becomes so diluted with 70.3 events (as they are heading that way), that some “Roth” type group came in & put together a series of races with high prize $$ for pros & literally crushed the 70.3 portion of the WTC’s professional portfolio? Would the pros choose 70.3 races just because they have a self-proclaimed “World Championship” in the joke of a race they have in Clearwater or go for the cash? What is more important…the check or the glory? (I know, a lot of questions here).
Sorry you see an issue with many many more triathlons? Guessing you don’t run a business.
Not all 70.3 qualify you for the world championships.
It’s just a name. Nothing more.
Exactly the point–if you’re running a business, the way things with this 8% rule sounds so far you would be driving away some of the pros to go for other cash purses elsewhere. Seems like the Roth race has dented some interest in Frankfurt, so why not have some group with a lot of $$ go head to head with WTC for the pro field. I think you missed a key word in my OP, PROS. Pros do not make the business for WTC it is the AG’r. We are their bread & butter day in & day out. If I were against more races, why would I have proposed some other group starting up more races with a better cash purse?
becomes so diluted with 70.3 events (as they are heading that way), that some “Roth” type group came in & put together a series of races with high prize $$ for pros & literally crushed the 70.3 portion of the WTC’s professional portfolio? Would the pros choose 70.3 races just because they have a self-proclaimed “World Championship” in the joke of a race they have in Clearwater or go for the cash? What is more important…the check or the glory? (I know, a lot of questions here).
I was pondering a similar idea a few days ago. What would happen if all of a sudden ‘Challenge Hawaii’ sprang up?
My guess is that the best athletes would follow the money. There would still be professionals competing in WTC events but they would be the ones that can’t get into the money on those new events.
If the money is really good and they decide to pay let’s say 50 deep we would see level of competition as in ITU races in a couple of years.
I think it would be healthy for the sport. Better for the AGrs (more races to choose from), pros (more purse $$ out there), want-to-be race directors, the community businesses, potential sponsor exposure & opportunity, etc. The way the sport is growing combined with issues from over-packed WTC IM brand races (read into this as much as you want there are many), it may work well in so many venues around the USA at least, including Hawaii. But I’d pick a different route or you just may want to stick with IM Kona otherwise as a crown jewel. Wouldn’t think you would want to copy WTC & have a championship there because there are so many other nice places in the world to hold a championship that are equally beautiful. Although Kona is a real bugger of a course!
But who cares about the professionals. Yeah sure some are nice people and some are super fast.
But in the end whether they get paid via the 8% or not, I don’t care.
Races get full entries due to people wanting to race not because Chrissy has signed up.
They can totally scrap the prize money and the races would still fill.
But the thing is, if WTC has no Pro Field, does that have the potential for WTC to lose out on sponsorship/advertisement revenue? I think for WTC to have the gravy train it has, the pro field is just a necessary part of the whole pie. Each part (pro field/AG field) is basically needed in order for WTC to make the type of money they are making, and I think if it were altered, the potential unknown as far as profit margins is probaly too big of a risk for WTC.
Isn’t this what Rev3 is trying? The field looks stacked in Quassy.
You are on the right track. I have been suggesting the same here in this space for years. I know that there are other influential people in the sport who have been saying the same thing for years. The 70.3 or 1/2 IM distance is perhaps the perfect meeting point for all the worlds best triathletes from ITU right on up to the IM specialists. If you put enough money, in a pot, put the event in the right time of the year, with the right promotion, you will get all of those top triathletes.
Obviously the problem here is money and how do you get money for an event like this and what the funding model will be. Sponsor dollars in this sport are limited and right now they are taken up by the obvious events.
But I tell you if you were to do this you would have one heck of a barn-burner of race. Imagine - Gomez, Whitfield, Reed, Leito, Alexander, Henning, Raelert(s) and many more all duking it out on the same course on the same day.
TriGrandPrix are starting this - big money race in the UK in a few weeks and one in Spain - they got Cam Brown, the Llanoses, Carfrae, Cartmell, Room, Bracht, Cave, Lawn, Morrison - not bad for a start-up.
The WTC brand is strong, but the monopoly won’t last when there’s money to be earned elsewhere and the WTC don’t want to pay athletes.
Yes, but how long can races like that maintain those kind of pro prize purses? TriOneOOne, for example, tried…and failed.
Competition is good.
It would be a great thing if there were more quality races around the world, and in the end if the WTC wants to remain the premiere race, they must continue to improve their product. Right now the WTC does not care. They look at the demand and how their races sell out and have no motivation to do better.
I am hoping Rev3 continues to not only grow, but expand. I hate the 8% rule as I think it defeats competition and creates incentive not to compete in many races, withdraw from others or DNF.
If WTC wants to have the “World Championship” they must continue to grow the sport and promote the growth. What they also must not lose sight of is what makes Ironman and 70.3 special which is the fact that often on the same day, the elite and pros race on the the same course as AGers and those just trying to finish.
Balance is key
I still think for all the rising newbies out there who are coming into the sport doing and “IRONMAN” is great for the ego. Doing a Rev3, OD, ITU, 101, 121, etc… does not cut it.
Sitting here in Asia I have been lucky to see races in US as well… however the 70.3 races in Asia have exploded - Japan 70.3 sold out in 8-9 hours!! And some num nut decided that we needed a 70.3 Asian Champs, in Phuket, the week after Phuket… before long there will be a Euro Champs and South American etc…
As for Asia, and my views - I see so many saying they are doing an Ironman 70.3… sometimes the 70.3 is added after - it’s the association and goes back to the word IRONMAN, I guess the only other brand that will top is is ULTRAMAN and that ain’t going to happen…
OD’s in Asia are no where near as hot or popular…most i know are doing 2-3 70.3’s a year and 1-2 OD’s.
I thought Rev3 were throwing money in, changing the set up, putting on a great experience and so on… sadly I missed being there this and last year …as so the sport grows so do the budding young pros coming up… if you took all the big names into one event the WTS races would still fill up and outsell.
I would love to see an fast paced knock out sprint series, like they did in Oz with the Accenture series… wirelss power/hr meter strapped to all top pro’s, tight down town course, knock out stages, fast paced high octane stuff…along with some other longer races… Lifetimes fitness have done a great job - however, they are not really running the Series, it’s the LFT Race to the Toyota cup etc… run by seperate RD"s and so on…
I do not think 70’3’s will dilute, not in Asia… they will grow and within each region we will see Euro Champs, Asian Champs etc…and then Clearwater.
IF I had shitloads sitting in the bank I would love to start a ‘get it right - carte blanche’ race (series)… it can be done… all comes down to the name and comes back to the name…:
…guys I did an Ironman last week…
…yeah, I did a 121 next week…
Always comes back to the name … the more the sport grows the more who want to do an Ironman/WTC race… HUGE branding.
…probably rambled too much in this post but it is 940pm in asia… and beer time!!! 
O.k. Real quick question. How many WTC Ironman and Ironman 70.3 races have there been? How many Rev3?
The fact that Rev3 is ALREADY in the discussion is saying that they are doing something right.
WTC Ironman also has a problem. Availability. The hardest thing of an Ironman race is signing up!
That is not to belittle the training, etc. but if you look at say the North East, there is one race with in 1000 miles of most folks.
When the best strategy for securing a slot for IMLP is volunteering the year before and coughing up $250+ a night to sleep in a shack, that does detract from the race. When you start seeing comments that it is easy and cheaper to travel from Boston to Louisville to race than NY, it helps demonstrate that kind of gap.
What I am seeing is others seeing this gap and now with Rev 3 Costa Rica and I anticipate other similar events in the future, more alternatives will exist. There may be a lot of other events that have been out there in the past at the 70.3 distance, but when it comes to Helicopters, big screens and other similar coverage that Rev 3 is working on getting to be a standard part of their events to be dismissive on their potential impact is foolish.
Given the crap that WTC has been doing I could very well see them also pulling Mike Reilly at the 10 hour mark and saying… “Sorry… You missed the cutoff… You ARE NOT a WTC Ironman.”
I was pondering a similar idea a few days ago. What would happen if all of a sudden ‘Challenge Hawaii’ sprang up?It’s in the pipeline and plans of extension have been drawn. New events are coming up in Europe (Barcelona last year, Copenhagen this year, UK next year), then the US, and then a ‘Challenge World Championship’. Unlikely to be in Hawaii though 
Always comes back to the name … the more the sport grows the more who want to do an Ironman/WTC race… HUGE branding.
True.
An interesting and curious point of divergence happened in triathlon when someone saw the wisdom in buying and owning the Ironman name. Compare to running - no one owns the word marathon. Anyone can set up and run a marathon. The events become classic and well known for other reasons - the course, the competition, the prize purse, the location etc . .Weather you ran Boston or the Hobunks Corner marathon last weekend, you ran a marathon. Obviously “Boston” will have more cache to it, but both events are still marathons.
This situation in triathlon has been, I think, both a good thing for the sport, but I also think that it has in some ways become a limiter at certain levels as well.
It’s in the pipeline and plans of extension have been drawn. New events are coming up in Europe (Barcelona last year, Copenhagen this year, UK next year), then the US, and then a ‘Challenge World Championship’.
This is where I fear that triathlon will start to resemble boxing - How many World Championships are there?
It’s unfortunate for the sport as a whole, because if you were to truly get all the best on one starting line and one race(distance to be decided but something in the current 1/2 IM range), you would have one heck of an entertaining and competitive race. The only thing that currently comes close to that is the ITU World Cup/Championship Series, and maybe Ironman Hawaii.
The Challenge series could, and would do well out of have a ‘travelling’ Champs race, done at different locations every year…
That would be really exciting for all aspects of the sport.
Boxing is exactly the example I had in mind too. At the moment we are in a situation more akin to tennis than any other sport: there are few ‘major tournament’ (Hawaii, Roth, Frankfurt, NZ). What is really missing is a Professional association. Before the ATP at some point tennis starting to be in a mess, until they sorted their acts. Maybe the 8% rule will push people to talk (one can always be positive and hopeful ;-). Anyway one cannot have a World Championship in always the same place and with no country based selection, just like TdF is not a world championship, which doesn’t mean it’s a key event in cycling.