Mark Lemmon wrote:
Slowman is quoted. Nothing in the article that hasn't been discussed ad naseum on this forum -
https://www.nytimes.com/...&pgtype=Homepage I was racing in '01 when there were 21K USAT members. Plenty of challenging and fun multisport events for me to do then, including multiple IM events in the continental U.S. I know the cost for road permits, park rentals, police protection, etc. have gone up, but would triathlon be totally unlike it was in '01 if USAT annual membership returned to 25K annual members?
Juxtapose this against another headline about
Fortnite World Cup and the 30 million prize purse. And personally I don't necessarily agree with Slowman's quote. I think that helps keep the current endurance people interested but how do you draw NEW people. Since I went professional in late 2011 and raced in Kona in 2013 there has been one, one new american male pro to race Kona. That was Matt Hanson. Seriously where is all the new blood? And don't say Kanute, because Kanute has been racing since he practically came of the womb. It is the same guys still crushing it, Potts, TO, Starky, The Hoff, Rappstar, Tollakson.
As to how to excite this new crowd, well I am too far removed from the normal 9-5 to know what really gets people excited, but triathlon has a huge barrier of entry with the costs and equipment. I think part of this solution is to simplify things in that regards. I seriously think we might need to ban triathlon bikes, aerobars, aero helmets, and aero wheels altogether. Maybe a City Bike type format or least a division. Maybe for the big triathlon venues that could include shutting down the streets for practice on a regular basis to make people feel comfortable riding their bikes and raising awareness. Two is actually to put on races and let people race. Can you imagine, if the Fortnite World Cup wasn't allowed to happen because it was too hot out or there was a power outage. Huge buzzkill.
Lastly, and a lot of this come down to sales, but work on market development and get creative!!! Figure out a way to further gamify triathlon and pitch it to corporations out there as an incentive for employees. Pair it with some sort of health insurance advantage. Partner with Ironman to get more celebrities/pro athletes to do more races.
Seriously the last one seems like a no-brainer. How many big name athletes struggle with purpose after sport and probably don't even know about triathlon. Go pitch SHAQ. Sell him on how it is going to be his next big purpose. Have Apollo, Hines, Ramsey talk to these athlete and tell them how life-changing it can be. Ironman/USAT should be pursuing every retiring player and pitching triathlon as a way to further carry their brand torch and help them transition at least from one sport to another while continuing to work with their sponsors.
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