Not sure how badly the consumer wants a lower price versus how badly the consumer says they want a lower price.
I just got notification for āprice increaseā for a national caliber 50km XC ski race in Canada. For this they have to close down a national park and they have to groom the trails (machines that drive the entire 50km to flatten the snow so it is skiable, much like a downhill resort, but on flatter terrain, burning thru diesel and operator time). Then after that they have to do everything for a tri (aid stations, finish line set up). Price is going from $135 CAD to $156 CAD.
I would say the value as a user is similar to half Ironmans. Local Half IMās that are not part of IM Events generally cost $250-$300 range and Olympic tris $150-$200. Triathlons do involve lifeguards, XC ski races they have to have the ski patrol out ready to go get anyone who crashes and becomes incapacitated, because if you break a body part or ski, you canāt get back (and you may be a long way away) in temps up to minus 20 (FIS rules say you canāt run the race under minus 20)
In Ohio, entry fees are $90 for Sprint, $110 for Oly & $250 for Half.
I donāt know how it would verified, but I would like to see a drastically (say 50%) reduced fee for āfirst timeā or āfirst yearā triathletes to reduce another potential barrier for entry into the sport.
I would even be willing to have my fee increased by $10 to support the initiative.
Or how about $10 , refund if you are in top 10% of the field. Give people have incentive work imstead of just finish
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You know an interesting thought on that subject is to turn it around to the local tri clubs.
Increase membership fees by 30/person and then the tri club will sponsor X amount of new people every year to do their first triathlon. Get them involved in the training etc.
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Costs are convex. Utility function is not additive. The multisport vs single sport consumers are separable. Probably other reasons, too. Would be fun to conduct a WTP/WTA study using experimental economics, but pretty sure NSF wonāt fund that research, not transformative. Lol.
love that idea. considering how most smaller races have entirely done away with prizes and awards etc, i always loved when the podium prize was a free entry into next years race, or even a discount code. seems like a simple way to give a prize, get a write off, and bring back top finishers each year.
Hah I wish they would give a free entry as a winner. Youāre lucky to get a cheap shot glass if even that nowadays, no way they are giving away a $60-160 entry.
I only race Sprints now, and pay as much as $100 if there is a charity involved with the fee. Prices for Olympic, Half, and IM are absurdly expensive.
There are 2 local Sprint races in my neighborhood that I am happy to supportā¦Already registered for 2025. Another race that is a āMaybeā if my crew of training buddies want to do it.
As new people try the sport, the liability insurance for the swim causes race directors to cancel the swim far too easily. I donāt care about duathlon at all. The cost of IM is a āNever againā money grab for me.
Honestly the im fee is a cakewalk compared to flight and hotel, let alone the training hours. And Iām a cheapskate.
I paid $416 for IM 70.3 Bahrain (including the $37 Active fee). I live here so incur no other expenses for the race.
Iām paying $440 for IM 70.3 Oman (including $17 race license fee) next month. Iām paying double that amount for flights, hotel, and car rental. I couldāve gone cheaper, but I want to stay closeish to the village, have the easiest possible flights, and get a car big enough that I can just chuck the bike in.
Thereās obviously an Ironman tax in those race fees, but they donāt seem insanely overpriced for me. In this part of the world you get charged $55 to run a half marathon which includes the bare minimum.
T100 London is Ā£400+ and Ā£200 for the Olympic race. Surprises me a little as Iām sure they were cheaper last year but I guess they want to cash in on possible added interest.
Puts them on the same price roughly as Ironman 70.3 in the UK but way more than local events like Outlaw.
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Serious thought though. What if the top 20 percent of the field got a 25% discount code for next year. These are likely the highest likelihood of being āretention customersā so lock them in NOW. And maybe offer the same for first time finishers who may have ācaught the bugā
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This assumes that you make a profit off of that reduction in price.
Those people are most likely to already enter the event next year anyways. Thatās not the audience you need to worry about with discounting. Itās the people you need to hook into that lifetime acquisition model that you want to hit with discounting for a future entry.
Here in France there is a large variety of entry fees, depending on the organiser status.
Close to 100% of the short distance triathlons are put on by not-for-profit organizations (mainly triathlon clubs). The entry fees are usually around $25 for a sprint and $50 for an oly.
Regarding MD races, Iād say a large majority are on the same model and cost around $80-100. Some are put on by for-profit organizations and are generally in the $150-250 bracket. And then there is a few WTC 70.3 with gouging fees.
The iron-distance scene is dominated by the WTC races, but you can also race in a number of independant races, whose entry fees are around $300-500.
All races are largely supported by the local authorities.
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ālifetime acquisitionā
on that note: Can also give repeat customers exclusive reserved rack space, or something they can work on such as points series. Ideally a cat like system would be nice, so you can earn yourself into a better wave start
Weāve seen IM move to this model with clubs, etc. and allowing people to rack together.
I highly doubt we will ever see a Cat system in triathlon. That ship feels like it has sailed (along with the mass start for IM events).
Iād LOVE that, but as I mentioned above, nowadays in local races, youāre lucky to even get a generic shot glass (not even one marked as āAG winnerā), so thereās zero chance an RD is going to give up 20% of a $65 to $400 entry which is a huge amount of money in comparison, and thatās only considering the top 3 (or top 1) of each age group. Expand that to 20%, and RDās are going broke!
Iād love to see a three tiered system. Pro/Elite as currently done (license based on results), AG as currently done (rolling start, time trial), and a mid group of ācompetitiveā or āSemi-proā.
Pros race for money, AGs race to finish, and Competitives race for KQ or overall amateur wins.
I guess the big issue would be trying to mass start the 500 people who sign up for ācompetitiveā.
Lifetime used to have it, pro, elite, and AG. I loved trying to work to hit the standard time for elite entry
Edit: you can do BQ like system for elite, cut off minutes to keep field reasonable