I'm only recently returning to paying attention to the status of racing in general and IM in particular. I have seen the now-hated video from CEO Andrew Messick as well as the blowback from triathlon community and even MSN. It's going to be a rough ride for North American racers for 2021 too, obviously.
But I was looking down the line and my family would like to re-visit Cozumel, so I looked into that. 2021 registration is open. 2020 actually happened! (Seriously, this is brand new news to me having not paid attention since well, you know, this whole global pandemic thing.....)
I am not going to be ready for a full IM this November, and there is a potential family thing anyway this November, so I am looking at 2022.
As opposed to the numerous races whose fate is up in the air, and where refunds are not happening, and it's just a goat rodeo, IM Cozumel seems like a stable spot in the system. If they ran 2020, the likelihood of canceling 2021 seems extremely low, and 2022 seems as solid as anything could be. My impression is this is a long standing event that is in little danger of disappearing.
2021 is still open for registration, it is not sold out. Maybe it historically does not sell out. But I have a strong belief that 2022 is going to see record crowds at concerts, sporting events, and participatory endurance events. Every marathon is going to sell out. We'll start to see some of it in late 2021 but 2022 is going to be a rager, socially speaking.
With that in mind, I saw that the Cozumel race for 2021 allows FREE deferrals to 2022. From the site: "Athletes who register on or before May 24, 2021, are eligible to defer their entry into the 2022 IRONMAN Cozumel free of charge. All deferral requests will be honored until October 22, 2021 regardless of the reason for deferral. The deferral may only be used once. Athletes who elect to defer their entries forfeit any partial refund, ability to transfer."
So as I read that, it's about as good as it gets for an IM deferral. I assume this is a recent thing, COVID influenced, that is the flip side of the canceled races with no refunds.
Am I nuts to think that if I want to plan for Cozumel 2022, I may as well sign up for this year, then defer? Lock in a spot now before the trends start to bear out and all 2022 stuff fills up? Obviously the usual caveats apply when making plans that far out, but on its own does this make sense as a strategic plan?
But I was looking down the line and my family would like to re-visit Cozumel, so I looked into that. 2021 registration is open. 2020 actually happened! (Seriously, this is brand new news to me having not paid attention since well, you know, this whole global pandemic thing.....)
I am not going to be ready for a full IM this November, and there is a potential family thing anyway this November, so I am looking at 2022.
As opposed to the numerous races whose fate is up in the air, and where refunds are not happening, and it's just a goat rodeo, IM Cozumel seems like a stable spot in the system. If they ran 2020, the likelihood of canceling 2021 seems extremely low, and 2022 seems as solid as anything could be. My impression is this is a long standing event that is in little danger of disappearing.
2021 is still open for registration, it is not sold out. Maybe it historically does not sell out. But I have a strong belief that 2022 is going to see record crowds at concerts, sporting events, and participatory endurance events. Every marathon is going to sell out. We'll start to see some of it in late 2021 but 2022 is going to be a rager, socially speaking.
With that in mind, I saw that the Cozumel race for 2021 allows FREE deferrals to 2022. From the site: "Athletes who register on or before May 24, 2021, are eligible to defer their entry into the 2022 IRONMAN Cozumel free of charge. All deferral requests will be honored until October 22, 2021 regardless of the reason for deferral. The deferral may only be used once. Athletes who elect to defer their entries forfeit any partial refund, ability to transfer."
So as I read that, it's about as good as it gets for an IM deferral. I assume this is a recent thing, COVID influenced, that is the flip side of the canceled races with no refunds.
Am I nuts to think that if I want to plan for Cozumel 2022, I may as well sign up for this year, then defer? Lock in a spot now before the trends start to bear out and all 2022 stuff fills up? Obviously the usual caveats apply when making plans that far out, but on its own does this make sense as a strategic plan?