I think it’s a great idea to have all the teams listed w/ application info. I’ve found that a lot of current athletes aren’t that forthcoming about how to get on their team. Some admit it because they are worried they won’t get back on it.
I was on a team for a couple years and the people who didn’t get asked back were the ones who didn’t ‘promote’. A lot of teams have codes for their athletes and the companies track that code, so if you give it to your friends etc, and they use it when they order, it kudos to you.
That’s a good point. Not really in the interest of the athlete to promote the team itself so much as the brand. If they are getting a good deal and feel like they might get pushed out of the team by a more accomplished athlete.
That’s a lot of the problem with the whole “team” concept in the U.S. In Europe if the triathlon club or team is doing well, everyone benefits through mutual sponsors the performances and increased exposure brings in.
I can share some insight on the TrainingPeaks program as I am one of the ambassadors (and the guy in the header photo). This was my first foray into being a brand ambassador (besides a professional gig doing something similar).
It was interesting for me for other reasons than the team kit (which was really high quality Pactimo gear) and the free software as well as any training and/or nutrition plans. The profile page is pretty slick and I think its pretty cool to be listed next to their pro athletes like Crowie, Haskins and the rest…
The team is a real mix of all types of average age groupers like my self to top 5 AG in Vegas and Kona qualifiers. There was never any pressure to perform or attain a certain result. The only requirement was to wear the kit at races, share race reports and photos and to blog/tweet/Facebook etc… news, updates, info using your channels and platforms of choice. As much as I promoted them, I fell they promoted me a lot too which has led to more contacts, more blog views, etc…
There was a lot of camaraderie between the other team members and between TrainingPeaks and the team. I really enjoyed being part of the team and hope to be back in 2013.
If you want to know more just ask, not sure what else you might be interested in. If you want to apply you have until Monday to get your application in
Great feedback, Rodney. Helps me validate what I’m reading on the website. Good to know the application date is coming up too. Sounds like a great program.
What things did they do to help connect and bond team members that I assume are from different geographic locations?
A few small things that seemed to work well. All race reports and the original application was shared on a private Google Drive so we could check out who was who and follow along with race reports. They also created a Twitter list which we could subscribe to and follow each other. Finally they promoted our blogs, race results, etc… through their social media channels.
I only had the chance to physically meet two of the 16 team members as it was a global team but I also had a layover in Denver where I got the chance to meet a good chunk of the TrainingPeaks team. All told they are a great group and we ended up with a very sociable team.
I know there are more “hardcore” teams out there (a friend of mine is on the Mark Allen Online team) just as there are more recreational groups but this seemed like a good mix for me.
