I disagree.
I feel that the governing bodies of triathlon have gone too far and need to get out of the way of the race directors.
I also think the “pro” division should be eliminated completely.
I tend to look at triathlon like XC running. It’s the individual races that make it great. an 8k XC race in Ireland is going to a a far different race than one in Boston, but thats what makes it great. I feel that in order to allow this sport to reach it’s full potential, we need to let the races lead the way.
Leagues have strict rules, not sports. In order to have more leagues, we need more athletes and RD’s heading out there and carving a path.
WTC is a league. ITU is a League. ITU has set up a format for a bunch of races around the world and have done a great job getting the world behind our sport. 2000 Olympic games were fantastic and the sport has done nothing but grow. BUT Chicago, St. Anthony’s, LA MIM Wildflower have their own rules separate from the ITU rules and have benefitted from the Olympic exposure and are doing quite well. The pros LOVE the races and formats, but they also love the ITU races. It makes for a better sport.
WTC on the other hand, has created a monopoly by shutting out the Ironman name and trying to take over the world. They are doing well, but the non-IM races are not. I feel that the name Ironman can no longer be associated with just one group because the term is generally assumed to mean “long triathlon”. Escalator would be my worldly example. In the long run, WTC would be better of, just like ITU is, by the existence of other ironman (small i) races and RD propmting the same sport. Hawaii will always be the ironman race that everyone wants to do, so WTC can rest easy knowing that people around the world will still be signing up for ther races for a chance to get to Kona. They put on a fantastic race too, so as long as they keep that up, people will sign up to do their races just to do a race. They would have to be know as the “WTC series” or simply WTC races, just like ITU.
Back to the main topic. LET THE SPORT GROW. It’ll grow a LOT faster and be far better if you allow the RD and creative people in this sport to drive its direction. We’re firmly set with our distances and formats and for the most part, those races are in NO DANGER of going anywhere but up. Allowing the people with the $ and creativity to drive the sport into mainstream is only going to help solidify the ITU and WTC names in the end. And1 would be the example. Do you think the NBA is worried about And1 taking over their spot as the greatest basketball league? Not at all. If anything, And1 is HELPING the NBA by raising the bar on ball handling and allow more people access to the game of basketball. And1 rules are different than NBA rules. NBA rules are different than Olympic Basketball rules. The one thing that remains the same is that it’s all considered basketball.
Allowing the races to dictate how the sport will grow and look is the best way in the end.
We should strive the keep the dress code between the sponsor and the athlete as much as possible. It shouldn’t be universal. Let the races decide what they want or don’t want in their races. To me, this allows the people with an interest in the sport to drive the market and grow and allows the athlete a better opportunity to earn a living and race where they want to.
