I think a race like kona should have a qualification procedure like this:
80 spots handed out for the race.
75% of participants are men; 25% are women
60 spots go to men; 20 spots go to women
Half of those spots go to the top finishers in that gender.
30 top men and 10 top women.
Then the rest are distributed across the age groups; however, the age groups are 39-under, 40-54, 55-69, and 70+.
How is this radically different than what happens using the existing (far less rigid/arbitrary) rules of slot allocation which are done based on numbers of participants.
Go through an example using the numbers from a recent Ironman race and see how this breaks down. I bet it’s not terribly far off.
Its the frickin world championships! If they beat you, then they deserve to go. Besides there are still some spots awarded by age categories.
This is your fundamental mistake. WTC calling it the “World Championships” does not make it so. It is not. It is an “event”, and one that WTC chooses to open to many different people, not just the fastest.
Keep the existing age group classification for regular awards to keep things interesting for all, but hand out Kona slots the way you suggested.
If I am 39, I should have to compete with everyone under 39 including the elite. If I beat them, great, if I don’t suck it up and train harder. If I still can’t beat them, too f**ing bad. Just accept that some people are better than you at anything they try. This is life. That is the way it is. Accept it and play by the rules.
When I turn 40, I get to compete with all the other ex-pros that are 40. That is totally awesome. I could care less if I get my ass handed to me and never get a Kona slots. I’ll try, but I won’t be upset if Larsen or anyone who is just better than me beats me, whether they are working 15 hours a week and have no kids or working 60 hours per week custody of 4 kids and single dad !
I’m fairly certain there aren’t Kona qualifying spots for weight divisions. There weren’t any at Buffalo Springs, and on the form for IMLP, the option was ‘Athena/Kona qualifier in age groups’ or something ilke that, i.e. if you race as an Athena and still have one of the best times in your age group, you are eligible for a Kona spot. I’ve been registering as an Athena lately because, well, I can, but I agree it wouldn’t be fair to smaller people to have a weight division for Kona. The cutoff for the weight divisions are too low if you ask me- 150 for women, 190 for men? I’m six feet tall- to weigh 151 would be very lean for me.
Me, I cherry pick races with a Clydesdale class. It’s like, I’m 6’4" and race at 200 lb. Thats usually the minimum weight, some races are 185 which is ridiculous. Then, given my ability to run at least a 40 minute 10K or average 7 min miles I can just about place in any local race. When I run 10K road races, I compete as an AG’er and usually get my ass spanked by some bird-chested, scrawny little old man. So then we have the Masters Clydesdale class! Now I compete with all the old, fat guys. What does that say about fairness? We create the element of “everybody is a winner” like the Dragons vs. the Puff 'n Stuffs soccer match on King of the Hill. Listen to yourselves! Grow up and embrace the fact that there are all kinds of recreational activities. If you don’t like it, find another sport.
*I definitely agree with the Clydesdale/Athena issue. I’m 5’8" and a solid, not chunky, 165. Someone 6’2" could come in over 190 while still being much more slender than I am. That height is a big advantage on both the swim and bike. If one wants to insist on having some special classification for larger framed people, then it should be based on a combination of height and weight.
For the AG spots on the other hand, I think they work well the way they are. You’re basically changing Kona into several dozen smaller world championships, which I think is a good thing.
I think that Tri needs AGs to survive. Every Tri in the US is populated mostly by AGers because there is no other place to compete and practice to be a Pro.
Nobody but Triathletes would watch or care about Kona if it were 80 pros out running for a few hours. Don’t believe me? How many Ultra Marathons have you watched on TV? Better, how inspired were you? Would you wathch the NYC Marathon if it were 20 guys and gals?
There are several races going on at Kona. One for the Pros and one for the AGers and others. Even the top AGers don’t “Race” the Pros, or they would be Pros.
If having Clyde and Athena groups involves more people in the sport than it is a good thing.
If you want to go to Kona, and you have to qualify for that race, don’t bitch about the rules you have to follow to get there. You Do Not have the Right to race at Kona.
Bitching about a former Pro still competing at the top AG level is like bitching that a top AGer is not a Pro.
It’s just a marketing concept. You won’t get many people to pay $100 for a race with the promise that they’ll finish 490th out of 500, but tell them they’ll finish 3rd in their AG and they’ll pay $$ss for the podium.
Let them pick up boxing or wrestling and then go on and take out the weighted categories so they can have as much fun as they can, it is annoying that a frustrated guy can not watch a slower older or heavier trigeek win his class and he never made the podium on his own class to bad thats life and NOW those are the rules, so we are playing by them.
In an ideal world the functional AG catagories would be (for both M and F): up to 45 y/o, 46-55, 56-65, 66+. I would also include a clyde (210+) and athena (160+) divisions for each AG but not make those divisions applicable to Kona slots.
However, I agree with others that, in the Real World, triathlon needs the multitude of AGs to survive and thrive. Silly? Perhaps (since I ALWAYS win my AG of guys born 07/07/71!)…but necessary for the sport and what the sport is all about.
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