June 13, 2005
June 12, 2005 – In an effort to improve existing standards and race-related guidelines, the parent company that owns the Ironman Triathlon is launching Global Tri Group Inc. (GTG). The Global Tri Group was formed to enhance events worldwide by standardizing rules/regulations, providing insurance assistance and designing programs to implement drug-testing worldwide.
I hope not. Without sounding TOO radical, I think it would be a very sad thing for the sport to have an officating body that is essentially a fairly good sized corporation.
Nah…,
just another way to bend the rules in favor of people who hold the money.
Very sad.
Screw the WTC…
The way I understand it, we’ll always “need” to have a NATIONAL governing body for an Olympic Sport…I doubt the USOC wants to take on total management of the triathlon program (even if they HAVE tried to dictate more than they should)…not sure how that would play out…
Concerning the post about the “money”…well…WTC has $$$ because they have invested and built a solid group of races…If their $$$ helps them accomplish some standardization across the sport…I say more power to them…even if I don’t agree with some of their particulars…You’ve got to give a little to get some.
Your moniker should be “Hermit” instead of “Monk”…damn, this was news a couple days ago, man!
I’ve been predicting this sort of problem - in letters to the federation officials and on this forum - for several years now. USAT has been acting like a classic monopoly, almost totally deaf to the concerns of its primary customer (the race director). The only puzzling thing is why it took so long for a competitor to emerge.
<< WTC has $$$ because they have invested and built a solid group of races
correct me if I’m wrong, but right now all that WTC owns is the Ironman brand and the Kona race.
<< WTC has $$$ because they have invested and built a solid group of races
correct me if I’m wrong, but right now all that WTC owns is the Ironman brand and the Kona race.
Which sell out in days because…?
Oh Shit!! No more insurance–I won’t race!
not sure what your point is Markus? What I was pointing out is that people shouldn’t get confused as to what WTC actually owns and what IMNA owns. Arizona, Coeur d’alene, Lake Placid, Canada, Wisconsin, Florida, yes they all sell out in days, but they aren’t owned by WTC. Graham Frasier and IMNA own those races and built those races to what they are, not WTC.
Could you point me to the ST thread?
Here’s a biggie: http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=426936#426936
Also, Dan has several articles on the SlowTwitch main page.
Mike, but let’s not fool ourselves. Without that usage of the M-dot licenses from the WTC and without the hope of getting into Hawaii, the IMNA would not sell out that quickly. Yes, Graham puts on great event, but I can point to several half Ironmans that are much better in quality than IMNA half Ironmans. On the Ironman front, there are few that have the same quality, but it is like the chicken and the egg. If you have the lure of Hawaii and the M-Dot, you get the big numbers and associated revenue (from entry fee and sponsors) that allow you to build a quality event. Look at events such as Blue Devil, Esprit and others that stuggle to survive despite offering a great event.
Seriously, if you yanked the M-dot logo and the Hawaii qual spots from any IMNA race, do you think it would sell out that quickly ? Don’t get me wrong, Graham and his crew does a great job, but a large part of their value proposition stems from their relationship with WTC. I don’t think I would like to run a business that is so dependent on an outside source for the majority of its brand equity. Look at the impact initially at Roth, Forster and Gerardmer.
A true quality event like Roth can survive without the M-dot logo, as will Forster. I don’t know enough about Gerardmer to comment. I think some of the IMNA events now are to the point that they would survive, but perhaps not as successfully as Roth.
oh, no arguement there. Graham’s succes layes mostly in the hands of being an qualifier for Kona. If those races could stand on their own at this point without the slots? I don’t know, maybe. But also keep in mind that IMNA’s exclusive rights to putting on Ironman’s in NA runs out at the end of this year. Whether or not it gets renewed I don’t know, but there is a lot of changes coming down the pike.
Thanks for saving me the trouble…
Just pokin’ fun, Monk.