Global initiative puts slot allocation and rolldown at the same time.
Every year thousands of athletes compete at IRONMAN events around the world in hopes of qualifying for the IRONMAN World Championship held in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii every October. Age group athletes must finish at the front of their age categories to earn a chance to compete at the world’s most prestigious one-day sporting event.
Qualifying for Kona FAQ
New Slot Allocation and Rolldown Process
In order to standardize the slot allocation and rolldown for the IRONMAN World Championship, IRONMAN events around the world will now combine slot allocation and rolldown into one ceremony.
In the past many events have offered a separate time for automatic qualifiers to claim their slot, followed by a rolldown ceremony where the remaining slots were handed out. This process will now be combined where slot allocation and rolldown will be completed at the same time.
Slot Allocation****
The final number of slots allocated in each age category at an event will be determined by the number of starters in each age group, not by the number of athletes registered. There will always be one slot allocated per age group (as long as there is at least one competitor who has started in that age group). The higher the number of starters in an age group, the higher the percentage of slots allocated to that age group.
Rolldown
For detailed information on the rolldown process, please go to our Qualifying for Kona FAQ page.
Check out the list of IRONMAN Qualifying races and the number of qualifying slots.
I don’t think it really changes anything. Just that everyone has to hang out while they go through each AG. They used to do this at Hawaii 70.3 as part of the awards ceremony.
Call out the KQs in each AG then if there was an immediate roll down they’d call out that name. If at the end there were category roll downs (usually because the older AGs had starters but no finishers) they call those at the end.
Doesn’t really change much. Just makes it a ceremony not a cluster fuck.
I’ve only been to 1 IM event and this was an 70.3 qualifier for 70.3 worlds. However, I thought it was odd that they were announcing that Worlds spots had to be taken before the ceremonies. I know one of my college kids who got a spot, had no idea that was when he was having to claim the spot.
(I don’t know if that’s the standard process until now, either)
When I qualified for the 70.3 WC at Muncie in 2012 if you qualified you could sign up before the ceremony or tell them that you did not want the spot then it would go to the next person. I had to wait until after the ceremony because I needed one person to not take the spot. But never been to one for an IM. Hopefully I will be in September!
I don’t know why the IMH Q & slot rolldown need to be so complex. *Back in the day *when you registered for an event, you noted whether or not you intended to take a qualifying slot (you could then change this to a Y or N at packet pick-up if you changed your mind). When the results were posted, it would then look like this w/ those stating they would be taking a slot, having a ‘Q’ next to their name:
M35-39:
John Doe (Q)
Bill Smith
Steve White (Q)
Jason Williams (Q)
Joe Brown
Bill Anderson (Q)
Brian Shea (Q)
If there were (3) slots in the M35-39, I know I’m out of luck…if there are (5), I’m good to go. This process was so streamlined as it eliminated the need to stick around for the rolldowns as you knew where you were as soon as the results were posted.
As a newbie to this how long does the roll down usually last? I want to go so just need to make sure I don’t arrange too early a flight back for my IMs this year.
Rolldown “ceremony”??? I think some people already feel sheepish about taking a rolldown slot (I might too, but that wouldn’t stop me if I had the chance.) Plus, you now make those who qualified outright wait around until 11am to claim their spot. Seems like the old system was better for the athletes. Maybe this is just a ploy to get more people to stay for the awards.
This does change the dynamics of timing, especially for the thinner age groups. For example, there’s typically only one slot in my AG, so if I finish 5th there’s hardly any chance of getting a slot. In the old process, I could check at the claiming desk to see if it got claimed, and once it was, be on my merry way home (and not have to stay through the ENTIRE awards ceremony to get to my AG which is almost always the last). That typically saves me 2 hours and a lot of recovery time (not to mention GF time and friends traveling with us, etc.) not having to sit in the sun for the inevitable. With the new process, just on the off chance the slot didn’t get picked up or the guy didn’t want a slot or it’s late in the year and the guys ahead of me have already qualified, I’ll have to stay to the very end to find out what’s what.
I can remember how dramatic the rolldown used to be. There was a real sense of excitement and possibility. When they switch to having the pre-qualified claiming their spots in advanced it really killed the excitement and rolldowns lost their appeal (along with their audience). I’m not sure if that is what they are trying to regain, but I will be a lot more interested in attending the rolldown now that they are going back to the old system.
Maybe this is a dumb question. Does anyone know how long this slot rolldown/awards ceremony will take now? If I want to stick around and hope that someone doesn’t take their spot, but need to buy a plane ticket, I’m trying to figure out how long I should assume I’ll need to wait?
This process worked great in St. Croix. Called the top 3 for each age group, asked the qualifiers if they wanted the Kona and 70.3 slots, if they said yes, then it was done, or if they said no, then they called the next guy in line and asked if they wanted the slots. I thought it was very efficient and it brought some suspense to see if they were going to say yes or no. I enjoyed this aspect of the awards/slot allocation/rolldown.
Maybe this is a dumb question. Does anyone know how long this slot rolldown/awards ceremony will take now? If I want to stick around and hope that someone doesn’t take their spot, but need to buy a plane ticket, I’m trying to figure out how long I should assume I’ll need to wait?
Personally I think the new process sucks. Now you have to wait till the awards dinner is over and hang out for around 1.5 more hours after lunch. Families are already sick and tired of waiting around for us for 365 days while we play athlete. After a long day of standing around in the sun, they are likely looking forward to getting the hell out of there after the IM is done and things are packed up…now they are around till 3 pm in the afternoon, at least that was the case at IM Texas. It really did not affect me, as I was not in a position for a rolldown (17th) and I did not have my family with me, but I preferred the old process, where outright qualifiers claimed their slots before 11 am and then the rolldown starts at 11 am. Then the awards dinner at noon. Way better. Not sure why they changed it. In any case I was booking flights out of Houston and we pretty sure that I would not really be in shape to contend for a rolldown (probably need to be top 6 in 45-49), so I booked a flight which meant leaving halfway into the rolldown. I like going to watch all the people being excited being awarded their slots, so it was fun to watch part of that. I think watching the rolldown is much more fun “entertainment” than the actual award ceremony. By and large no one cares about going to the podium and getting a piece of hardware…what they want is the Kona rolldown. As such, that is the “real show” and much more entertaining. Too bad it is pushed over till after awards.
