a series race before, and that is all they should be missing out on. Unless you are from one of these countries you really don't understand the logistics of travel at this moment, We are pretty isolated down the bottom of the world.
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [Halvard] [ In reply to ]
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Well, with the same reasoning they could call it a world championship retroactively. So instead of 10 days before, 10 days after. No problem according to you.
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [Halvard] [ In reply to ]
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Halvard wrote:
TheStroBro wrote:
10 Days notice bud.

And again. Why is it a problem???

If some countries or athletes do not want to race. Then they should stay away. It is as easy as that.

Its not just want it's CAN'T... big difference.
Not such a big deal when it was just a race but now a world champ will be decided, without all the world athletes, and if there wasn't a pandemic they would be there. That is why it's a big deal.
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [chrisb12] [ In reply to ]
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The race should happen, the athletes should get their money, but when some athletes can not get there due to the shit the world is going through, a world champion should not be crowned. This should just be a race.
So many of the athletes already on that start list are voicing it is unfair, how can ppl here not see that?
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Re: WTS Hamburg...now a World Championship [chrisb12] [ In reply to ]
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chrisb12 wrote:
The race should happen, the athletes should get their money, but when some athletes can not get there due to the shit the world is going through, a world champion should not be crowned. This should just be a race.
So many of the athletes already on that start list are voicing it is unfair, how can ppl here not see that?

It will be the world championships of people who can make it.

In regular years there are kids say in Rwanda or Laos or Sri Lanka who may have the genetics to be 30 min 10k runners off swimming and biking with the top ITU guns but they actually never had a chance to learn how to swim or ride a bike in the first place. The best downhill skier may be from Jamaica or Nigeria but we don't know because those kids never get a chance at that sport. How many black kids from the USA could make the US swim team if they have access to the sport

So being a world champion is all about competing and beating those who have the opportunity to show up and access to the sport. This year covid puts another layer on the access problem, but it is always there. We just don't notice in the developed world. The winter Olympics for most of the world is regarded as some freak side show for approximately 15 countries who do weird sports that no one does. So it's just perspective of who gets to compete or not.

I can get on a flight tomorrow from Canada to Hamburg and go race with zero quarantine in Germany. I have to just quarantine when I get back. From what I gather EU is allowing the internal travel and a list of other countries. If your country did not make the EU cut you don't get to compete for world's this year. It's tough luck what country you are from but tell that to the kid from Rwanda who would like to try our sport but there are no decent pools for her to learn. It's roughly the same problem but for her it's permanent. For some countries whose athletes cannot travel it's just a temporary annoyance this year only.
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