Another major race cancelled relatively late…
http://www.challengecapetown.com/
…on the back of 5150 series problems is this becoming a trend?
Remember when Tiger Woods arrived on the golf scene? Golf became THE new activity. Many new golfers started playing, so “demand” for golf went up. In response, many new courses openned up, especially high end “Daily Fee” courses, so the “supply” of available golf kept pace.
Once popularity cooled off and the demand dropped, the supply of course availability exceeded the requirement, and operators couldn’t make money operating expensive courses for a reduced demand.
I think the same thing is happening in triathlon.
We have experienced a boom of interest, particularly among longer distance races and particularly among first timers. The “buy” signal drove suppliers (race promoters) to crank up the supply/availability of participating by adding races. Not sure that is sustainable. If/when we see reduced growth, there will be an oversupply of spaces, reduced margins for promoters and then fewer races. It all balances out in the end.
As discussed in the 5150 thread, maybe the ONLY races that sell out asap are (some) Ironman Brand MDOT races.
Time will tell.
Yet pretty much every new WTC Ironman sells out and does so very quickly with very few exceptions…
Relatively late is putting it mildly.
With 3 weeks to go most athletes are peaking and tapering.
Seems the course had never been approved and road closure as promised was not forthcoming.
This is in a City that closes roads completely for two major events the Argus Cycle Tour and the Two Oceans Marathon.
I was sceptical from the start that the event would not happen.
Ironman South Africa has not (to the best of my knowledge) sold out yet in 7 years.
To have a 2nd Iron distance race in South Africa now is premature!
Yet pretty much every new WTC Ironman sells out and does so very quickly with very few exceptions…
Surprisingly, IMC is still open, almost two months after race day. This was for a while perhaps the most sought after WTC race after Kona, and for years there were zero slots available online. Quite a change this year.
YIp, there is no way you can close roads as vital as these more than twice a year. Especially for a race that has less than 2000 athletes.
Also, the out and back along Baden Powell Dr. (the straight bit along the coast) is madness. There is sand all over that road from the dunes, and they couldn’t close it if they tried. There is also a criminal danger element - I’d hate to get a flat along there!
This quote is funny if you have lived in Cape Town:
“The course will be a two and half looped route and consist of a mix of open main roads, smaller towns and coastal roads.”
Sounds like a lovely jaunt through the countryside!
the irony is that the ad on the bottom of the page of this thread is for the HITS series…if 5150 and Challenge races are getting canned…I guess buyer (and entrant) beware…
Surprisingly, IMC is still open, almost two months after race day. This was for a while perhaps the most sought after WTC race after Kona, and for years there were zero slots available online. Quite a change this year.
Seems sold out:
http://www.active.com/framed/event_detail.cfm?CHECKSSO=0&EVENT_ID=1979803
“Brief Description:
General Entry slots are SOLD OUT, Ironman Community Foundation slots will open for registration soon.”
Ah, must have just happened, I checked a few days ago.
WTC to the rescue…
Big props to the gorilla.
Excuse me if I’m not overwhelmed by their “generosity”. This is brilliant gambit and big “fuck you” to Challenge.
They well know that very few athletes will take them up on the offer. And, even if they do get a flood of requests, they can simply deny them based on numbers.
Good marketing.
It works both ways. I’ve certainly seen smaller races try and benefit from a WTC event gone bad.
Excuse me if I’m not overwhelmed by their “generosity”. This is brilliant gambit and big “fuck you” to Challenge.
They well know that very few athletes will take them up on the offer. And, even if they do get a flood of requests, they can simply deny them based on numbers.
Good marketing.
I agree with your sentiment, but just because it’s good for WTC doesn’t mean it can’t be good for the athletes as well.
I love Felix and his Challenge series (it’s like IM used to be) so I’m disappointed about the SA race, but he and Challenge will continue to grow and put on great events I’m sure
Hi All,
We started this process with a view to create an exceptional race in Cape Town. Even in the post mortem of events we can say that this is still something very the much the athletes want. We are not WTC hedge fund owned businesses but rather a collection of extremely passionate individuals about triathlon in particular iron-distance racing. Challenge has garnered and rightfully so for meeting on great events in great locations and doesn’t have the biggest race in iron-distance tri for nothing. So for us this is a big pill to swallow and Cape Town is a different beast to the other major cities we have partnered with. We see a big future for triathlon in Cape Town and so does the City of Cape Town. Routes are one thing it is the management of them that remain critical. A single racing line needs to apply to both pro and age grouper. The complexities of Cape Town far supersede Port Elizabeth so whilst not knocking the great work done in PE a little bit of perspective is needed. Both sides, City and Challenge are a bit bruised and we now looking at how we can make this one of the best triathlons out there. Clearly we not here to average and we not selling the race on a lie. The City of Cape Town does not Mayoral launches in a hurry with the various items not ticked.
At the end of the day, we believe Challenge has a great future in South Africa. Yes, it is a bumpy start to put it mildly, and not the introduction to the SA market we had in mind but we doing this to give the athletes some diversity in iron-distance racing in SA and exposure to Challenge culture. There is a culture that is very different. It has been many sleepless night leading up to the decision and many since the announcement. As an athlete, the disappointment rankles me no end, apart from all the other points. I personally had alot of friend get into tri just for this. I care, Challenge Family cares, we and Cit of Cape Town learnt some lessons. We now hard at work for 2012 and hope that you will give us the breathing room we need.
If there are suggestions on how we can do things differently please we want to know. The offer to the athletes on the face seem far fetched for many but the roll over and relay entry has been accepted positively. If we didn’t care, we wouldn’t hang around. We hope that the athletes ultimately will respond to the race in time or they can keep doing the same course each year. Choice is theirs but in the interim we going to work make a great race that meets every bodies expectations.
Yours in Tri,
Grant
move it east a bit out of town, might b easier towards hermanus,
.
Just like Challenge Wanaka was originally Challenge Queenstown, maybe a shift to what may seem like a less than perfect location ends up being a perfect location.
Having done Challenge Wanaka twice, I can’t imagine how Queenstown could have been better. It simply wouldn’t have been. Wanaka has turned out to be awesome for an iron distance race.
IMHO, (and not knowing South Africa at all), look around for a better spot. It might just surprise you. Good luck. I wish another Challenge event well!