December 19, 2005
Watch the 2005 ITU Triathlon World Cup Races on Google, how cool is that!
From an ITU press release -
Most of the full television broadcast shows from the 2005 ITU triathlon world cup circuit are now available to view on Google.com absolutely free.
Google’s mission is to organize the world's information, and that includes video. Google Video offers viewers a way to see material from archived TV programs and educational videos. As an integral part of this plan are ITU’s high quality television productions which will now be placed on google.com to increase the global knowledge of the sport of triathlon and offer all our fans the opportunity to watch all the ITU TV shows complete free.
ITU is proud to be associated so closely with the world leading search engine and we are delighted to be able to bring our award winning TV shows to an ever increasing global online audience.
This latest development is the latest step in ITU’s commitment to use cutting edge technologies to bring the world the hottest information on the sport of triathlon.
This most recent partnership with Google further demonstrates ITU’s commitment to embracing new technologies to bring our fans the latest multimedia from the world of ITU triathlon. This important alliance will expand our audience and assist ITU’s goals of growing the sport of triathlon.
We are in the process of putting up the final shows for the year. Keep tuned to Triathlon.org and Video.Google.com for the latest news.
Posted by Fred at 11:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Triathlon
November 13, 2005
USA Triathlon Announces New Race Series
"Six new race series will satisfy everyone from youth to duathletes to long distance triathletes." That was the headline on the USAT website last week. I knew this was coming down the pike after chatting with USAT's Skip Gilbert earlier this summer. The press release continued with the following:
The Grand Prix Series will include the following formats:
USAT Youth Grand Prix Series
Ages: 7-8, 9-10, 11-12 and 13-15 (non-drafting)
Approximate distances: (7-8 and 9-10): 100m swim, 5k bike, 1k run
(11-12 and 13-15): 200m swim, 10k bike, 2k run
USAT Sprint Grand Prix Series
Approximate distances: 750m swim, 20k bike, 5k run
USAT Grand Prix Series
Approximate distances: 1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run
USAT Long Distance Grand Prix Series
Approximate distances: 3k swim, 80k bike, 20k run to 4k swim, 120k bike, 30k run
USAT Duathlon Grand Prix Series
Approximate distances: 10k run, 40k bike, 5k run
USAT Long Distance Duathlon Grand Prix Series
Approximate distances: 16-plus kilometers of total running and 50-plus kilometers of total biking
My first thought was why so many Grand Prix Series? Why not just roll out one and make it awesome and then follow-up with the others later? I've learned the hard way what over-extending your abilities can do to the end result.
I then started looking for page two, but it was nowhere to be found! That didn't make sense to me. Why make such a bold announcement without at least identifying some of the races, especially the championship races? I think the plan is to just take the regional championships and turn those races into the Grand Prix Series. If that is the case, I wish they would have told the race directors that before the regions selected their championships. In many regions the regional championships don't really mean much, and Florida has always been one of those regions. Had event directors known those events would be part of a new series, more event directors may have applied.
I know the USAT Board met last weekend, maybe some news will trickle out soon.
Posted by Fred at 09:53 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | More in: Triathlon, USA Triathlon
September 09, 2005
USAT Officials...got to love them
First I want to start by stating that I am a big supporter of USAT and the officials program. It is great to have USAT officials at our races. They do the best they can to help maintain a safe and fair field of play for the athletes. It is a thankless job and it also takes the heat off of me when an athlete gets in my face complaining about another athlete that was cheating or drafting. Some of these athletes are relentless and will not give up. It sort of reminds me of a horse fly that you keep brushing away, only to have it come right back to you. What many athletes do not understand is that I don't make the calls, I just assess the penalties the USAT Officials give to me. When I receive the list it is just a sheet with race numbers and times. I do not even associate names with the penalties until an athlete comes up to me with a question about a penalty.
Officiating varies in each region. Although some of you may disagree with me, especially those of you who have been penalized in the past, I think the Florida region has some of the best officials around. They are very proactive when it comes to enforcing the rules. That is not always the case in other regions.
As a race director, it disturbs me when the motorcyclists don't show and we end up having the officials stand around in the transition area giving dismount and racking penalties. At our TriAmerica Irving race I almost had a fit when I was walking over to tune the ChampionChip systems at the transition area and I saw a big dismount line painted on the ground in front of the bike start and bike finish structures. I knew it was not the work of my staff, they know better. I am not a big fan of dismount lines unless they are absolutely required for safety reasons. Even then I would rather have a couple of volunteers doing the work rather than a static line. I prefer to have a dismount zone and my policy has always been that athletes mount their bikes after they cross the timing mats and dismount before you hit the mats. Even though I explained my position on dismount lines, dismount penalties were assessed. Sure, there are some athletes that deserve a penalty when they come flying back in to the transition area with complete disregard for the dismount zone or the instructions provided by the volunteers.
At St. Paul it was bar end plug penalties that irked me. Much to my disappointment, I had to assess more bar end plug penalties at that one race than I have at the previous 15-20 events I have scored combined. I have nothing against the rule, it is a very important one for safety reasons. An unplugged bar end can gore another athlete and could even be fatal. This is where being proactive comes in. While the transition volunteers try to check for missing plugs when athletes are checking in, many slip by unchecked in the early morning chaos. When an athlete is missing a plug, we go out of our way to help them get plugged, even if we have to use a plastic water bottle cap and tape to get the job done. In most cases the officials walk around the transition area before the race starts checking for things like missing bar end plugs, unsafe equipment, or incorrectly racked bikes. They are not doing it so they can penalize the athletes, they are doing it so they can give our race announcer a list of race numbers to announce. This way the athletes can be made aware of the problem and have the opportunity to correct it before the race starts. Just listen to TJ, our race announcer, in the morning and you'll see how proactive we are.
At TriAmerica Avon-Vail, the penalty of the day was missing race numbers. The officials wrote up at least 8-10 penalties for missing race numbers on the run. Sure athletes should know better, we even highlight that rule in our printed pre-race instructions. Usually we have volunteers at the start of the run to make sure athletes have their run number on and that it is visible. But volunteers were scarce in Colorado. Next season we’ll make sure we have a large sign at the run start reminding athletes to make sure their race number is on and visible.
For transition penalties I am going to be more proactive as well. When I have the pre-race briefing with the head official, I'm going to make sure they understand that we prefer that athletes be made aware of transition and equipment infractions before the start of the race if at all possible. At least athletes will then have a chance to correct the problem before the race start, rather than be surprised when they finish and see the penalty list.
Posted by Fred at 09:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Triathlon
September 01, 2005
Katrina
You really get a reality check when you see the damage that hurricane Katrina did in the northern Gulf. When Katrina was forming in the Atlantic, we were already on a plane heading up to our TriAmerica St. Paul race. At that time no one had any idea what the storm was going to do. All of Florida was on her radar screen. After we arrived in St. Paul I was relieved to see she had drifted to the west, lessening the chance that she would skirt up Florida's west coast. I doubt my company could take another hit like the one we took from last year's storms.
What was sort of scary was that last year we had our TriAmerica New Orleans race on the last Sunday in August. Had we moved forward with the New Orleans race this year, we would have been right up there in the thick of things last weekend. The addition of our Vail and Zion races forced us to put new Orleans on hold for 2005.
I read where fellow race promoter Bill Burke, who lives in New Orleans, has a flooded house and warehouse. I just cannot imagine what he must be dealing with right now. Our thoughts are with him.
Posted by Fred at 03:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Triathlon
August 04, 2005
Coming home to Florida to cool off?
It seems absurd to be saying that, but that is what I was thinking Tuesday afternoon when I left New Jersey to head back to Florida. After wrapping up a successful TriAmerica race in Louisville on Sunday, I jumped on a plane and flew up to the Jersey Shore to work on the Danskin Women's Triathlon we direct next month. Getting off the plane shortly after midnight I could feel a slight chill in the air. I thought to myself this is going to be great! We lucked out in Louisville because the big heat wave that had blanketed the much of the country pushed out of Kentucky the day after we arrived in town. In fact it was cool enough in the mornings that I had wished I would have brought a windbreaker or long sleeve shirt along with me on the trip. The thought of packing either one of those items never crossed my mind when I was packing for the trip.
My trip to New Jersey would take me to Sandy Hook National Park, the venue for the Danskin race. This thin strip of land juts out into New York Harbor from the northern most tip of New Jersey. The New York skyline looms on the horizon. This would be my final site visit before next month's race. I had two objectives for this trip, the first was to meet with the Coast Guard and the new commanding officer at the Sandy Hook Station, and to meet with the National Park Service about a couple of changes in the venue layout.
My Coast Guard meeting went great. We actually stage a portion of the race on the base, the swim and the transitions. Last year spectators were not allowed access on the base so the race was not as spectator friendly as I wanted it to be. That was going to be one of my main items of discussion at the meeting. Because last year's race was relatively glitch free, the Coast Guard signed off on spectator access in select areas. All I need to make it happen is another 1,200 feet of steel barricades and a fence company to open up a section of chain link fence. What is cool is that after watching last year's race, six ladies from the base have decided to race this year including Donna, the outgoing Commanding Officer.
My meeting with the National Park Service also went well. They allowed us to move the finish line 500 feet to the south, allowing us to utilize the parade grounds for the post race activities. This more than doubles the space we have available and is much more scenic. There are dozens of historic buildings on Sandy Hook including the oldest operating lighthouse in the U.S.
Once my meetings were wrapped up I had a couple of hours to kill before it was time to head to the airport. I decided I had to squeeze a run in. I originally wanted to run along the beach at sunrise, but I just could not get myself out of bed in time Tuesday morning. I guess my energy level was still low following TriAmerica Louisville. It was now 1:00pm, and although it did not feel that hot out because of the low humidty, the temperature was pushing 90. My goal was was to squeeze in a 60 minute run, 30 out and 30 back. About a mile into my run I started to have a melt down. My pace was about 2 minutes slower than my usual average training pace per mile. I just figured it was because the past week had been so intense and I was still running under sleep deficit. I opted to turnaround a few minutes early and do the Sandy Hook Shuffle back to my car. When I arrive I head straight to the showers at the beach pavillion. The water is ice cold and refreshing. I must have stayed under the shower for at least 10 minutes. I was now reenergized znd ready for my trip back home. While driving back to the airport I notice that the outside air temperature displayed on the dashboard was 99! A couple of times it even jumped to 100. At first I thought it may just be a fluke because I'm driving on the NJ Parkway in full sun, but then I hear the radio jock say the current temperature is 98.
Now I feel much better about my melt down on the Sandy Hook Trail. Northerners always complain about the southern heat, well here is one southerner complaining about the northern heat. Florida seems cool by comparison....
Posted by Fred at 07:42 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | More in: Triathlon
August 03, 2005
Sidebar to all good things...
I forgot to note in my previous post that this was the first year in more than a decade that the Gulf Coast Triathlon did not reach capicity and close registration in advance of the race. It is also interesting to note that neither Ralph's Half in California or the Disney Half officially closed registration because they had reached capacity. Both of those events are official Ironman licensed events with Kona slots. They did attract large numbers of participants and came real close to being closed. We'll see what happens now that the Disney Half no longer has Kona slots. Hey, who needs Kona when you have Clearwater!!!
Posted by Fred at 01:43 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Triathlon
August 02, 2005
Too much of a good thing?
That's what you have to wonder when you look at the current half iron distance event calendar. I think it would be safe to say that the number of half iron distance races in the U.S. has doubled in the last five years. A few years earlier there was a boom in iron-distance races. Often race promoters assume that if official Ironman events can fill up in less than 24 hours and turn several thousand athletes away; those athletes are going to want to race another iron-distance race somewhere. That may be true, but I would guess that 80% only want to race an official Ironman race, not one of the independent races. With the exception of the Great Floridian, none of the independent U.S. races have yet to break the 500 participant barrier. Most are still attracting less than 300 athletes. It is not because of the quality of the events, it is because they are facing the most powerful brand in the sport at this time. I know if you gave me the $1,000,000 budget that many official Ironman races have to work with, I could easily produce an event that would rival their’s.
Following the growth of half iron-distance races came the U.S. Half Championship Series. This was the brain child of Mark Livesay of UltraMax fame. He brought a dozen or so independent races into the fold all qualifying for his series. Seeing how he owns the designated championship race, I'm sure this was more of a marketing ploy to attract additional athletes and attention to his race. It certainly does increase the exposure in all of the races, yet qualifying does not mean much when you can also enter the same race on your own without racing one of the qualifying races. The series also created some confusion in the market place by calling itself the U.S. Half championships. Some athletes thought they were qualifying for the USAT National Long Course Championships and did not realize they were qualifying for a self proclaimed national championship.
It looks as if the 70.3 series is doing the same thing. At first when WTC, the owners and producers of the 70.3 series, announced the 70.3 Series I thought they would be creating new high profile destination events in the U.S. After reading the WTC's most recent media release, it appears as if they are just copying what Mark has done with his U.S. Half Series. They are banding together several existing races under the 70.3 brand. Races like EagleMan, VineMan, and Buffalo Springs are carryovers from the old Ironman Qualifier system and the other two U.S. races were already Ironman Licensed events. I understand their strategy now. Because you can only race their self proclaimed world championship event in Clearwater by qualifying at another 70.3 event, it is important that they get as many events as possible in the 70.3 feeder system. If the series offered Kona slots, athletes would trip over each other to enter, but no kona slots are being offered in the 70.3 series.
Two of the new events just added to the 70.3 series are the Stealhead Triathlon in Michigan and the Dannonman Half in Lake Stevens, WA. These two events have nothing to lose by being part of the series. Steelhead had less than 400 finishers last year and the Dannonman Half did not even have 100 finishers.
Clearwater is not Kona, and it will take plenty of marketing hoopla, along with some smoke and mirrors to make into a high profile triathlon destination. It may take even more than that as we enter into a cycle of increased hurricane activity. Most late season storms develop in the Gulf of Mexico.
My personal opinion is that the 70.3 series in its current format will only dilute the existing market. There is nothing new and exciting about it, it is just big corporate America at work.
Posted by Fred at 03:49 AM | Comments (0) | More in: Triathlon
July 25, 2005
Seventy point what???
That's what most athletes say when you ask them about the WTC's new half iron series. If you are a non triathlete, or are mathematically challenged, 70.3 is the traditional distance in miles of a half ironman distance race. WTC is using the term "70.3" to brand its half ironman events and their new half series.
Well I don't get it, 70.3 is about as exciting as watching new homes pop up in Clermont. The name does absolutely nothing for me, and I think I have a fairly good marketing sense. I was wondering if it was just me, so I performed a random survey at one of our recent events to see if athletes knew what 70.3 was as it pertains to triathlons.
Here are just a few of the responses I received:
"The average water temperature at an Ironman race"
"WTC's net worth in millions"
"The IQ of the marketing genius that came up with the 70.3 name"
"The number of people out of 1,000 surveyed that may embrace the name"
"The distance from Clermont to the WTC offices in Tarpon Springs"
Seeing how we are a family oriented website, I cannot print the best ones.
If you live outside the USA, you are really going to be confused. With the USA being the only major country that still uses miles for measurement, the name is going to have to be converted to meters. If my math is correct, the international events will be called 113.14. That's the length of a half Ironman in kilometers.
Hey if I'm wrong and this number game really works, I'll have to rename our TriAmerica International Distance Series races to "32.0". That's the distance in miles of a traditional international distance race.
My gut feeling is that this will go down as the biggest marketing blunder in triathlon history. Now if only had a "New" Coke right now....
Posted by Fred at 04:09 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack | More in: Triathlon
May 31, 2005
Zion revisited
Today was an interesting day in Zion. Our first scheduled meeting was not until lunch time so I decided to stay at the hotel and work my way through some emails while Brian went out to work on the bike course. There is never a dull moment in our travels so as luck would have it, a fire broke out in a marsh here at the park. It soon was out of control and the emergency services folks decided to close down access to and from the park. With less than 30 minutes to go until our lunch meeting, Brian was trapped outside the park and I was trapped inside. This is not a small park, about two miles separated us so walking out to meet him with my luggage was not an option. A quick call to the city got us the clearance we needed to escape. When we left town 4 hours later the fire was still raging away. It reminded me of a fire in the marsh between Clermont and Groveland a few years back. All the firefighters could do was stay on dry ground and wait for the fire to get close enough to them so they could put it out.
On Monday we measured out a run course that is going to be awesome. The first half of the 5K loop is in the shaded forest. The second half follows the sand dunes along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Most of the run will be on a gravel-clay path with only a small portion on the pavement. While running the course yesterday we where confronted by a couple of large deer. They didn't even dash away when we ran by them, they just watched us in awe, or was it in disbelief that two old out of shape guys were running in the woods.
The Zion bike course will be somewhat technical because of the numerous turns. The roads are in good shape so it should be a fast course. We are going to stage the race adjacent to the Illinois Beach Resort over looking the lake.
For some strange reason we always seem to attract bad weather during our site visits. Not this time, the weather was perfect. Even Lake Michigan was flat as glass. I hope it acts the same way on race weekend.
We just found out our TriAmerica Zion race is on the same day as the Pleasant Valley Triathlon 20 minutes to the north. We selected our date based on their date last year. This year they moved their date back a week so now we are going head to head. Oh well, the market is certainly big enough to support both races. With the increase in the number of triathlons each year, it makes it tough to find a weekend that is clear of other events in the same market.
Posted by Fred at 05:21 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | More in: Tri America, Triathlon
May 19, 2005
Panama City, here we come!
No, we're not heading back to PCB, I'm just finally getting around to finishing this post. I started typing while we were driving up to this year's Gulf Coast Triathlon. Unfortunately with my cold, all I could do was just stare at my laptop screen. Like an idiot I took non-drowsy cold capsules instead of the night time ones, so I was forced to stay awake the entire trip. The trip from Central Florida to PCB is not one of the more exciting or scenic race trips you can take.
It is hard to believe we have been involved with the GCT for 20 years. At first it was just equipment like bike racks, buoys, cones, etc. Then in the early 90's we started timing the race. In the old days I was able to race the Gulf Coast Tri. It was a tough race for me because I would first set-up the bike racks, then race. Shortly after I finished I would head back to the transition area to take down the bike racks and put them back in my truck. There is nothing fun about tearing down a transition area right after completing a half ironman, especially when the pipes are baking in the hot Florida sun.
I have lots of fond memories of the GCT. I also have some not so fond memories that involve a couple of hangovers and a missing truck. Those stories are best told over a couple of beers. Gulf Coast Triathlon was always a party race. In the early days I recall wondering if the race committee would even be able to pull off the race after the serious drinking that took place on Friday during set-up. The race committee was great and the race always started on time the next day. Of course the swim buoys may not be set, but they still started on time.
The GCT has always been one of my favorite races to work with. Shelley and the entire race committee are awesome. This year was the smoothest GCT ever, both from the race execution side, and from the timing side. I'm glad because it is tough timing a race with a head cold. You do have to maintain a certain level of concentration while compiling results, and fortunately for me, the timing was almost glitch free...damn those relay teams!
This was the first time in years that Gulf Coast did not fill up and close registration in advance of the race. Although the participation numbers were down from last year, the number of finishers was only down about 30 compared to last year's count. A bunch of new half ironmans have popped up around the U.S. recently, so I'm sure that had an impact on participation. The Disney half most likely kept some athletes from racing too. The Disney half is not full yet either and it is this weekend. Hopefully this is not a trend, I'm sure it is just the result of supply outpacing demand.
Posted by Fred at 03:20 AM | Comments (1) | More in: Triathlon
March 19, 2005
The official word from USAT
Our Board meeting just wrapped up so now it's time for all of us to go out and celebrate! Here is the official media release on the USOC vote - USAT Media Release.
If I am sober enough when I get back in tonight I'll recap the meeting. If not, I'll do it in the morning before I head out to the airport.
Posted by Fred at 07:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: News, Triathlon, USA Triathlon
March 16, 2005
Let the games begin.....
A battle of Olympic proportions, or shall I say Olympic priorities, is about to be waged in Colorado Springs this weekend. This weekend is the date for the Spring USAT Board meeting. It will be a monster meeting with all the regional presidents and various commission chairs in attendance. After six consecutive years on the USAT Board, this will be my final USAT Board meeting. While my original term was set to expire at the end of last year, election issues, and the bylaw changes spearheaded by Lew Kidder and Dan Empfield, two guys with way, way too much free time on their hands, resulted in a six month extended sentence, I mean term extension.
If you keep up with the triathlon news, you are aware of a push for USAT to secede from the USOC family. It is being driven by board member Jack Weiss. Jack's approach to issues is often too direct and not always diplomatic. He says what is on his mind, and it comes out unfiltered. That is not always a good trait to have.
His issue with the USOC has made the headlines in major papers in California and Colorado. The USOC has not been silent about all of this and it has reminded us publicly that USAT is small potatoes in the world of sports and they can squash us if they like. This should set the stage for a lively board meeting and weekend.
Upon arrival in Colorado on Thursday, I have a lunch meeting with Kathy Fortin, a former employee of mine now residing in Denver. She knows me well and booked our meeting at a local brew pub. Thank goodness Thursday is St. Patrick's Day, I now have a reason to celebrate.
Check back this weekend for my daily Board reports.
Posted by Fred at 12:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Triathlon, USA Triathlon
March 11, 2005
Iron battle in the outback...
If you follow the sport, you may have heard about the big battle brewing in the outback. Forster has been the home of Ironman Australia for nearly 20 years. Well their contract is up this year and the folks that own the rights to Ironman in Australia, IMG, have been shopping for a new location. It appears that Forster was not on the list.
The headline from ABC News Australia says alot -
Council outraged over Govt's triathlon support
The NSW Government's decision to financially back Port Macquarie's bid to host the Australian Ironman Triathlon from next year has left Great Lakes Council reeling in shock.
The Major Events Board is providing $100,000 a year to Port Macquarie for three years, with performance agreements after that.
The news follows Great Lakes Council's decision last week to withdraw its bid.
Mayor John Chadban says it is a scandalous situation.
He says despite years of lobbying Great Lakes Council, which hosted the event for 20 years, has never been able to get any support from the Government and it is the reason it pulled out.
"We were never able to attract money because of the commercialisation of the event we were told anyhow," he said.
"We're absolutely shocked of the likelihood of that event being funded at another location.
"One wonders whether this is a political ruse and we're caught in the middle of it and that's of concern to our community."
The good news is that Forster has decided to stage the event on their own in 2006 as an independent iron-distance race. You may recall the same thing happened in Germany a few years back when Ironman Germany pulled out of Roth. The race continued on as an independent and still sells out. Foreign athletes are not as obsessed with the Ironman brand name as American athletes are.
Go Forster!!!
Posted by Fred at 09:18 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts, Triathlon
