I was recently asked in a closed facebook group for general feedback to pass on to the organisers of next year's AG event in Edmonton. I ended up spending quite a lot of time on it, and I think much of what I said is applicable to races generally. Interested in other ST thoughts on the race; in spite of the long list below I thought that the race was of a very high standard in all the areas that mattered.
I preface this by saying that I enjoyed the race, much more so than I expected in fact. I have tried to include both positive and negative points in the below, and to propose solutions to problems as far as I can.
Feedback to ITU/LOC:
1. I appreciated the technical execution of the race, e.g. in setting up the transition such that by running through it in the same direction each time no spot on the same row was more advantageous than any other on that row.
2. Splitting the large age groups into A and B waves should be avoided. For a world championship to be raced as a virtual competition between athletes who start at different times is far from ideal. This also impacts the race dynamics particularly through psychological racing factors and swim drafting.
3. Please could we have larger time gaps between waves. Soon after the first buoy I was already swimming through the wave ahead, and by the end of the swim, the wave ahead of that too. This completely split the front pack and in my view diminished the race. In a similar vein, category calf markings would be beneficial.
4. The fact that the bike course contains several hills is good for breaking up groups and minimising drafting. I am not someone who is competitive on hills, but I am glad this was part of the course. The bike course was also a fun course to ride, in my view.
5. Draft motos were well provided as far as I can see, but with a highly competitive race this will never be perfect. I saw 3 motos on the course, but others I have spoken to saw none at all. I participated in a formal protest process so I will not add much more here as my comments have already been raised to ITU directly.
6. For the on-course referees, the quieter the bike the better. This was a good event from that perspective. By contrast, the worst race for this is actually ironman worlds where they use loud harley davidson bikes which can be heard from 500m away and unfortunately the cyclists act accordingly.
7. I am all in favour of unique courses and races that aren't just the same flat profile in a different venue, but I can't really agree with the decision to include a hill that reduces much of the field to walking.
8. Reading other comments, I seem to be in a minority in that I think the medal given is classy and understated. Over my tri career I have noticed medals getting bigger and more over the top - I got one this year that was without exaggeration the size of a saucer. Those of us who visited the olympic museum and have seen the medals there (unchanged since 1928) have an interesting reference point to contextualise this. I have a small etsy store with display cases for medals so I have given this subject a surprising amount of thought.
9. The tshirt design is also understated and I can see myself actually wearing it without feeling like I am bragging. The point raised by others about the availability of sizing and gendered cuts is quite important though, and easily fixable given that we supply our size on entry. Considering that half of the reason for finisher shirts even existing is to get people to promote the race back home I'm surprised that they didn't get this right.
10. Goody bags - whenever I get these, 90% of it goes directly in the bin. I'm very happy with the minimal amount provided in Lausanne.
11. Similarly, I don't want a rucksack or any other similar types of things. I'm an adult, I have all the bags I need in my life. I've discovered that world champs rucksacks go for a surprising amount on ebay but my preference would be not to pay for it via my entry fee or to have someone spend material resources on it.
12. Regarding logistics of the venue, it was a nightmare to get around Ouchy on foot and also by car given the road closures. I tried to register on friday but it took so long to get around that it was closed by the time I got there. This could be much improved by having more bridge crossing points over the course, which were a significant bottleneck for pedestrian flow.
13. Perhaps too late for Edmonton to do anything about this, but the size of the race far exceeded Lausanne's hotel capacity. months in advance there were no reasonable hotels available. We ended up in a wonderful airbnb in a nearby village so can't complain, but it's worth ITU thinking about in future venue selection.
14. I thought that the race was actually extremely well organised, but sometimes didn't feel so because it was not that well communicated. I suspect this is down to a cultural difference between us and Switzerland.
15. Overall, the AG world champs draws a slightly different crowd to typical mass-participation events and I suspect we have a slightly different set of priorities in what we want out of a race. We are motivated competitors who have all placed highly in qualifying races just to be there. It's a small thing, and it's hard for me to phrase this in a way that is not denigrating and elitist, but I hope that the Edmonton team will recognise that subtle difference. (I'm also frequently off the mark with this kind of comment, so take it with a pinch of salt)
Quote:
I preface this by saying that I enjoyed the race, much more so than I expected in fact. I have tried to include both positive and negative points in the below, and to propose solutions to problems as far as I can.
Feedback to ITU/LOC:
1. I appreciated the technical execution of the race, e.g. in setting up the transition such that by running through it in the same direction each time no spot on the same row was more advantageous than any other on that row.
2. Splitting the large age groups into A and B waves should be avoided. For a world championship to be raced as a virtual competition between athletes who start at different times is far from ideal. This also impacts the race dynamics particularly through psychological racing factors and swim drafting.
3. Please could we have larger time gaps between waves. Soon after the first buoy I was already swimming through the wave ahead, and by the end of the swim, the wave ahead of that too. This completely split the front pack and in my view diminished the race. In a similar vein, category calf markings would be beneficial.
4. The fact that the bike course contains several hills is good for breaking up groups and minimising drafting. I am not someone who is competitive on hills, but I am glad this was part of the course. The bike course was also a fun course to ride, in my view.
5. Draft motos were well provided as far as I can see, but with a highly competitive race this will never be perfect. I saw 3 motos on the course, but others I have spoken to saw none at all. I participated in a formal protest process so I will not add much more here as my comments have already been raised to ITU directly.
6. For the on-course referees, the quieter the bike the better. This was a good event from that perspective. By contrast, the worst race for this is actually ironman worlds where they use loud harley davidson bikes which can be heard from 500m away and unfortunately the cyclists act accordingly.
7. I am all in favour of unique courses and races that aren't just the same flat profile in a different venue, but I can't really agree with the decision to include a hill that reduces much of the field to walking.
8. Reading other comments, I seem to be in a minority in that I think the medal given is classy and understated. Over my tri career I have noticed medals getting bigger and more over the top - I got one this year that was without exaggeration the size of a saucer. Those of us who visited the olympic museum and have seen the medals there (unchanged since 1928) have an interesting reference point to contextualise this. I have a small etsy store with display cases for medals so I have given this subject a surprising amount of thought.
9. The tshirt design is also understated and I can see myself actually wearing it without feeling like I am bragging. The point raised by others about the availability of sizing and gendered cuts is quite important though, and easily fixable given that we supply our size on entry. Considering that half of the reason for finisher shirts even existing is to get people to promote the race back home I'm surprised that they didn't get this right.
10. Goody bags - whenever I get these, 90% of it goes directly in the bin. I'm very happy with the minimal amount provided in Lausanne.
11. Similarly, I don't want a rucksack or any other similar types of things. I'm an adult, I have all the bags I need in my life. I've discovered that world champs rucksacks go for a surprising amount on ebay but my preference would be not to pay for it via my entry fee or to have someone spend material resources on it.
12. Regarding logistics of the venue, it was a nightmare to get around Ouchy on foot and also by car given the road closures. I tried to register on friday but it took so long to get around that it was closed by the time I got there. This could be much improved by having more bridge crossing points over the course, which were a significant bottleneck for pedestrian flow.
13. Perhaps too late for Edmonton to do anything about this, but the size of the race far exceeded Lausanne's hotel capacity. months in advance there were no reasonable hotels available. We ended up in a wonderful airbnb in a nearby village so can't complain, but it's worth ITU thinking about in future venue selection.
14. I thought that the race was actually extremely well organised, but sometimes didn't feel so because it was not that well communicated. I suspect this is down to a cultural difference between us and Switzerland.
15. Overall, the AG world champs draws a slightly different crowd to typical mass-participation events and I suspect we have a slightly different set of priorities in what we want out of a race. We are motivated competitors who have all placed highly in qualifying races just to be there. It's a small thing, and it's hard for me to phrase this in a way that is not denigrating and elitist, but I hope that the Edmonton team will recognise that subtle difference. (I'm also frequently off the mark with this kind of comment, so take it with a pinch of salt)