WTC Proposed Rule Changes - what do you think?

[Mere]

I agree with Doc. 
Also equal prize money and 50/50- equal slots.  One day the numbers will be equal.

[jvigaray]

I don´t think 50/50 is fair because there´s no single IM where there are 50/50 pro. The number of slots should be related to what it is been in the past years , so 60-30 , 60-40 is fair enough at the moment , maybe in the future we get more women into the sport.

[DamienC]

Why not base it on the number of registered pros?  If there are more registered female than male pros, shouldn't there be more female than male pros on the start line?

[GillianS]

any thoughts on the final rules ? I just read them on Finishline-multisport . com and assume you have all read them? GS x

[DamienC]

Interesting.  They seem to have taken on board the suggestions from the pros.  There are still changes that'll come, but it appears to be a step in the right direction.  In fact, with the way TTBB Pros seem to race all the time, this may well see more TTBB members qualifying.  It'll definitely count against those pros that relied on the single race qualifier.

[BellaBayliss]

Well I am not happy.  They may have taken on board paying top 10 (in some races)  but look at races like IM UK or IM Lanzarote.  $4500 US dollar for the win.  Just absolutley outragous.  I wont be doing many WTC races in the years to come.  I'll find races outside WTC.

[Keegan Williams - "kiwiman"]

I am very dissapointed from the new prize purses. For instance IMNZ still has prize money of $50k US, now this hasnt been changed for the last 15yrs approx, which means by time you take into account inflation etc, it is alot alot less!
IM Australia, UK etc is only 25k now!
When they sent out the new rules for review, they where very sneaky, not actually showing the events and what the points break down was 

And then the point system, I agree with it generally in theory, it makes good sense, but when you have someone like Cameron Brown winning IMNZ getting 1000 points which is equivalent of getting 13th or something in the new USA race, it dosent really make sense. For the guys/girls from Downunder to qualify, they are basically going to have big wallets to chase points with all the the travelling needed, as even if you podium NZ and AUS you probably wouldnt qualify......

[running-geek]

Chrissie makes some good points here: http://www.xtri.com/features_display.aspx?riIDReport=6574&CAT=24&xref=xx. (You can tell she used to be a civil servant!). Especially this one:

"• Crucially, the new structure reduces the flexibility athletes have in making decisions about whether or not to race a WTC event. Athletes are forced, by the need to accrue points, to only do WTC events, at the expense of other race series, such as Rev3 and Challenge. This is regrettable, as the sport requires diversity in races and not a monopoly held by one brand. WTC should be embracing the growth of the sport, and not placing a stranglehold on it by dictating the choices of professional athletes."

In other words, WTC must not be allowed to abuse its Kona-monopoly, otherwise we'll never get fair prize money.

[DamienC]

I agree completely with Bella and Keegan; why has the prize purses not increased over the years, in line with inflation and the increase in race fees?

I wonder if we aren't going to see the Europe vs USA race battle we had in the 90s, where European athletes chose Nice over Kona?  I know Kona is "The Big One", but isn't it only a true World Champs if the whole world is there?  Doesn't it lose something if only half of the top athletes are there, because the rest are racing a big money race in Europe, because "at the end of the day, only one person can win, and if you're not going to win, you might as well go and earn a decent paycheck"?

The eskewed prize purses/points does seem to favour certain races - the conspiracy theorist in me wonders if there isn't more to that?

[Paul Hank]

And it looks like GAME ON already.....

http://www.challengecopenhagen.com/da/challenge-copenhagen/news/301-challenge-takes-care-of-their-pros

[Wyoming]

I can't believe a first-year event like Ironman Texas is all of a sudden the most important and lucrative event on the calendar. Having lived in Texas for five-and-a-half years (and having not been able to get the fudge out of there fast enough), I don't have high hopes for this one, though it's not in my nature to root for failure. They'll reap what they sow. Bella and others will no doubt flock to Challenge and Rev3 events.

[doc]

wyoming ,
i had high hopes for rev series  but there again , they dont get it either
good money for first  basically too much  when 10th again  is a payment that wouldnt cover hotel bill for a week there let alone flying to the race venue .
i got very depressed , i will have a couple lining up looking for the win , so i am not talking about the depth for that reason
directors are choking the life out of the sport , in the professional sphere ,

take that 6,000 off the top win 2 off the next 2 place getters  and spread it    across 4th  to 10th
and people would look at coming
the best who  feel thay can do both this and hawaaii  will go wether it 10 or 16
thinking about it depresses me
its so easy

[andrej]

ITU has good prize money policy. They pay 15 deep for purses over $50k, 10deep for $10k-50k, 5deep for 3-10k and 3deep for 3k or less. Distribution of prize money is also better than in other races. ie. percentages for 10 deep payout are:
1. 25,00%
2. 20,00%
3. 15,00%
4. 10,00%
5. 8,00%
6. 7,00%
7. 6,00%
8. 4,00%
9. 3,00%
10. 2,00%

So if you're 10th in 50k (that's 25k when you split it between men and woman) race you still get 500€ which is not bad.