You can't enter Ironman Canada but Team Diabetes Canada can!

Where will it stop??? From another popular tri website.
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Want To Enter the 2003 Ironman Canada? You Still Can!
The 3rd oldest race in the Ironman family, Ironman Canada continues to set the standard for Ironman events world wide. It’s no wonder that the race sells out in less than 24-hours every year but now there’s a way into the 2003 event.

Check out the following letter from Team Diabetes Canada:

Thank you for your interest in participating with Team Diabetes Canada. We are pleased and excited to be associated with Ironman Canada for a third consecutive year. We are hoping to take 25 elite athletes to this premier event. Presently we have twenty-four participants registered and fundraising.

In exchange for each athlete raising $7,500.00 CDN for the Canadian Diabetes Association, Team Diabetes Canada will provide the following:

· Entry into the race
· Round trip, economy fare for one to Kelowna or Penticiton from any major Canadian city or four nights accommodation in Penticton.
· Team diabetes Canada race uniform
· Fundraising support.

Please complete and fax (or mail) back the attached personal information sheet at your earliest convenience, if you are interested in registering. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me (Stacie) at 1-800-226-8464 Ext.287, email stacie.dowe@diabetes.ca and by mail Canadian Diabetes Association, 15 Toronto Street, Toronto, ON M5C 2E3.

Obviously, there’s no “personal information sheet” in this posting but if you call the above phone #, Stacie will send you information on how you can go about entering this legendary race all while raising money and awareness for research into a cure for diabetes.

Still not taking the bait? Consider the fact that we’re talking about Canadian dollars here! Hello? Canadian dollars? That’s right and a trip to the land of 5% beer, eh? Get on it!!

were the slots available to teacm Diabetes ever under any circumstances going to be available to the general public?

If not then whats the issue if in the process of raising a couple of hundred grand they let 25 people in?

I believe they’ve raised something like 31 million pounds through the london marathon since it started, those entries are not preventing “serious” entries because if you are serious, you qualify and get your spot, as you now can at Chicago.

What I find a little more disturbing is the CEO challenge and those stupid bloody slots they give to Maxine Bahns et al in HA, its the world champs, it’s like giving the CEO of Hancock a space on the US 10k team in Athens because they donate so much.

were the slots available to teacm Diabetes ever under any circumstances going to be available to the general public?<<

Good question, and asked before, but it never seems to get answered. Next time it will be 50 spots at another race for Disease X, then 55 spots at the next race for Disease Y, and on and on.

I think arguing the toss over 25 charity slots is a waste of time, the WTC or IMNA will do as they see fit.

Given my choice I’d rather they threw in the 25 charity slots than the CEO’s and the bloody actors, but what are you going to do? you wont see any of Team Diabetes in a Coen brothers movie so you go where the publicity is.

Bottom line: These are the rules. As athlete/consumers we can accept them and ante up or, vote with our dollars and do another event. Captialism. Is it fair? debateable but not relevant. Is it the situation we’re handed? absolutely. What can we do? Not much now. If you don’t like it, don’t do the race until it changes. If enough people adopt that attitude other new races will fill the emerging need and eventually become more successful and popular. In the liffespan of a product few companies have the insight to be able to stay on top. Right now WTC is #1 and there is only one way to go from the top spot: Down.

Oh, I totally agree with you. My original post was informational. Me? I give my $$ to IM NZ (which, yes, is WTC, but not IMNA), Vineman and Ultramax.

Why can’t I enter? Can’t you just sign up through Team Diabetes, raise the cash, and do the race?

Or is this different than something like Team in Training. With Team in Training I could still get into the Chicago Triathlon if it was sold out. However it would cost me the extra time and effort of raising the money that Team in Training requires.

So if Team Diabetes is like Team in Training I don’t really have a problem with it. Anyone can still sign up, but they have to put in some extra effort now.