Sorry for the apparently silly question. I’m interested in knowing what does a “ticket to Kona” (i.e. qualifying) mean actually ? Especially for the AGers.
Are all expenses paid by Ironman company ? Or the lucky “winners” still have to pay themselves for everything, airplane tickets, hotel rooms, food and,etc…?
Thanks for your enlightment !
Louis 
The wonderful privlege to pay full price for another Ironman, accommodation, and travel to what is basically hellish heat in a tropical paradise with good coffee.
You get to pay for everything.
Sorry for the apparently silly question. I’m interested in knowing what does a “ticket to Kona” (i.e. qualifying) mean actually ? Especially for the AGers.
Are all expenses paid by Ironman company ? Or the lucky “winners” still have to pay themselves for everything, airplane tickets, hotel rooms, food and,etc…?
Thanks for your enlightment !
Louis
Qualifying means that you qualify. It’s not a sponsorship.
Putting on races is financially tough. They’d bleed astronomical amounts of money if they were paying tons of random people to vacation to Kona.
I assume some “qualifiers” turn down the opportunity because of different reasons (mainly budget), does that mean the next athlete down the list gets the “ticket” ? Or there isn’t such a rule ?
Louis
It means you get to IMMEDIATELY fork over the $900 entry fee!!! Then also have to pay for the rest of the trip.
I assume some “qualifiers” turn down the opportunity because of different reasons (mainly budget), does that mean the next athlete down the list gets the “ticket” ? Or there isn’t such a rule ?
Louis
Yes
George: Lemme see. I can’t believe you got these Super Bowl tickets for free. (Looking at the
tickets) Row F?!
Jerry: Row F, in front of the Gs, hobnobbing with the Ds and Es.
George: Howbout Kramer or Elaine, they don’t want them?
Jerry: I asked. Elaine laughed at me, Kramer’s only interested in Canadian
football.
George: Wish I could help you.
Jerry: Come on, take them.
George: So in order to use these, I gotta spend like fifteen-hundred bucks.
This is a bill for fifteen-hundred dollars.
From Seinfeld’s “The Label Makerâ€
I assume some “qualifiers” turn down the opportunity because of different reasons (mainly budget), does that mean the next athlete down the list gets the “ticket” ? Or there isn’t such a rule ?
Louis
It’s called a rolldown.
Someone who is 10th or worse in their age group can sometimes get a Kona spot.
Draining your savings account.
Triathlon is a marketing genious sport imo.
Not only Ironman, but all types of triahtlons. All those distances, age groups, and giving out “tickets” to World championships every year makes for a wealthy sport .
Louis
You get mad respect from all slowtwitchers around the globe 
.
Triathlon is a marketing genious sport imo.
Not only Ironman, but all types of triahtlons. All those distances, age groups, and giving out “tickets” to World championships every year makes for a wealthy sport .
It’s more like a poor sport for the wealthy. Insurance and right-of-way closures, among other things, can get insanely expensive. Some race directors profit, many have a hard time staying afloat. And it presents a long-term problem: in many places, the costs are too high for people to dabble in the sport, and participant ages are rising with few newcomers.
Triathlon is a marketing genious sport imo.
Not only Ironman, but all types of triahtlons. All those distances, age groups, and giving out “tickets” to World championships every year makes for a wealthy sport .
Louis
You forgot about a for profit corporation getting thousands of people to volunteer to help with a race that costs entrants hundreds of dollars
3 times KQ has helped me with a number things.
First and foremost, spending too much money on going there, race fee, accommodation etc. It’s not cheap.
For the first 2 races I did, I traveled and race with some of my best friends and training partners. Incredible memories to have as we trained and then race on hallowed ground for triathlon.
On a more tangible level, it has helped me become a brand ambassador for a couple of products that reduce my expenditure a little, though by far, not enough to make up for the costs of Kona.
But I have also had the chance to not only meet Jan Frodeno, but spend time translating live for him during a triathlon sharing session. My profile as an athlete certainly helped me have that incredible chance. I have also got to swim and ride with Tim Don in non public rides; talking with him on an easy ride for a couple of hours, I learned more about triathlon than I had ever known in the past. And I also go to do a run session with TO and Rinny, something that taught me I do not actually know how to run, I simply plod along. I have seen TO pass me on the run at IM 70.3 Taiwan before, he runs like a a really fast human being! But watching Rinny demonstrate some techniques I realized that she flies, barely touching the ground. Really awesome to see that!
And finally, Kona has connected me with friends from around the world who share my passion to train long hours and really push hard to race. Some may criticize the arrogance of triathlon, especially amongst the KQ set, and that can be fair. But I have been lucky to meet really genuine people, some of whom have true athletic gifts, and others like me who just really like to put the work in and see how fast they can go.
I’m going for my third trip this year. My friends have a dream for 2020, and thus I will try to make it the fourth time to be on Hawaii with them again. But after that, I will take my tri budget and spend it on some other bucket list experiences and races around the world.
Sorry for the apparently silly question. I’m interested in knowing what does a “ticket to Kona” (i.e. qualifying) mean actually ? Especially for the AGers.
Are all expenses paid by Ironman company ? Or the lucky “winners” still have to pay themselves for everything, airplane tickets, hotel rooms, food and,etc…?
Thanks for your enlightment !
Louis
You get:
Other than that–yeah, go for it if you’re curious!
It means you get to IMMEDIATELY fork over the $900 entry fee!!! Then also have to pay for the rest of the trip.
$900??? Maybe 5 years ago… try again…
Sorry, $975 plus taxes & fees 🙄
.
As of an email this morning all athletes receive up to a $5,720 credit towards a Ventum One or Ventum Z.
As of an email this morning all athletes receive a $5,720 credit towards a Ventum One or Ventum Z.
By that I assume you mean up to $5720? Scaling with the level of bike presumably?