Just read the article on the New 70.3 World Championships in Florida in Nov 2006. Guess say good by to Ironman Florida??
I guess I better go one last time this year!
http://vnews.ironmanlive.com/vnews/topstories/1119397244
Crap I love that race and the 30hr drive…
Anyone heard anything??? Any thoughts??
t~
World Triathlon Corporation Launches Ironman 70.3 Series
By Staff for Ironmanlive.com on Wed, Jun 22nd 2005 (8:22 AM).
WTC announces the Ironman 70.3 World Championship, an event supported by a new global series of Ironman 70.3 events. For the first time ever, athletes who complete a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run, totaling 70.3 miles, will have the unique opportunity to qualify for a world championship at that distance. 
All Ironman 70.3 events will culminate at the World Championship event in Florida scheduled for November 2006.
“The Ironman 70.3 name will distinguish our events both in name and in quality. We believe the new series will energize the competitive spirit and fully recognize the distance accomplished by our athletes,” says Steve Meckfessel, Ironman 70.3 events director.
Events in the Ironman 70.3 Series include:
U.K. Ironman 70.3 September 11, 2005
Cancun Ironman 70.3* November 6, 2005
Baja Ironman 70.3* Feb. 2006 (Exact date TBD)
Ford Ironman 70.3 California March 18, 2006
St. Croix Ironman 70.3 May 7, 2006
Ford Ironman 70.3 Florida May 21, 2006
Honu Ironman 70.3 June 3, 2006
The EagleMan Ironman 70.3 June 11, 2006
Buffalo Springs Lake Ironman 70.3 June 25, 2006
Vineman Ironman 70.3 July 30, 2006
Copenhagen Ironman 70.3* Aug. 2006 (Exact date TBD)
Monaco Ironman 70.3 Aug. 2006 (Exact date TBD)
U.K. Ironman 70.3* Sept. 2006 (Exact date TBD)
*Denotes a new event
There will be 100 slots allotted for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship at each qualifying event. WTC is in the final stages of negotiation with one of Florida’s top beach destinations for the location of the Ironman 70.3 World Championship. All Ironman 70.3 events will be endorsed by Global Tri Group.
All Half Ironman events licensed by WTC will now use the term Ironman 70.3 rather than Half Ironman. Further details relating to Ironman 70.3 qualifying events and the Ironman 70.3 World Championship will be released in the coming weeks.
Don’t start spreading rumors … World Champs will be owned and operated by WTC not IMNA … two different race teams. If IMNA wants to stay in Panama City Beach i’d bet it still happens … i don’t think WTC would conflict with one of the races it sanctions. I do bet they will be within a couple weeks of one another.
Rumors…just a question i know nothing, and those two business’s work very closely together and are not in competition with one another.
t~
Interesting “business marketing” situation… Is there enough cachet in a 1/2 IM for much focus on such a series? Will it attract new participants for whom an IM is out of reach? What does it mean for the IM “brand” and why aren’t they extending that brand rather than starting another one? Will Mike Reilly be crowning everyone, “YOU ARE A 70.3!”
Obviously WTC thinks this is a good move.
the half world champ is supposed to be in Clearwater, FL. Long haul from Panama City Beach. I’m guessing the races won’t conflict.
Now a half in Baja in Feb? Very inticing…
Interesting developments, to be sure:
Will this run afoul of the ITU? The WTC and the ITU have rarely if ever seen eye to eye on things and the ITU frowns upon events that go out and call themselves “World Championships”. I don’t know if the situation with the Ironman Hawaii event and it’s billing as a “World Championship” has ever been fully resolved.
This sort of series at the half IM or 70.3 distance has been talked about for years in the highest circles of the sport. It’s the perfect meeting-grownd distance between the best short and long distnace triathlon specialists. Furthermore, you can do 3 - 5 of these races a year and it not kill you. I still question the sanity of doing more than 1 or 2 full IM races a year. That is really hard on the body.
I wonder if this will not cannibalize entries at the existing full IM races, particularly in North America
No 70.3 event for Canada? Why?
Fleck
I doubt its the end of IMFL, but perhaps the end of the US Half Triathlon Champships, not be confused with the USAT’s Long Course Championships.
So many choices…
Actually there is a 1/2 IM series that started last year, right?
I also noted that there is now something else called the “Best of the US Series” http://www.bestoftheustriathletes.com/
Lots of different attempts to organize a “series” sort of thing, which is what the sport would need to get into a better marketing bracket…but in the end, this is a “participation” sport (v. a spectator sport) so I am not sure a series will do much good…it is not like you’ll be following the papers to see how a single athlete does from event to event, they all basically funnel to one (of many).
I don’t think there is any reason that the US Half Champs OR USAT’s Long Course Champs should or will go away (i’m hoping / assuming) … all are great opportunities to race in unigue events each having their own mystique or prestige … US Half Champs is an independant venture with value and apparently a good race, USAT’s Nat’s will qualify you for ITU Worlds, and the new 70.3 races quality you for a 70.3 World Championship.
Really? … this is tremendous that we have so many opportunities to choose from in different locations!
Because in Canada it would be 113.0. The “70.3” trade mark is meaningless in 200 out of 210 counties in the world that don’t use miles.
HAHHAHAA, very good one! I can laugh cuz i say “eh”.
t~
Not to high-jack the thread, but when is the US going to catch up with the rest of the world on that?
Fleck
Post: Not to high-jack the thread, but when is the US going to catch up with the rest of the world on that?
Temperature is even worse. There are about 10 countries that use miles but the US is the only country in the world that uses Fahrenheit.
Not to high-jack the thread, but when is the US going to catch up with the rest of the world on that?
Soon, I hope, very soon. But I’m not counting on it. I don’t think the US will ever switch to metric. It just makes too much sense. There will always be a redneck hick sitting on his porch saying, “I ain’t gonna switch to no goddam euro-peen system. This is amur-ica!!!”
Sad, very sad.
-C
No but a bettter option is that this free’s up some slots for IM distance qualifiers for a couple of years which is good for those specialists and makes Hawaii a little more accesible again…for a while.
I guess the real question is whether or not races like Eagleman will have slot for 70.3 and IM Kona.
Now there is the real question…because if I am going to do a half, but not qualify for Kona…do I really want to pay $250? I might as well pick any one of the other terrific halfs across the country, that range from $95 to $150 or so and save some money!! And if there are not going to be qualifying slots…that puts a whole group of athletes (those that race at their peak for half distance) out of qualifying contention.
**Not to high-jack the thread, but when is the US going to catch up with the rest of the world on that? **
We tried that in the 70’s…it didn’t take. I remember all the focus in school on having to learn the metric system, and even baseball parks put meters on the outfield walls (well, a couple of them did)… Don’t see that anymore.
This series is interesting to say the least…I’m happy for it and plan to compete. I don’t know how much of an effect it will have on the IM’s, though I suspect that at some point in the not too distant future they are destined to decline somewhat in popularity, mirroring what happened in running. Though there are much fewer IM’s worldwide than marathons…
And yes, what will Mike Reilly, et.al, say to the finishers indeed…"you’re half a man…no, wait, you’re an Iron…no, wait, you’re a half Ironman!..
My question is can WTC use the term World Championships for the half distance. ITU has agreed, thanks to the courts, to allow WTC to use world championships for Kona. I would think the ITU, especially since it has the World Long Distance championships, would not take so kindly to WTC nominating itself as the “world half ironman championships”. I for one, and I don’t know why, maybe b/c I’m tired and cranky right now would like to see the ITU win that one. It also seems that self annointing yourself as a world championship is a bit of a dubious distinction.
I’m placing a $20 bet that 70.3 wording disappears in 14 months or less. 70.3 WTF how more f*cking stupid can something sound. It’s a freaking half im. Takers