Great, an outside org ponied up cash and handed it out to the 7th place finishers. WTC couldn’t give a shit less. But let’s look back at recent history about what they do care about. Pro athletes making them look bad. Remember the “you don’t get paid if outside 8%” rule? Only took a few times of a few big names stopping and lingering at the finish line before that got thrown in the trash. So here’s (at least) two ways you can get Tampa and PE to pay attention… Whoever wins Kona (or some (any?) Ironman on the circuit)… stand on the stage the next night and say you are divvying up your 100k to the 25 or 40 athletes that didn’t get paid at the race because since it’s a world champs all should get paid. Or… just start making sure that all the low prize purse races are completely boycotted (good luck herding cats).
They aren’t going to give a rat’s ass till you kick them in the nuts.
…and the chances of that actually happening are about as slim as someone winning the Kona lottery two years in a row … oh wait … make that three years in a row.
I personally don’t think WTC will care until the pros show the WTC where their value and how that value will increase their profits/make them more money.
I am not sure why everyone seems to be forgetting who actually owns the WTC now. Show them the money and how to make more of it and they will be on board with that. So until the pros can show them this, why would they give them more money?
I think they should make more considering how hard it is on their body etc, however, I wouldn’t be willing to pay more money in a race entry fee in order to supplement their income.
Interesting tactic starting to happen on Twitter -
“@MatuCaneX: I quit buying @PowerBar products because they sponsor @IronmanTri and they pay poor prize money to pro triathletes”
Which is ironic because @PowerBar is by far and a way one of the best sponsors for pros. There is a reason they get the logo out there so prominently on so many jerseys.
True. And since Powerbar is a great company to be tied to, Powerbar can start asking WTC wtf is going on and do they need to have a little chat about how much WTC pays pros. WTC may not care about paying pros more, but they sure care about getting checks from sponsors.
The whole 7th place stunt was amusing but irrelevant from its inception. The WTC could not care less. As long as pros are lining up to participate it’s business as usual. If pros really feel under compensated they should simply move on to another sport that pays better.
Which is ironic because @PowerBar is by far and a way one of the best sponsors for pros. There is a reason they get the logo out there so prominently on so many jerseys.
Indeed - Ironic.
In fact, PowerBar founder Brian Maxwell invented this type of exposure marketing, or “photo contingency spnsorship” back in the early days of PowerBar - read more in a blog I wrote last year here - http://stevefleck.blogspot.ca/2014/01/powerbar-early-history.html
This is still the way that many endemic brands structure their sponsorship deals with athletes - get exposure of the logo, somehow, and we will pay you this amount? Many of these deals revolve completely around Ironman races and in particular Ironman Hawaii.
Back when Maxwell started up Powerbar these opportunities were rather limited - the podium at races, and then pictures magazine coverage afterwards. These days, athletes have way more options to get their sponsor brands exposure. Some athletes do a great job at this, and some do a very poor job of it.
I thought the lesson from that stunt was that Crowd Sourcing was the wave of the future for triathlon fans to make sure that athletes at their favorite races got paid what they deserve and WTC wouldn’t have to have a purse at all. That should work right?
The whole 7th place stunt was amusing but irrelevant from its inception. The WTC could not care less. As long as pros are lining up to participate it’s business as usual. If pros really feel under compensated they should simply move on to another sport that pays better.
Fair enough, but here’s my retort: How many of the pros did/do you recognize on on the IMLP entry list? Last I knew, the prize for that race is only $5k. It’s not worth it. Even Andy Potts, who won the past two years, bagged it in favor of a 70.3 this past wknd. Now, I don’t claim to know what the purse was for that race, but I’m guessing it was equal or more than IMLP’s purse and his day was done in 3 1/2 hours.
On the flip side, seeing an upcoming athlete have a breakthrough performance at a race lie IMLP and podium or win for the first time is also a good thing for the sport. But a $5k pay day for how many weeks worth of prep, travel and hotel? It doesn’t make sense to do it.
One thing I also want to discuss/understand is corporate support. After Ford pulled out 2 years ago, there was a noticeable shift in the air. First, we lost the IM broadcasts of most of the races, other than Kona. I see Subaru as title sponsor for scattered races, but not at IMLP the past two years. Second, I’m guessing that this contributes to the low purses(?). LP is heralded as the iconic race because it was the first outside of Kona in 99. But I wouldn’t be shocked if it’s not on the schedule after the contract is up in 4 years. No title sponsors. No big pros. Low purse.
The reality is that WTC could pay zero prize money outside of kona and put all the prize purse in kona and they would still get a decent pro field at many of their races. if you add up all the races they are putting on, and the roll up for prize money, they are offering many pros some money and a platform to leverage (podium results) to get sponsorships. Back in the day, you had to win Roth, japan, penticton, Australia, or Kona to call yourself an IM Champion. Now there are 30+ opportunities to get that podium result and leverage it for sponsors and speaking engagements, ideally from outside the sport where there are far more $$$$ than chasing the sponsor money inside.
Having said that, the prize money per race is quite low (in my view), but in the end, the salary you earn is proportional to the value one delivers in society. The reality is pros are getting paid to have fun (do sport). At my work, there is not a ton of fun for the guys in my team. it’s a big grind for them requiring pointy end brain power that not that many in the world have he capacity to do. They get paid well but we can turn that salary investment in product development into around into $1M to $5M of revenue per employee.
For WTC, paying pros is an expense to just say their local mdot event has a pro field and you have a mini Kona experience. Paying pros is not an investment, it is just an expense. It falls more into the SG&A category than R&D/Product Development category, so it will inherently be minimized. There is no ROI in SG&A as you know from your finance background ;-). I think this is how some guy sitting in Providence Equity would see this line item.
Now I have many friend who are struggling pro athletes and I know how hard they work. I used to be of the mind that they should get paid more, but i have somewhat flipped the other way. The problem is that there is limited valuation for what pro triathletes provide to society. it is up to pros to increase that. I think we would all be glad to help them in doing so.
At a recent Mdot event, at the awards ceremony there were a bunch of pros sitting together. There were probably around 15 of them. I’m thinking, "really?'. Are you guys going to make any money off each other, or should you be sitting with age groupers who may be investment bankers, VPs of marketing, COO’s etc. As a bare minimum, go hang out with the XC challenge folks who control budgets and may sponsor you. Hangin out with each other is a waste of your podium at that race. Make the connections, then execute. No one hands you money for being fast at tri.
I’ve completed 4 IMs and attended another 4 or 5. Pros have done nothing to enhance my experience at any of the IMs I have done. I have seen them in passing or doing some type of panel but not enough that I stopped and listened. Before a race, I focus on race prep and getting off my feet.
Maybe I’m not normal for AGer, but I wouldn’t recognize most of the pros if I stood next to them, I have no interest in the pro race, Pros doen’t effect my enjoyment of the sport as spectator or a participant and I don’t get anything from them. There are a few here on ST who share some of their thoughts about the sport that I find interesting.
I’m curious why top AGers want to be pros when they know going in the pay sucks, hours of training are long, chance of injury is high and there is very little fame or reward to being a pro triathlete.
At a recent Mdot event, at the awards ceremony there were a bunch of pros sitting together. There were probably around 15 of them. I’m thinking, "really?'. Are you guys going to make any money off each other, or should you be sitting with age groupers who may be investment bankers, VPs of marketing, COO’s etc. As a bare minimum, go hang out with the XC challenge folks who control budgets and may sponsor you. Hangin out with each other is a waste of your podium at that race. Make the connections, then execute. No one hands you money for being fast at tri.
This!
Some get this - many don’t.
Many lament the lack of support, but don’t realize that it takes networking, connections, and time to really make things happen.
That might mean going on groups rides with the local club. That may mean volunteering at club functions or at local events. . . and so on.
I’m curious why top AGers want to be pros when they know going in the pay sucks, hours of training are long, chance of injury is high and there is very little fame or reward to being a pro triathlete. //
Because unlike you they are competitive by nature. You are right, most people just want to finish their races like you do, but there are a select few that actually care about how fast they go, and strive to do better the next time, and to be at the top of the heap when the day is over. You do not understand this because you do not have this drive in triathlon. Perhaps you have it in some other area of your life, what do you strive for excellence in? If you do have something, then just substitute triathlon for whatever motivates you in like, then you can begin to fell what they fell when doing sport. Those long hours are a pleasure to them, not a drag like it is for you…
