Ironman Pro Membership

Good news and bad news. The good news is that I will truly and honestly be focused on the Xterra racing and my mountain biking (except for Silverman.) That in itself means my 2010 season will be better then this year. I won’t be pulled in different directions within triathlon. The bad news is that this is not by my choice entirely. I just can’t justify the new WTC Ironman Pro membership costs to race one or two 70.3s.

The new move for the WTC is starting an “Ironman Pro Membership.” Unless you get their membership, as a pro, you can’t race any of their events. No Ironman races and no Ironman 70.3 races. If you’re planning on racing at least five 70.3s or two Ironmans, then it’s a great idea. But if you’re like me and many other pros and were only planning one or two 70.3s, it’s just not an option. Why? The membership is $750 + active.com’s fee. After paying that up front, the entry in to any WTC race is “Complementary” How can you have a comp entry if you’ve just paid $750 to join a club? But that’s just me whining. The point is, if you race 70.3s frequently, then it’s a financial bonus and will make it easier to race. But if not… I can’t afford to pay $375 for two or $750 for one 70.3 race. So I won’t be attending any WTC events next year, despite how interesting some of them sound.

It will be interesting to see the effects this pro membership will have on the WTC races. So far, the opinion seems split on it. People in my shoes hate the idea but others like it. The bigger issue that people are upset about are narrow time allowances for Kona slots (5% of the winners time) and for the prize money distribution (8% of the winners time). Not every pro makes money from sponsorships – hoping to pay travel expenses with prize money is reality for many new pros. And now we’re being told that if someone has a great race, our hard work might not get rewarded. That would be like telling a nurse that she won’t get paid for her 12 hours because she has fewer meds to pass then another nurse. I understand that the pro fields at some races were very weak – this is not the way to encourage new pros and development at the distances. At least that’s my opinion

Okay – rant over!

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