https://www.washingtonpost.com/...florida-coronavirus/

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

Here is the root of all our post truth problems:

“Myself and everyone I have talked to feels safe going to the event,” said Naomi Ventura of the nearby Ormond Beach Triathlon Club. “I think they have put the right protocols in place to keep us safe.”

They feel safe. But they aren't actually safe.

Why in the hell are pro triathletes considered essential?

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

I'll start by saying I got into triathlon in 2010 & dove straight into the deep end. By August 2011, I was an Ironman. Now I've done 5 IMs, 12 or 13 half IM & close to 100 total triathlons in 10 years. I miss racing as much as anyone, but........

.....there isn't a damn thing about a triathlon or triathlon professionals that is essential.

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

Generally speaking, every state that has a professional sports team has a professional sports team "exemption" for adult/senior sport.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

I laughed when I read that as well.

I found this document (one of many):

https://www.floridadisaster.org/...sential-services.pdf


There are so many exemptions in there that pretty much anyone can be considered essential, including:



ESSENTIAL ACTIVITIES•Attending religious services conducted in churches, synagogues and houses of worship•Participating in recreational activities (consistent with social distancing guidelines) such as walking, biking, hiking, fishing, hunting, running, or swimming•Taking care of pets•Caring for or otherwise assisting a loved one or friend

 

Meh, Florida aint scared. Bring it on. The chance of death from covid continues to shrink.

Florida ranks 13/14 (depending on where you look) in deaths per 1000 people. But we rank in the top 4/5 for having the oldest populace in the USA. A lot of these so called deaths from COVID are just old people wh were on the tipping point of death anyway. We don't call FL gods waiting room for nothing. We have entire cities of 55 and over down here. You can NOT buy a house in these places unless you are basically an old fart.

Triathletes will be fine.

Carry on, nothing to see here.

Pro triathletes are very essential and I don't think I've ever met one narcissistic pro in my life.

Do you think this is the only thing to be concerned about with COVID-19?

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

Thank god, as long as the triathletes are fine, who cares about anyone else.

Kudos to True for her willingness to be interviewed for the article. I agree with her that the amount of prize $ makes this a difficult decision for some pros.

Whelp, I've read my limit of articles, no idea what it says.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Open the link in a private browser tab. Gets past the WAPO paywall.

Danke schoen.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

So what you are saying is that even following every single regulation put in place by the state scientist and medical experts, they still careless? Here i was thinking that if I wear a mask, social distance and follow the guidelines we all be o.k...

They don't "feel" safe, the doctors and scientist had told them that if they follow their instructions they will be.

Funny how 12 months ago nobody knew the difference between hepatitis A and B and now everybody is a virology expert thanks to the media.

Just my 2 cents.

The problem, in my eyes, is that whether or not the event follows guidelines and is safe, there are still hundreds of people traveling there for this event, which puts everyone at higher risk. Also keeping in mind those willing to travel during these times are likely more callous about this, taking less precautions and putting others at more risk. It is sad pros are being forced to choose to race for their livelihood by risking getting this potentially career ending virus from an AGer.

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808 > NYC > PDX > YVR
2024 Races: Taupo

Why would age groupers need to quarantine? Florida doesn't have any travel restrictions in places and even if they did, most people are probably coming from places that are lower risk than Florida

With all due respect to pro triathletes:

"Forced"? Not more forced that the walmart cashier, the Walgreens pharmacist or any first responder out there. Everyone is making that choice, not one day of the year but everyday in order to make a living in the world we are living.

I have traveled the last six months from coast to coast, there is pretty much no room for being careless anymore, follow the rules or get kick out of the plane or refused service.

Just my two cents.

I was thinking about the angle of pros being forced to travel to earn a living. In my professional life, I have lost several deals during this pandemic due to not being able to travel (14 day quarantine upon return, which is not going to work for what I need to do running my company). But even if I could travel, I am not sure it is the best option for myself or my employees "right now" and I have a potentially really large deal in a major hot zone in Asia. So it is a hard choice on what you choose to do to make money or not. Pretty well every pro athlete on the planet has to make this call on travel and exposure in some capacity to fans/hotels/trains/airports. All the protour riders just went through this in the Europe based pro cycling season.

It is really tough, and I don't think any of us should judge pro athletes in any sport for going into a hot zone to earn a living. That is just what we are all living through. Some people get to work from home. Others have to be physically onsite and if they don't go onsite they can't make a penny.

This is not the first sporting event to attract visitors to a specific area. I get it. Its Florida so let's just pile on Florida and their Governor. There have been hundreds of sporting events all over country since June. Soccer and Lacrosse have had hundreds of tournaments in places like Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Colorado, Maryland, etc. Some of these tournaments attract well over a thousand people to them.

And a professional triathlete as essential is no more outlandish than allowing pot shops to remain open or a Jamba Juice, or a dry cleaner, or a coffee shop. At least the triathlete is working outdoors.

I just learned something, I thought those things were just for porn!

I haven't heard any experts saying that by following the guidelines we'd all be safe. What I have heard them saying is that it reduces the risk, and slows the rate of infection. Safer, but not "safe"...

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"I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 10, and I don't know why!"

I frankly could care less about Sarah True's opinion given she's not on the start list. How about interviewing athletes who raced previously in Daytona and have been invited by PTO to race.

The whole article hinges on that there's some sort of ethical trade off because professional athletes are suddenly being offered an actual paycheck.

Was Ironman not deserving of the same criticism for hosting its Florida race with an identical number of registrants ?

Challenge Family and PTO have frankly just done a much better job of marketing and promoting the event.

There's no pressure to race or feel excluded if you're not invited. Despite it being billed, athlete's won't be walking away from Daytona calling themselves a world champion in some obscure middle distance.

"Safe" is a big word for a scientist, they will never say that, even with 99% effective vaccine, they will still tell you that you are not "safe". If you are waiting for that is going to be a long wait...