People don’t get it. It’s not Ironman.

KONA SAID NO!!

You might want to go back and read the Terms of Use if you have already paid for the race. (Hint: you are not going to like it)

While I don't have a problem with IMWC not being in Kona, I will not be impacted by this decision.

Now imagine you and your partner just raced IMAZ (or IMCoz) last weekend and both qualified for IMWC in 2023 assuming it would be in Kona in at least the same week. You plop down $1400 plus fees per person looking forward to that event to secure your spot. Nary a week later you find out that one of you will be racing in Kona one month and one of you will be racing on another continent in the following month. You planned and budgeted for one trip to one far-ish location. Now, you are pivoting (perhaps frantically) to book two BIG trips two months in a row and one of you will be doing your peak training while the other is racing.

Yeah, I'd be pissed.

Well, maybe not. I might just say f*ck Ironman.

Prior to Covid, how many people were complaining about one day Kona? It wasn’t a big topic.

IM got greedy. Locals got pissed. Now we are back to a crappy version of a one day event.

Well done, IM executives!

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These are what the waivers actually state:

WTC Waiver
"ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND ASSUMPTION OF RISKS & RELEASE AND INDEMNITY AGREEMENT
2023 IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, KAILUA-KONA, HAWAI'I – OCTOBER 12 & 14, 2023"

*****Specifically relates to a race in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

Further in the waiver it states,
"I acknowledge and agree that WTC/Organizer, in its sole discretion (whether for safety reasons, legal reasons, or any other reason), may: (a) at any time, with or without notice, change or modify the race course, distances, routes, elevation, ascents, difficulty level, or any other race-course or Event aspect; or (b) delay or cancel the Event (or any leg(s) of the race) for any reason, including but not limited to if it believes the conditions are unsafe or otherwise unsuitable for the Event, and WTC/Organizer may delay the Event for so long as such unsafe or unsuitable conditions apply. If the race course or Event is changed, modified, delayed, or cancelled for any reason, including but not limited to acts of God or the elements (including without limitation, wind, rough water, rain, hail, hurricane, tornado, earthquake), acts of terrorism, fire, threatened or actual strike, labor difficulty, work stoppage, insurrection, war, public disaster, public health risks, pandemic, flood, unavoidable casualty, race course conditions, or any other cause beyond the control of WTC/Organizer, there will be no refund of WTC/Organizer’s entry fee or any other costs incurred in connection with the Event. WTC/Organizer may, in its sole discretion, offer an automatic entry for a later date or a transfer to another event to be chosen by WTC/Organizer."

*******Here the participant is agreeing that the course can be changed or modified without any notices. They add the general provision of "any other course or event aspect" However, I would argue it is fairly clear from this wording that the intent of the provision is to account for things like cancelling the swim, or shortening the bike course, etc. I find it hard to imagine they can be protected by moving the race to the other side of the world when the waiver being signed was related to a race in Kailua Kona. They would have a much better leg to stand on if the language simply referred to the "Ironman World Championship" and did not specify the location.

The Slot Acceptance Waiver (separate from the above) states:
"I understand that I am accepting a qualifying slot for the 2023 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship taking place in Kailua-Kona, HI on October 12 & 14, 2023. I understand that I will not be permitted to defer my slot to a future IRONMAN World Championship event and will be subject to the withdrawal policy of the event as follows:
Withdrawal requests must be received in writing via email to kona@ironman.com.  Without exception, all requests must be received on or before August 28, 2023 to be eligible for a partial refund of $175.00 USD.  Deferrals are not permitted"

******* Again, words matter, the signee is agreeing to the terms as it relates to an event taking place in Kailua-Kona
Honestly, I hope it is an unsubstantiated rumor. I would be fine with this decision if it applied in 2024 moving forward. It is the bait and switch aspect I object to. If they do it, I am not stupid enough to waste my time or money trying to litigate something as frivolous as this and hope they at least offer a deferral to Kona because that's the race I would prefer to do.

Side note- I am an attorney