Blog » A bit of a rant from me!
A bit of a rant from me!
I wanted to clarify a comment I made on twitter about a week ago. Yes, below is a very big bitching session, but obviously I think this is a bit of a joke.
Here is the comment - @IronmanTri @HyVeeTri athletes race 5races with shit $ to qualify for the opportunity to make shit $? 100g's for 1st? #RichGetRicher
This was in response to the announcement that the 5150 series Championship race, the Des Moines Hy-Vee triathlon, formerly the world’s richest triathlon, would now have less than 50% of its stated prize money.
All in all these things happen, but the fact that it was left until April for this to be announced was diabolical. The first race of the 5150 series is less than a month away and I am sure that this has been something that would have been known to the organisers and WTC (Ironman – owner of the series) for quite some time. Most athletes would already have their seasons set in place, training, racing and travelling. Some would have already booked flights and accommodation and all this has been done because they want the chance to qualify for the biggest money triathlon in the world and the chance to make a better living out of the sport. A lot of athletes would also have significant bonuses tailored for the Hy-Vee Championships because of the races prestige and class and this announcement will reduce both of those and ultimately reduce a sponsor’s willingness to get behind their athletes in this race.
One thing that really gets to me about this is that those who raced Hy-Vee last year will remember the speech we got at briefing about how successful the race is/was and how the commercial return was well worth every dollar invested. I think the return was 5 to 1 – In other words for every $1 they spent Hy-Vee generated $5 in sales and exposure. This was really drilled in to us last year and meant that we all went away feeling pretty confident about the survival of the race.
When I heard the announcement I was sitting having a coffee with 3 Triathletes whose season was planned and based around Hy-Vee. Their disappointment, anger, and disbelief really were incredibly obvious and my comment was made more out of my feeling of disappointment for them than myself. I am not focusing on Hy-Vee this year and never will with that sort of reduction in prize money. Like stated by these athletes, Hy-Vee takes real investment throughout the season to qualify for the race. Five races count towards your qualification and with the added interest (that WAS there) this year it probably would have taken 5 races to qualify. That’s 5 flights, 5 lots of accommodation, food and other expenses, plus if you are a foreign athlete that is probably at least 1 month spent living in the USA at considerable expense. All this planning would have already been done and a lot of money already spent. Another note is for the Europeans who have in the past made up a good chunk of the professional field at Hy-Vee. We all know the rigors of travel and the costs involved. It is hard to imagine that Hy-Vee will generate as much interest for those Europeans looking to qualify now as it would be hard to justify spending considerable money to qualify for a race that now doesn’t really offer considerable return, unless of course you win.
This is where my next point comes in. $100,000 for the win, $20,000 for second? This is the worst prize purse breakdown I have seen. It is very likely that the winners will be the same as last year, they are simply that good, or the winners will be someone who is invited, not to mention the fact that last years winners do not have to qualify in the same fashion as everyone else, as they receive an automatic spot, which just needs to be validated through racing one other 5150 event. The athletes with the potential to win already make far more through endorsements and bonuses than those guys in 6th – 20th and light years more than those in 21st – 30th
This sour news has tried to be sweetened by the introduction of ‘better’ race times and a better finish line!? I can assure the organisers that the athletes were not fazed about the start time or finish line in the past because it is all part of the sport and they will not be fazed by the new times and finish line. I can also assure you that they are definitely fazed about the timing of this announcement and the more than 50% reduction in prize money.
They have made sure to cover their bases as best they can; after all, it is still the ‘biggest’ prize purse in Olympic distance racing and still carries a $100,000 first place prize. So, plenty of things to keep them looking good and plenty of things to keep the vast majority of athletes bank accounts looking terrible.
Sorry for the negativity, but sometimes it’s hard to be positive when so many good athletes are getting the very short end of the stick.
Cheers
Dylan
