I’m reading in a few media outlets that the reason ascribed to the jump in USAT membership ranks is the excitement generated by ITU-style racing, both here and abroad, and the Olympics team that we sent to Athens? How much of this is truth and how much “blue sky” extrapolation. So far, I haven’t seen a membership survey that asks reasons for why membership in USAT was applied.
Kahuna
ITU racing and the old Formula 1 racing in Australia were largely responsible for my becomming a triathlete so they reached at lease one person.
I had Pic’s of Lessing, Beven, Welch and company that spurred me to start training.
Anecdotal, to be sure . . . but, I’ve been coaching a group of women runners for the last fifteen years. At first, my wife (Karen McKeachie) and I were the only triathletes in the group. Sheila T. joined us in late 1998, and since that time, nearly 80% of the group have done at least a couple of triathlons, and over half would now call themselves “triathletes”. Only one has done an ironman distance race thus far - and she did hers just a week ago in Canada.
When I ask why they decided to “tri”, there are a variety of responses . . . but all of them include personal example (Sheila and Karen) and the excitement generated by the Games (and Sheila’s participation in both 2000 and 2004).
I don’t buy it in the least. I can think of no age grouper I know that references the olympics as part of their interest. Most it was someone else doing it, telling them, and it ‘sounded cool’. I think the profiliferation of sprint distance races has had as much impact as anything. The My First Series in BC gets 300-500 three weekends a year of first timers. Kirkland sprint in summer 2003 got 1500 sprint distance folks.
…and it’s my opinion only…but I just see it as hogwash. Perhaps we look at the gain in popularity of USAT over the past 10 years (I believe Dan has already extrapolated some numbers about this). Look at the number of races here in the U.S. and the increase in those, the increase in the number of Ironman races, the increase in the number of Olympic/International distance races (which I find very few)…and add to that sitting in a few of the most popular tri shops in the country, running a club, hanging with another, and I just haven’t seen ANY interest raised because of ITU style racing (based on other’s explanations of why they got into the sport).
I even did a clinic in Chicago for a large running club (CARA) as sort of primer for those runners who wanted to do their first tri. Most of the interest generated was because they knew others who had tried it (and more importantly, runners who found they were more successful at triathlons than at standalone running races). I would say that over the past 10 years I’ve been racing, the two biggest factors that get most of the people I have met (only a few hundred, so I have limited data) into the sport would be: word of mouth (a friend did one) and “the Ironman in Hawaii”.
However, I DO think that with some increased coverage here in the U.S., I could see how someone who maybe did their first tri in the past year or two saw some coverage on TV, and that maybe have kept them interested.
word of mouth (a friend did one) and “the Ironman in Hawaii”<<
I would agree. And, having a series of beginner-type races in the area also helps, plus, a number of strong tri clubs, most with some sort of beginner program. Everyone knows about Ironman. Not everyone knew that tri is in the Olympics, and we’ve even had an Olympian (an honorary club member) speak at our club a number of times.
clm
Let me float this idea instead - the marathon and running boom of the mid 90s is the cause of the higher participation in triathlons. This may also account for why there are more new female newbies than men, they came straight out of the marathon/running scene.
I think the exposure generated by the sydney olympics probably helped those that were on the fence to do one. In europe and other countries where ITU style racing is much more popular the olympics probably has played a much bigger role in getting people out.
I see the growth at two extremes, the sprint races that seem to be proliferating areas of the country (in some parts you can hardly find an OD race any more) and a boom in IM participation.
It might have shown people that there was something other than IM distance.