II’m not down there but my friends are. The women showed up! A few AG’s rolled a bit but it seems there was certainly an interest in taking these slots. I’m glad, I think it’s a good initiative in general.
Agree on the initiative as well Bryan. I was fortunate to have three athletes snag a slot to Kona. Was definitely a blessing to see this opportunity pop up and some happy athletes today 
No offence to the ladies taking slots in IMAZ, but isn’t it diluting the quality of the female AG field to give so many slots at the same race?
Wouldn’t it be better to double the slot count for females at all IM races?
Bryan both shayna and Jenny got slots. The pure joy and excitement on Jenny’s face is what the sport is all about to me. It’s shows the passion and love for triathlon.
The men have had 3/4 of the slots forever. Would everyone be in favor of reducing the number of men’s slots at races and make it equal regardless of number of participants? I doubt it.
Long live the 2 day format
Bryan both shayna and Jenny got slots. The pure joy and excitement on Jenny’s face is what the sport is all about to me. It’s shows the passion and love for triathlon.
The men have had 3/4 of the slots forever. Would everyone be in favor of reducing the number of men’s slots at races and make it equal regardless of number of participants? I doubt it.
Long live the 2 day format
I agree on two day format and the necessary extra women’s slots, but I feel the IMWC would be better served by distributing the slots to more races and regions. Maybe add 50 or 60 per race which would limit those receiving slots to the top 8 or 10.
At the awards this morning my wife’s AG had two slots from the original pool plus 16 of the women in tri slots. Perhaps this will change going forward? No doubt IM made a bundle today with registration around $1,400 a slot before fees.
Agree on lots of happy female finishers this morning!
I had a first-time ironman finisher athlete miss her spot by 5 minutes.
Now here is why this is good for the sport.
She left hungry to compete again the women’s 45-49 age group used to have 1 spot, had to win.
no reason to go the extra mile in training towards kona when the same people take it every year.
but with spots rolling further women now have an opportunity to chase a kona slot.
No offence to the ladies taking slots in IMAZ, but isn’t it diluting the quality of the female AG field to give so many slots at the same race?
Wouldn’t it be better to double the slot count for females at all IM races?
I think this is a proof of concept. If they can fill a two day race at Kona by offering more women slots they will likely spread them across more races.
How many slots did the men get? And I wonder if they were actually saying that this is a ticket to Kona for the men and women, anyone know what they were advertising? Or is the wording a ticked to the world champs? Still thinking about that podcast that claims to know that something is going to be different this next year. If the guy really does have inside info and the deal is done, then one would think it would be reflected in all these upcoming qualifying races. I mean folks will qualify, then go right away and book flights and accommodations, do we even know if it is Kona 2 day again, that it is women first again? Makes a big difference when booking trips, maybe a qualifier can chime in here on what was represented to them.
There were 55 “normal†slots. 38 of them went to men and the remaining to women.
Another 100 slots were allotted strictly to women.
How many slots did the men get? And I wonder if they were actually saying that this is a ticket to Kona for the men and women, anyone know what they were advertising? Or is the wording a ticked to the world champs? Still thinking about that podcast that claims to know that something is going to be different this next year. If the guy really does have inside info and the deal is done, then one would think it would be reflected in all these upcoming qualifying races. I mean folks will qualify, then go right away and book flights and accommodations, do we even know if it is Kona 2 day again, that it is women first again? Makes a big difference when booking trips, maybe a qualifier can chime in here on what was represented to them.
I don’t think there is any veracity to that rumor, at least for next year. The extra slots are published on Ironman’s website and has a list of the 2023 races that will have them available.
The extra slots are published on Ironman’s website and has a list of the 2023 races that will have them available. //
I try and avoid that site, just pisses me off every time I try to look something up that should be easy, and I can never find it. So they are advertising that the slots given out are for Kona specifically, and not the world champs? And I guess they are giving out a lot more women slots becasue they are harder to fill than the mens, and split races both need the same numbers…No more old AG men going with the women next time around, so a golden era for those borderline women who always wanted to do Kona, but were just off the mark…
I recall that IM posted the info for the two day 2023 Kona, with the targeted 100 female slot races, in August.
By that point, IMAZ was pretty close to a sell out. It seemed arbitrary that the women that signed up for IMAZ early were the beneficiaries of that, when a woman that was doing IMWI had the normal 17 or so. It just shows that IM really only cares about selling the entries—it’s not about targeting policies that bring the best WC field.
I have no problem with women having their own day.
I had a first-time ironman finisher athlete miss her spot by 5 minutes.
Now here is why this is good for the sport.
She left hungry to compete again the women’s 45-49 age group used to have 1 spot, had to win.
no reason to go the extra mile in training towards kona when the same people take it every year.
but with spots rolling further women now have an opportunity to chase a kona slot.
This sums up my opinion on it 100%. Well said.
I’m in Cozumel and the awards here started at 5:30pm so about 10 hours after AZs awards
During the slit allocation and roll down they mentioned kona about 50x to the crowd and each time the crowd cheered. It was very much presented as this race is in Kona in 2023.
Here is the list of Kona spots worldwide. https://www.ironman.com/...ampionship-2022-slot
But I cant find the link to the womens extra spots. Anyone better navigating the ironman site than me?
Asking for a friend. Actually true, she’s interested in the extra spots for women …
Edit found it
https://www.ironman.com/im-world-championship-2023-slot
Here is the list of Kona spots worldwide. https://www.ironman.com/...ampionship-2022-slot
But I cant find the link to the womens extra spots. Anyone better navigating the ironman site than me?
Asking for a friend. Actually true, she’s interested in the extra spots for women …
Edit found it
https://www.ironman.com/...ampionship-2023-slot
Fixed
Bryan both shayna and Jenny got slots. The pure joy and excitement on Jenny’s face is what the sport is all about to me. It’s shows the passion and love for triathlon.
The men have had 3/4 of the slots forever. Would everyone be in favor of reducing the number of men’s slots at races and make it equal regardless of number of participants? I doubt it.
Long live the 2 day format
Not to argue but if it’s about fairness slots should be allocated based on ratio of athletes competing. That’s why men have had more slots, not because it’s biased toward them. I do worry that making it much easier to qualify will have unintended consequences a few years down the road and Kona may lose its luster. Coupled with other issues like cost I think there is a real risk of the aura of that race fizzling out regardless of what it currently represents.
Here is the list of Kona spots worldwide. https://www.ironman.com/...ampionship-2022-slot
But I cant find the link to the womens extra spots. Anyone better navigating the ironman site than me?
Asking for a friend. Actually true, she’s interested in the extra spots for women …
Edit found it
https://www.ironman.com/...ampionship-2023-slot
Fixed
Ironman continuing to make a mockery of its “world championship” claim.
Of the 1260 additonal women’s slots:
565 (44%) allocated to 6 North American races at an average of 94 slots/race.465 (37%) allocated to 5 US races, at an average of 93 slots/race.465 (37%) allocated to 7 European races, at an average of 66 slots/race.165 (13%) allocated to 3 Aust/NZ races, at an average of 55 slots/race.65 allocated to 1 South African race.
So much for Asia, South America…
But hey, it’s best for the sport that they attract a disproportionate number of slow American women.
At a certain point, they should just move to a 50/50 split of slots if that’s what the end goal is.
80 slots per race (or whatever the number works out to be). 40 slots each gender. Distribute within each gender as appropriate.
Bryan both shayna and Jenny got slots. The pure joy and excitement on Jenny’s face is what the sport is all about to me. It’s shows the passion and love for triathlon.
The men have had 3/4 of the slots forever. Would everyone be in favor of reducing the number of men’s slots at races and make it equal regardless of number of participants? I doubt it.
Long live the 2 day format
Not to argue but if it’s about fairness slots should be allocated based on ratio of athletes competing. That’s why men have had more slots, not because it’s biased toward them. I do worry that making it much easier to qualify will have unintended consequences a few years down the road and Kona may lose its luster. Coupled with other issues like cost I think there is a real risk of the aura of that race fizzling out regardless of what it currently represents.
If Ironman wants to get an equal number of slots for men and women that’s entirely their prerogative as it’s their company to do as they see fit.
It nevertheless ignores the basic fact that men make up the overwhelming majority of the field at any given IM event. I think it’s generally around 70-75% men and I get they’re trying to change that. Equalizing the slots obviously waters down the women’s field at Kona. They can do as they wish with the number of slots as I said but the math is the math. There is no argument that can be made that it doesn’t water down the women’s field. Ironman obviously is all in on that to equalize the male/female ratio at Kona hoping that the long term payday is equal participation across genders. Only time will tell.
The other basic math lost in this argument is that women (and the very small male AGs) have historically received more slots than should be allotted if a prorated formula was used. That’s due to the one slot per age group part of the formula that Ironman uses assuming a starter and finisher in the AG. I’m not arguing against the one slot per AG policy. Just pointing out how it always favors the women’s field.
IMAZ '22:
55 slots for 2,336 starters (1,667 M, 669 F). Prorated slots: 39.25 M, 15.75 F. IM’s allocation was 38 M, 17 F. Close but still in favor of the women.
IMFL '22:
55 slots for 1,937 starters (1,521 M, 416 F). Prorated slots: 43.19 M, 11.81 F. IM’s allocation was 39 M, 16 F. Over four slot disparity.
IMCali '22:
55 slots for 2,952 starters (2,202 M, 750 F). Prorated slots: 41.03 M, 13.97 F. IM’s allocation was 37 M, 18 F. Over four slot disparity.
IMChoo '22:
55 slots for 1,634 starters (1,134 M, 500 F). Prorated slots: 38.17 M, 16.83 F. IM’s allocation was 35 M, 20 F. 3+ slot disparity.
IMTX '22:
45 slots for 2,232 starters (1,659 M, 573 F). Prorated slots: 33.45 M, 11.55 F. IM’s allocation was 30 M, 15 F. 3 1/2 slot disparity.
…and so on. It gets even more disproportionate in locales where there’s less female participation like in Asia and Middle East.