http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11466746
It was great theater with the elites. I was fortunate enough to get to see 4 of the races in person.
Thanks for the share. it just prove that the present WTS model is not working…
Losing, Auckland, Chicago, London (moving)…
Sounds like it is less about the ITU model “not working” and not enough participation in the AG races that accompanied the event. Considering Auckland 70.3 pulled the plug for the same reasons it’s more likely that there just isn’t enough athletes in NZ or travelling there to support the races
It does seem to prove that without AGer’s there are no events for the elites.
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No no… if you are reading the article, the cost of a race is between 1.1 and 1.4 millions.
2500 people at $120 = $300 000. it means that the city needs to invest at least $500 000…
I think the number of what is getting Edmonton from the 3 governments is around 800 000.
So, I’m pretty that the ROI was bad, and the federation might cover a lost. The problem of the WTS is this. except Hamburg maybe, outside the AGs, no one is travelling to see the race. Even with the AGs, the majority just don’t care to see the best athletes in the world. Reason is simple, no one is trying to really develop their interest for the elite.
Don’t forget that Chicago and London are also not keeping their race.
The list is really long Kitzbuhel, Cape Town, Geneve, Madrid, Sydney, Budapest, Beijing, San Diego, Washington…
True but that could be said of any race, entry fees are a very small part of the equation. But without the entrants the sponsors don’t come and government levels aren’t about throwing money at events that aren’t attended.
A small part might be the ITU model but I’d say the lack of participants is a bigger factor.
pedantic, probably…
I was just watching the London race a week or two ago and I thought they mentioned that the race is leaving London temporarily due to construction in Hyde Park. Is this not the case?
we are saying the same thing 
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LOL I think so 
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As a kiwi, and having done the WTS (age-group) and the 70.3, they aren’t cheap races to do. And I think kiwis are a little on the stingy side, especially when we have an alright selection of races to pick from over the summer.
I felt the age-group race was poorly run this year and not such a good experience, I felt a bit bad for a couple of my friends who were doing their first triathlon. If it was the same as the years previous I can understand why participation numbers dropped over the years. What’s more is that this year triathlon was not really on our minds, even though the times were different, the date was the same as the cricket world cup final that NZ was playing in. I’d guess that the decision to drop auckland was made before the event was held this year though.
It’s a little funny, the Auckland Marathon is being run by Ironman for the first time this year. Participation will be way down because it is on the morning of the rugby world cup final. I believe they treid to change but it was not feasible and instead have promised a big screen showing the game at the start line, and live updates throughout the course. There will probably be a surge in entries if NZ happens to be knocked out in the couple of weeks prior, but it will be a slightly less exciting event this year.
I think it will depend on how good a show Leeds puts on.
If they take it to heart like they did the TdF then I can’t see it going back to London for a while.
As a kiwi, and having done the WTS (age-group) and the 70.3, they aren’t cheap races to do. And I think kiwis are a little on the stingy side, especially when we have an alright selection of races to pick from over the summer.
I felt the age-group race was poorly run this year and not such a good experience, I felt a bit bad for a couple of my friends who were doing their first triathlon. If it was the same as the years previous I can understand why participation numbers dropped over the years. What’s more is that this year triathlon was not really on our minds, even though the times were different, the date was the same as the cricket world cup final that NZ was playing in. I’d guess that the decision to drop auckland was made before the event was held this year though.
It’s a little funny, the Auckland Marathon is being run by Ironman for the first time this year. Participation will be way down because it is on the morning of the rugby world cup final. I believe they treid to change but it was not feasible and instead have promised a big screen showing the game at the start line, and live updates throughout the course. There will probably be a surge in entries if NZ happens to be knocked out in the couple of weeks prior, but it will be a slightly less exciting event this year.
This post reminds me of the infamous count down clock in NZ until the Rugby World Cup final, which began monnths before the tournament, only for NZ to get knocked out before the final! I’ll make a bet NZ doesn’t make the final again! 
Ha I hope you are wrong!
There would undoubtedly be a small surge in entries if they are knocked out in the semis or quarters. But I think most people will choose not to train and so less likely to enter last minute
I’m a bit gutted. Have done this race the last two years - sprint in 14 and Standard this year.
I thought it was run reasonably well but can see how it’s not paying for itself. I don’t see how they can make it work in the future so doubt it will be back.
Luckily as mentioned above we have plenty of races to do especially here in Tauranga so it likely won’t be missed.
I think endurance sport in general have a extremely poor model for monetization. Look at all other “Professional” sports. There are Franchises which are supported and fans pay to attend the event. Now I realize that that model doesn’t work for cycling, running and triathlon events (swimming the ticketing can work) but something needs to be attempted. Perhaps the federations for these countries could add a “tax” of a few dollars to all AG races in the region to fund races long term. Say Germany, England, Australia, Canada, USA, Spain, etc. either then feed all the tax into one central fund to ensure x amount of races per year can be funded on the Global scale. I know this would be controversial but it’s just one idea.
Anyone know what drives the biggest portion of $1.4M budget? Road closures? Police/medics?
you can add…
- TV production, might be the biggest cost.
- ITU media Team (international)
- ITU referee and more… (international)
- ITU race set up
you can add…
- TV production, might be the biggest cost.
- ITU media Team (international)
- ITU referee and more… (international)
- ITU race set up
I know that ITU is a different beast, but I’m not sure if it is worth the cost to have triathlons in large cities. I’ve done ITU chicago last year and it was pretty cool, but I’m not sure that all the additional headaches (for organizers) with the road closures, etc were worth it.