I was looking at the IMLP start list. It’s not news that the M45-49 AG surpassed the M40-44 AG a couple years ago in size. This was the first time I noticed M50-54 surpassing M40-44 in size. I’m sure it has happened in other races, but this seems notable. Three years ago, the early 40s men were the most crowded AG. Now, as those guys have gotten older, there haven’t been a lot of new entrants to the sport behind them.
Also notable that for slot allocation, we could see races where you need to be top 3 in M40-44 to qualify. A 50 yo could grab what would have once been the fourth slot.
The amount of people willing to pay $800+ for a race entry is aging…
Those 40yr olds still have kids to put through college and 401(k)s to fund lol
Not to mention all of the incidental expenses of racing an IM. For example, most IMs don’t allow packet pickup the day before. The extra hotel days (2?) adds enormous cost onto an already expensive trip!
The aging of the “participation generation” seems to be hurting the younger age groups in all participation sports – even the reasonably priced races.
And silly-high entry fees naturally also skew the demographics of the entry list – while making IM into a one-and-done bucket list event.
IM needs to take a lesson from golf. With an aging and dying demographic, golf participation has been falling for years. Hundreds of golf courses have gone out of business. A similar wave has begun in triathlon. It’s time for the powers at the top of the sport to take measures to turn it around.
The aging of the “participation generation” seems to be hurting the younger age groups in all participation sports – even the reasonably priced races.
And silly-high entry fees naturally also skew the demographics of the entry list – while making IM into a one-and-done bucket list event.
IM needs to take a lesson from golf. With an aging and dying demographic, golf participation has been falling for years. Hundreds of golf courses have gone out of business. A similar wave has begun in triathlon. It’s time for the powers at the top of the sport to take measures to turn it around.
Agree, yet wonder if triathlon is still “cool”. It used to be a cool / bucket list / bragging rights kind of thing to do. That doesn’t seem to be as prevalent as it once was across age groups. There could also be some resentment if you are way healthier than your peer group these days.
Sports these days need to be aware of what has been mentioned - video games - and reinvent themselves virtually. I think we have a better chance getting someone hooked on Zwift than riding on the road. Hopefully the virtual reality experience creates a desire to actually do it outdoors. Or I’m being too optimistic about that happening…
One of the problems with current society is that the younger generation, as a whole, are not getting the kind of wages that earlier generations got.
Here in Toronto the average wage is pushing $60,000 pa, but I would defy most people to find anyone under 30 earning that. And that level of income is $100,000 shy of the income required to own a house. I had owned 6 houses by the time I was 30 and most of my friends had owned more than one.
What does this do to a sport that with time (which has a value), equipment, travel, and entry fees is fast becoming untenable for many, if they are to establish themselves economically. It’s a problem in many sports that have become expensive in terms of time and money.
That the age groups are skewing to the older, established financially, sound populations is just one symptom of what will kill the sport if we don’t get smarter.
I have been in the biggest AG at every IM I’ve ever done since 2007.
I was looking at the IMLP start list. It’s not news that the M45-49 AG surpassed the M40-44 AG a couple years ago in size. This was the first time I noticed M50-54 surpassing M40-44 in size. I’m sure it has happened in other races, but this seems notable. Three years ago, the early 40s men were the most crowded AG. Now, as those guys have gotten older, there haven’t been a lot of new entrants to the sport behind them.
Also notable that for slot allocation, we could see races where you need to be top 3 in M40-44 to qualify. A 50 yo could grab what would have once been the fourth slot.
Liability costs have grown high, and right of way closures spike in costs as population density grows. Race directors aren’t gouging prices, it’s just expensive.
Triathlon hasn’t been cool in a while, and even if that changes, it won’t draw new people unless we somehow reverse the vanishing of the middle class.
I have a friend that is considerably younger than me, who is in great shape. He’s around 30 and I’m 41. He runs and bought a Peloton. He proudly wears his Peloton tee to the gym. One day I asked him if he ever considered triathlon. It was like I was speaking another language. The idea had never remotely entered his mind space. He had a glossed over look just at a mention. I thought WTF…I realized later that the younger generation 35 and under has very little to no interest in triathlon.
I think both of the observations are correct.
The aging of the “participation generation” seems to be hurting the younger age groups in all participation sports – even the reasonably priced races.
And silly-high entry fees naturally also skew the demographics of the entry list – while making IM into a one-and-done bucket list event.
IM needs to take a lesson from golf. With an aging and dying demographic, golf participation has been falling for years. Hundreds of golf courses have gone out of business. A similar wave has begun in triathlon. It’s time for the powers at the top of the sport to take measures to turn it around.
Agree, yet wonder if triathlon is still “cool”. It used to be a cool / bucket list / bragging rights kind of thing to do. That doesn’t seem to be as prevalent as it once was across age groups. There could also be some resentment if you are way healthier than your peer group these days.
Sports these days need to be aware of what has been mentioned - video games - and reinvent themselves virtually. I think we have a better chance getting someone hooked on Zwift than riding on the road. Hopefully the virtual reality experience creates a desire to actually do it outdoors. Or I’m being too optimistic about that happening…
Ironman Cork 2020, 615 Euro (basically $700) after the admin fees.
You may or may not get to swim again for that money.
Oh and to be shuuure, Ireland is fecken expensive to visit.
It’s becoming even more of a rich man’s game. Or as others say a 1-and-through.
With the proliferation or races, finishing an Ironman doesn’t have the same cache it used to. Furthermore, the fact that half or more the people who actually are doing it are old enough to be grandparents has demystified the accomplishment for younger folks. And while the older generation is so fixated on IM’s and HIM’s, short course racing, which would be more accessible to somebody still in the family formation and career building stage of their life, is struggling to stay afloat.
The amount of people willing to pay $800+ for a race entry is aging…
Those 40yr olds still have kids to put through college and 401(k)s to fund lol
Not to mention all of the incidental expenses of racing an IM. For example, most IMs don’t allow packet pickup the day before. The extra hotel days (2?) adds enormous cost onto an already expensive trip!
That’s been the case for at least 20 years. Hard to blame it for the changing demographic.
I have been in the biggest AG at every IM I’ve ever done since 2007.
I was looking at the IMLP start list. It’s not news that the M45-49 AG surpassed the M40-44 AG a couple years ago in size. This was the first time I noticed M50-54 surpassing M40-44 in size. I’m sure it has happened in other races, but this seems notable. Three years ago, the early 40s men were the most crowded AG. Now, as those guys have gotten older, there haven’t been a lot of new entrants to the sport behind them.
Also notable that for slot allocation, we could see races where you need to be top 3 in M40-44 to qualify. A 50 yo could grab what would have once been the fourth slot.
Me too. I’ve always been in the largest AG. M35-39, M40-44, M45-49, and next year I move to 50-54.