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Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes

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aarondavidson

Nov 9, 09 20:16

Post #1 of 43 (1555 views)

Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes	Can't Post

In this I hope to address the idea of a union or player's association for professional triathletes, where money comes from, and why professional triathletes currently present little value to potential sponsors. I do my best to give specific suggestions on how to fix issues within our sport and how athletes can better themselves.

Lack of Money and Television Coverage:
Why is there 'no' money or a lack of money in triathlon? It is a lack of excitement. The main stream public maybe consider triathlon to be a sport in the way they consider running to be a sport, that is 'an activity.' Lets propose TV coverage of long course triathlon. What do we show? Mass start? That is pretty exciting. Unfortunately at almost every race we have wave starts simply because of logistics and course safety. Not very exciting. Do you want to watch a bunch of 50+yo women go off into the water and then coming up? Probably not.

Unfortunately until there is consistent television coverage the sport will remain more of a hobby or event. This holds true for pros. Name another sport in which a professional athlete must hold down a full-time or at minimum part time job? Especially one that has no relation to the sport. I have friends that do competition shooting. Sounds pretty cool to run around a course and shoot at targets. I would love to do that, but the money is not there.

Where does money come from? Sponsors? Participants? Not really. It comes from advertisers. Why sponsor a single athlete or 3 athletes when you can sponsor the NYC Marathon and know that every time it is mentioned it is referred to as the ING NYC Marathon or for Nascar the Sprint Cup (formerly Nextel Cup)?

Now lets look at advertisers, while an event may have a sponsor name with it, advertisers are going to show up during the commercial breaks and create a distraction from the event.

Advertisers want eyes and ears, they could care less if there are 50 people or 5000 people participating if there are 500,000 watching. So how do you create a draw? Excitement. I am not a fan of Nascar but it is a great example. In Nascar many people claim to watch because they are waiting for the next crash. Sponsors exist in Nascar because of television. Television creates an outlet from advertisers to place logos on sponsored athletes.

Did you know that Tony Stewart was sponsored by Burger King? I did, I watch television. Did you know Chris Lieto was sponsored by Purple Patch? I did not and I follow more of what Chris does vs Tony. Heck I do not even know what Purple Patch is.

Let us return to the subject of excitement. Kona this year Crowie won by nearly 2min, 3rd place was almost another 2min behind 2nd. What is exciting about that? What was exciting about a 10m pace line on the bike? What is exciting about long course triathlon? Nothing? Maybe a mass start swim start? Its great your family cheered you on at the race, but did they care about anyone else? Or even really pay attention? Probably not.

Let us look at the NYC Marathon compared to the Western States 100. The WS100 is a much 'greater' accomplishment. However what is exciting about individuals running by themselves for the most part? Nothing unless they fall?

As a professional athlete unless you can create buzz and get the media excited (the media gets excited when they think someone is willing to watch / read them), you really present little to no value to your sponsors.

How many people can name who won Kona in 2001? Who can name who won the 2004 Olympics? Now who remembers the Superbowl Shuffle? How many NFL players from 20 years ago can you name? How many professional triathletes from 15 years ago without the help of Google. Even Nascar has development that can start very early by racing go-karts.

Now let us take on the union. Let us compare USAT to the NFL.
NFL Player Association:
16games/year
TEAM sport
Athletic development from a young age
Fight to throw money to acquire talent
Common goal among team members
Receive benefits from players association, retirement, health, representation
Little international appeal
DREAM
-Kids grow up playing football.
-Players and teams become icons, both in and out of the sport
-Your father, uncle, grandfather, older brother, mother were fans of the TEAM.

USAT:
1000s of races
Television coverage? 90min of Kona
Athletic development?
Common goal for athletes?
USAT cares more about official sponsor of cycling shoe insoles
BIG international appeal
Large turnover of winning athletes
Where do old athletes go (Where in the world is Peter Reid)?
Did anyone dream of racing for 8hrs a few times a year for a living for little pay.

What does a union accomplish? What are your common goals as athletes? Nothing? As an individual sport, athletes must address root 'issues' within the sport. Let us look at TBB or the Hungarian national team. While the individual athletes are out there to win, they often do not compete against one another and in common training they can push each other to excel. From a sponsor's perspective, sponsoring a team of athletes makes more sense than individual that compete against one another.

How do we address these issues?
First we must reform the sport to create excitement. How do we create excitement to enough buzz for event to be picked up by television in hopes of attracting advertisers? There are many ways to do this. One big way is to take ITU?Dextro/LTF series to impressive venues. Use Euro Disney and race through the park. Go to Central & South America and race near ruins (for background effect). Washington DC was a great venue but with poor planning on the American market. Go to national parks and race, go to out of the way places in Russia and make the events seem more fantastical. You do not need spectators or large amounts of them. If you want spectators go to large cities in Asia and make the courses multi-loop.

Lets move on to IM and the 70.3 races. Mind you I says races and not series, because they are individual races that have absolutely NO bearing or relevance to other races. With 40 races for 70.3, the excitement dwindles because no one cares about your 40 year old self racing a $15,000 bike. You care about yourself, but no one else does. Get over yourself. People care about professional athletes, they care about excitement and dreams.

The 70.3 races MUST become point based. Whatever the point designation becomes should NOT allow athletes to make it to a World Championship race because they showed up to some backwater race in nowheresvilles Kansas or Malaysia and simply finished. 70.3 is still a short enough distance where there can be a 10month 'season' that leads up to a World Championship. Lessen the prize purse at qualifying races but greatly increase the amount at the Championship. So that there is a true monetary incentive to qualify to race.

People like underdogs and teams. A team is an institution or can become a dynasty. Look at the Boston Red Sox, like any team they have plenty of fair weather fans. But they also have die hard fans that have been fans for decades hoping, dreaming, praying and pulling for their TEAM to one day make it. The individual players come and go, but the team endures. Triathlon has an incredibly high turnover of athletes. They may linger in the pro ranks for 10 years, but they have only shined for a 1-2years, look at Macca. He is quickly fading and trying to work with Under Armour in their development of new products.

What does a union accomplish and what potential areas can/should you as a professional athlete bargain for? More money? Why do you deserve it? Where is it going to come from? Look at SAG (Screen Actors Guild), it was created in help create safer environments for actors to work in and eventually allowed them to break free of being 'owned' by individual studios that dictated their lives. What do you have to fight for? How do you have it bad? A union will not bring excitement. In my mind I can not figure out what a union will/can accomplish.

Somehow triathlon could become team based, not relay, not BS pay me $150 to get a uniform and then discounts. I am not truly sure how team based triathlon could work. But with such a high turnover of athletes in the sport and those that can/do win, fans have nothing to root for. The team also gives 'older' athletes something to develop into as they age. Look at cycling, team managers, coaches, are in many cases for pro-cyclists.

As it stands now each athlete is out for themselves, to feed themselves and feed their familes. Why should Matt Reed help you out, when he is worried that in a year he could break his leg, be out of the sport for a year and never truly come back. What will he have to show for the years he spent racing? How many washed up pros are out there?

Race often. People want to know what is going to happen this coming weekend or next weekend. This leads back to a point series.

Responsibility to Sponsors and Potential Sponsors:
What are you doing for them? Since receiving money or product what have you done to give them business? You can talk fancy about brand awareness and mind share. In the end that is BS for someone who is actually not performing well. No one cares until a sale is made or a dollar changes hands.

What did you do last month for them? Last week? Yesterday? Today? Anything? Did you cut and run after receiving something. When you started you were worth nothing to a sponsor, you won a local sprint? Great $5. Winning more races awesome, $100. Should you be worth more? Probably not, outside of winning races what are you doing to bring attention to yourself? Without putting yourself out there on a consistent basis you are unable to create value. You must first prove what you can do both in and out of races, so that when you approach a company you can say here is what I do, here is how I can help you.

What are you doing to build your own brand? How are you as an athlete increasing your value? Are you taking public speaking courses because you stutter or have a problem in front of groups? Are you taking business classes? Have you talked to an account? Lawyer? Agent? Financial Professional? about your plans. Have you sought advice from legitimate sources outside of the industry? Or even in the industry? Are you posting worthwhile information on forums? Are you helpful or do you tear into people. Are you whiteneing your teeth? Are you making yourself a preentable looking show piece for a company? An object or trophy for them to show off? You should be. What else can you give them?

How did you spend your earnings? Its fine to spend them on food/rent, did you really need to shave another 10grams off the bike? or buy that new laptop? Could the money have been better spent?

Hopefully someone out there will take some of this advice to heart.

Disclaimer: I am not a professional athlete or coach. I am a countless age-grouper who is not even that fast, but what I can do is demonstrate specific ROI to sponsors that have invested in me. I can also demonstrate specific value. I work full-time in marketing and I am a single father. So I also raise my daughter.

This is my real name. If you have anything private, send me a PM or email. I exist. I do not hide behind a username.
-- Aaron Davidson

GrahamK

Nov 9, 09 20:52

Post #2 of 43 (1498 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [aarondavidson] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Aaron, some great thoughts and ideas here. My only $0.02 is that long course racing is beyond the viewing appetite of most spectators (and thus advertisers and $ dont follow)....think of the super bowl or Masters Golf or NBA or NHL... all these events go about 4 hours max. So shorter more exciting format is needed...remember the old F1 tri series down under with uber short courses? That was exciting.

(This post was edited by GrahamK on Nov 9, 09 20:53)

kellydunleavy

Nov 9, 09 22:07

Post #3 of 43 (1435 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [aarondavidson] [In reply to]	Can't Post

These are actually some really good ideas about the value of triathlon -- I would be interested to see teams develop. But, I feel like even where there are teams (cycling), there is little team loyalty or identity.

My only comment is that you start with the premise that there is no money in triathlon, which I think isn't entirely true. There is lots of money in triathlon, it just doesn't go to the professionals. There's tons of money being tossed around by well-financed age-groupers and by the companies trying to draw those age-groupers' attention. There a lot of money in the races themsleves too and in the merchandise.

I get that to really take it a Nascar level it has to grow in popularity and watcheability, but it's still a fairly new sport. I don't think the sport, itself, is ready for that level of attention.

hgrong

Nov 10, 09 3:42

Post #4 of 43 (1350 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [aarondavidson] [In reply to]	Can't Post

To really make the sport profitable for professionals, you need to make it a commercially viable viewer sport.

Couple of thoughts:

1) Short-Course Racing

The commercial value of triathlon is NOT in long course racing. Despite ST's biases, it is not a viewer-friendly format. If you want to move triathlon closer to a main-stream sport, focus on short-course racing (Olympic and Sprints). This is what the ITU seems to be having a little success with.

Not only is short-course racing more TV friendly in terms of the viewer's attention span (2 hrs rather than 8), it is more exciting. I know people love the long-course endurance aspect of Ironman, but the format does not make for thrilling races or finishes from a viewer's perspective.

2) Team Concept

Not sure this is necessary, but I kind of like the idea of teams in the sport. I agree that it might help hook viewers. One possibility would be to format the teams like we do cross-country teams. That is, the top ten (or so) finishers in a race are given points, and the team with the most points wins. That way there is still an individual race as well as a team aspect. Have prizes for both individuals and teams.

3) Series

I agree that there needs to be more organization of the races. Obviously the WTC is making an attempt to corner the market on the races, but as I said above, I don't think that long-course racing is a marketable package for fans. So I would look to the Dextro/LTF series as a starting model. Make it a race for each individual venue but a points accumulation for the series win. Have 5-6 races over the course of the spring and summer, cumulating with a final championship race sometime in the fall. The most important factor to making a series like this work is $$. To get the best racers there it would need to have a substantial prize purse for both each race and the overall series (I am thinking of the prizes at the LTF series the year Bennett won). Not only does that motivate the racers to participate, but it makes for compelling viewing for the fans.

4) Race Times

Of course, getting that kind of money involved requires sponsors. And getting big time sponsors, for all practical purposes, requires television exposure. NBC showing 90 minutes of Kona months later is insufficient. To make this concept actually work you need live broadcasts. The problem with this is that no one watches sports at 6:30 am. If you want viewers, if you want fans, if you want triathlon to make it as a viable commercial, viewer sport, the races need to be in the afternoons or in primetime. That is the only way you are going to be viewers to watch. And getting viewers to watch is the only way you are going to attract sponsors.

I am sure all of this has been said before, but I felt like rambling.

(This post was edited by hgrong on Nov 10, 09 3:46)

Devlin

Nov 10, 09 7:28

Post #5 of 43 (1255 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [hgrong] [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To:

Chuck Norris has been trying that with the World Combat League. City based teams of kickboxers. It's been struggling some, but it does have a grass roots following. I like the team concepts, but I would also throw in some relay teams for expansion. So, you've got the 5-?? "main team" that are scored individually, and for the team, and then you also have the relay.

If you got the sponsors for it, then you could also have things like the TdF, points leaders for various legs, i.e. a solid blue tri top for the swim leader, etc. Extra $$ at the end of the year for the holders of the various jerseys, things like that.

Fans like to track statistics, so give them something to track.

But, to get something like this to succeed, not only do you need the sponsors, but you've got to have enough athletes willing to sign on to something like this, which for them is somewhat of a risky undertaking. The top tier people probably aren't going to do it, because if it folds after a couple of years, thats a couple of years that they could have been earning $$ in ITU, etc. There would have to be some kind of a money guarantee.

John

Sponsors: Rudy Project

That is 11 dimensions of awesome. Yes, string theory is necessary to fully appreciate the meta-nature of your post.-DaveRoche

gbot

Nov 10, 09 7:52

Post #6 of 43 (1212 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [Devlin] [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To:

It seems to be working really well in the M-1 Global organization. They've got Fedor's name to lean on, and their global team concept seems to attract fans.

Fleck

Nov 10, 09 7:57

Post #7 of 43 (1193 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [GrahamK] [In reply to]	Can't Post

all these events go about 4 hours max

I know that there was an attempt by Ironmanlive to package the "live" coverage on the web into a 4 - 5 hour show on race day. I know this because I was part of that show at the 25th anniversary edition of IMC a few years ago. We started mid-way through the bike and then used real live coverage interspersed with taped coverage of the swim and early on in the bike, then ran live more or less all the way through the marathon with a wrap at the end - total time about 5 hours.

I must confess I have not tuned into a big IM race on the web in the last year( been too busy with other stuff), so I am not sure what people have been seeing. What are you seeing on Ironman.com or on Universal?

Steve Fleck
http://www.nineteenwetsuits.com
http://stevefleck.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/stevefleck

(This post was edited by Fleck on Nov 10, 09 8:02)

STP

Nov 10, 09 8:16

Post #8 of 43 (1163 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [aarondavidson] [In reply to]	Can't Post

A lesson and some persective using NASCAR as an example - It took 60 years for NASCAR to get where it is today and it was moved along most of the way by one guy (Bill France) who had big dreams and worked his butt off. A NASCAR race in 1950 probalby fewer people in attendance than a typical IM race is today if you include the families/spectators. In the early days, a driver was lucky to get enough sponsorship and winnings to break even. Triathlon will never be NASCAR - it just will never have that kind of broad appeal - but the simple fact is that the folks running the sport are no where near as talented or dedicated to growth as Bill France was.

On the other hand, triathlon has only been around for half as long as NASCAR. In 1979, NASCAR was 30 years old. It was still a regional sport with limited appeal outside the south. 1979 was the first time one of its races was broadcast live on TV to a national audience. Prior to that, only a few races were on TV and those were shown on tape delay. Again, triathlon will never be NASCAR but the fact is, the sport is not too far off pace in its development.

msuguy512

Nov 10, 09 8:22

Post #9 of 43 (1148 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [hgrong] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Once a country realized they can dominate the ITU circuit by racing as a team then I feel everybody else will jump on the bandwagon. The problem is no athlete wants to sacrifice themselves because if they don't keep their point total up for the season then they will not make the cut the following year. The organizations need to go out and watch some real crits and watch legitimate teams dominate.

cdw

Nov 10, 09 9:03

Post #10 of 43 (1089 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [aarondavidson] [In reply to]	Can't Post

You have obviously put a lot of thought into this, but you fail to distinguish between the fact that triathlon is a fringe sport that is fairly new. Comparing it to football is laughable. Why?

1. Nobody grows up participating in triathlon. I spent every recess outside playing tackle football with my friends at school from age 6 or 7 until we didn't have recess anymore. All you need is a ball and a large open space. Basketball is nearly as easy because you just need a ball and a hoop. Plus, both sports are far more entertaining by their nature than swimming, cycling and running are ever going to be.

2. You address this issue from an American point of view. Based on what I have been told or read, triathlon in other places is doing just fine for the pros racing ITU and filling up plenty of races for the athletes who want to participate. American athletes are always going to be competing with football, basketball and baseball and now even a "sport" like Nascar for sponsorship money and they are never going to win this one. Millions of young people every year play those sports and millions more rednecks wish they could drive cars that fast every day. Those sports garner recognition from peers even in high school.

3. As a participant, I HATE it when people try to make races more spectator friendly. I paid to go to duathlon nationals three years in a row when it was a one-loop run, one-loop bike course. Then the Virginia group got their hands on it and it had to be more "spectator friendly" so it then had loops and other stupid stuff. Screw the spectators. I don't care about spectators.

4. In the end, who really cares about pro triathletes? Not me. Sure I'll watch them on occasion and I've met a few nice ones who were really talented and really humble, but in the end ... well, let's just say I would not pay one more dollar to any race or any organization just so there can be pros. For me, triathlon is about healthy lifestyle and participation. If the pros went away I would not miss them one bit. Just like every other sport, I don't do anything--outside of watching TV--to support any pro in their lifestyle. I've never bought a pro jersey or any memorabilia. I've never paid for any extra packages to watch more pro sports. I've never bought a pair of shoes because they were worn by a particular pro. I certainly would not buy equipment in triathlon because of what pros do--I'm pretty sure many pros know a lot less about positioning and equipment than I do.

In the end, I like triathlon the way it is. I don't want to see any particular changes just so a few pros can make a living.

Chad

Andrew V

Nov 10, 09 9:36

Post #11 of 43 (1027 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [msuguy512] [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To:

I'd love to see an ITU 'team' of 2 cyclists and a triathlete with a running focus - early break, drag him to the finish of the bike, and game over.

JoeO

Nov 10, 09 9:40

Post #12 of 43 (1019 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [aarondavidson] [In reply to]	Can't Post

I don't understand why people feel we need more money and television coverage for triathlons. I really don't.

The thing I like about sports like running and triathlon is that they are far more sports you do than sports you watch. Yes, yes, I certainly watch the coverage they do have on TV. But why do we assume that things will somehow be better because we bring in a whole bunch of money and TV? What exactly is the problem here?

Devlin

Nov 10, 09 9:54

Post #13 of 43 (982 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [JoeO] [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To:

For me, it's the trickle down effect.

If there is a visible, high $$ triathlon circuit, then it's going to appeal to more people at a younger age. This results in stronger US presence in the Olympics, more possibilities for university sponsored teams (i.e. scholarships), things like that. Kids that have talents in those areas may choose triathlon over some other sport if it has more of a possibility of being a viable career choice.

John

Sponsors: Rudy Project

That is 11 dimensions of awesome. Yes, string theory is necessary to fully appreciate the meta-nature of your post.-DaveRoche

Chuck M

Nov 10, 09 10:06

Post #14 of 43 (961 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [aarondavidson] [In reply to]	Can't Post

It can be pretty hard to figure what will take off with the television audience. Who would of thought poker on TV would become popular?
"It doesn't get any easier, you just go faster"

FastandFun

Nov 10, 09 10:09

Post #15 of 43 (946 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [msuguy512] [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To:

The "team" concept in ITU work's because most of the courses are wussified. Make a tough course like Athens 2004.. you'll see who's got it and who doesn't.
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MarkyV

Nov 10, 09 10:15

Post #16 of 43 (930 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [msuguy512] [In reply to]	Can't Post

JoeO

Nov 10, 09 10:20

Post #17 of 43 (915 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [Devlin] [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To:

I don't see that as a problem. Or rather, I think that problem views the sport as more of a spectator sport than it really is. The great thing about triathlon is that we get to DO it, not that we get to watch it. I haven't played football since I was a kid. Nor baseball. I doubt I could get teams together if I wanted to. And if I did, I wouldn't be playing in the field next to the Red Sox the way I can line up right behind a pro at the Boston Marathon or an Ironman. But I can run or train for triathlon every day if I want.

(Note I tend to mix running into the discussion with triathlon here because they seem so similar in nature and I'm more of a runner than a triathlete but I think it's a valid thing to do, given the nature of both sports)

I guess it might be nice to be able to watch full coverage of every big triathlon out there but what with UniversalSports.com, that's not a problem anymore either. I can go watch complete coverage of so many major marathons and some triathlons. This is only going to increase in the future.

Certainly triathlon is not hurting for a number of people actually doing it. There's no lack of participation.

The Olympic dreams aspect -- hell I couldn't even tell you who was the Olympic triathlon champion. Since I am more of a runner than I triathlete, I can certainly tell you who won the Olympic marathon and I do know that the Americans did relatively poorly but that sort of thing doesn't seem very important. It's an individual sport. I watch individuals, not teams. I was far happier to see Hicham El Gerrouj win his Olympic 1500 in Athens than I ever would have been to see an American do it.

Finally as far as pros -- again like someone else said -- I love to watch them and everything but is it really important that they can make a living at it? I don't see that as any sort of problem at all.

You bring money into the sport and you bring expenses. When big money came into football, baseball, etc, ticket prices went insane. We have millionaires holding out for more money, forming unions going on strike (like they're the mineworkers or something) and what did it buy us. Is a baseball game today really that much more dramatic than it was 40 years ago? The only person whose paid the price her has been the fans.

twinracer2

Nov 10, 09 10:45

Post #18 of 43 (873 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [aarondavidson] [In reply to]	Can't Post

OP: dude is it the off season or what? you took a serious amount of time to type that up. well done though.

as for everything in it..... i like the idea of most of it. of course that is because i have the "dream" of being somebody some day.

as a triathlete, not a spectator, i am about sick of the size of Ironman branded events and they don't need to get anymore people involved.

i love to race but who has the time OR the urge to sit in front of the TV and watch? isn't that the ANTI triathlete lifestyle?

money for the top pro's seems to me (i haven't seen their W2's) to be coming mostly from sponsor's as the prize money, for the most part, isn't that great. and let me know if i am wrong here but, i don't have the ability to live part of the year in boulder, co and the other part in australia? money can't be that tight at the top?

it's a double edge sword that i don't think is going to change. the more exposure and mainstream it gets, the less enjoyable it will be for those that participate.

i don't know where i was going with all this.........
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Fleck

Nov 10, 09 10:54

Post #19 of 43 (849 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [cdw] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Nobody grows up participating in triathlon.

I know where you are coming from on this, but that is partially incorrect when it comes to triathlon in Canada. Our current generation of U23 athletes have grown up participating in triathlon from their early to mid-teens. In fact go back and athletic generation and Simon Whitfield was a product of the Kids-Of-Steel series in Ontario - a series of races geared towards youth in the 10 - 15 year-old age bracket.

Steve Fleck
http://www.nineteenwetsuits.com
http://stevefleck.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/stevefleck

Funeral_Fog

Nov 10, 09 11:03

Post #20 of 43 (826 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [twinracer2] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Awesome! Sitting here at work and reading this really got my juices flowing. I feel like this is really a simple "problem" to address:

a) super short races: I'm talking maybe takes a fast pro 20 minutes to complete

b) similar to the exotic location idea, places where people come to party (ie palm beach, cancun, tijuana, etc.)

c) huge beer sponsor (I believe that coors sponsored some triathlons back in the day, but I am too young to remember that geezer stuff)

d) the race is associated with an event, like a huge after party where all pros after their race get together with the spectators and party goers and have a good time

e) marketing has to be geared towards having this huge party with dj's and booze and what not... and oh yeah there's a triathlon to go along with it

I feel like there is not much wrong with the current state of triathlon, but since we're on this topic, glamorizing triathlon is the way to go. We need more interesting personalities in the sport, we need more rivalries, and the team thing would be a good idea as well. I don't want to see someone come first in a race by a few seconds and be like "oh x raced really well today and he is a good competitor, blah blah blah" I wanna see some attitude "yah I pwnd that noob, he better bring it next time or i am going to crush his face again."

ok back to work

cdw

Nov 10, 09 11:09

Post #21 of 43 (816 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [Fleck] [In reply to]	Can't Post

I know where you are coming from on this, but that is partially incorrect when it comes to triathlon in Canada.

I'm sure this has a little to do with not sufferering from the pull of the Big 3. Football, basketball and baseball occupy the top rung of so many high schoolers here that many kids don't branch out to the other sports. I'm presently trying to convince my son, who is likely to have the same skinny, non-football, frame as I do, that he will be better off sticking with swimming and running than playing flag football. Now I love football, but I would much rather have him find a good participatory sport that keeps him healthy his whole life than experience a few years of football "glory."

Chad

Cassie

Nov 10, 09 11:11

Post #22 of 43 (809 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [Fleck] [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To:

Uh-oh..... every time one of us from Ontario speaks up and tells how it is for us here..... everyone else gets jealous :)

We DO have it really good in Ontario, thanks to our awesome RDs!

tjs

Nov 10, 09 11:21

Post #23 of 43 (786 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [cdw] [In reply to]	Can't Post

"4. In the end, who really cares about pro triathletes? Not me. Sure I'll watch them on occasion and I've met a few nice ones who were really talented and really humble, but in the end ... well, let's just say I would not pay one more dollar to any race or any organization just so there can be pros. For me, triathlon is about healthy lifestyle and participation. If the pros went away I would not miss them one bit. Just like every other sport, I don't do anything--outside of watching TV--to support any pro in their lifestyle. I've never bought a pro jersey or any memorabilia. I've never paid for any extra packages to watch more pro sports. I've never bought a pair of shoes because they were worn by a particular pro. I certainly would not buy equipment in triathlon because of what pros do--I'm pretty sure many pros know a lot less about positioning and equipment than I do.

In the end, I like triathlon the way it is. I don't want to see any particular changes just so a few pros can make a living."

x2. I am tired of hearing how the pro's need (or worse, deserve) the chance to make a living in this sport. *SIGH*

bmanners

Nov 10, 09 11:24

Post #24 of 43 (778 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [aarondavidson] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Cgi racing did the Uber-Man day before the N.J. State tri.. Think it was a 200 yard swim,5 mile bike and 1 mile run. Now thats a race made for T.V.

Fleck

Nov 10, 09 11:38

Post #25 of 43 (764 views)

Re: Of Unions, Dreams, Money, and the Valuation of Professional Triathletes [cdw] [In reply to]	Can't Post

I'm sure this has a little to do with not sufferering from the pull of the Big 3.

We have the pull of other sports here, chiefly, hockey, soccer, basketball and football in that order. The problem with kid/youth sports, and this is getting off-track here, is that at too early an age, a kid has to almost fully commit to that sport. Then when they really have to start ramping it up in their mid teens if they really do want to take it to the next level, either they or their parents or both are burned out and they walk away from all sports!

This is an extreme example - There was a story this past year of a first round NHL draft-pick who walked away from hockey, and his $1.5 million contract, because he had, had enough! He had been playing hockey at an elite level many hours a week, with his whole life revolving around hockey, for over 10 years!

Steve Fleck
http://www.nineteenwetsuits.com
http://stevefleck.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/stevefleck

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