It was a tough day at the office! This photo courtesy of Jolekha Shasha – thanks!

“Go fast Auntie Catriona!”

As I woke up this morning feeling slightly stiff and sore and unable to get back to the land of zzzz it occurred to me that my win yesterday at the GE World Duathlon Championships in Edinburgh was a day that was full of the letter “P”. I think that I must be having a Seasame Street moment!

P for people – so many people. Friends (old and new), family, supporters, team mates, competitors, race organisers, volunteers. Thank you everyone for making the day so special.

P for the usual pre-race panic and procrastination, potentially disasterous mounting and dismounting, positive thinking, positive action and post race pleasure and pride.

P for the 15s time penalty for propelling myself illegally over the dismount line. Fair doos – guilty as charged!

P for the privilege of being able to race a world championships in my home country.

P for purple, the very dodgy colour of my post race drug test pee – you gotta love beetroot juice!

P for pooped! A well earned massage today methinks.

P for preparation – it’s next stop Kona…….

Not forgetting “P” for PERFECT!

Me? Well,  so far it has been busy. And set to get busier! It’s strange having a major championship event in my backyard. Usually by this point before a major race I’ve been travelling, lugging a bike around, finding my feet in a new place and generally sitting around in a hotel room doing not so very much. With the World Duathlon Championships in Edinburgh this weekend I’m at home, 10 miles away from the race venue. So: no travelling; no bike packing and rebuilding and firmly rooted in normality – the dishwasher needs emptied, the washing needs hung out and the chickens need fed (normality for me at least!). In some ways I think that with all trappings of life around me, I am being kept amused and not getting too worked up about the race itself (yet!) However, I have to admit that things are begining to heat up now- I’ve had interviews with the local and national press and tomorrow is the race briefing in Edinburgh. The butterflies are sure to start stiring soon….Until then I will stay preoccupied with locating that missing sock, baking some bread for tomorrow and taking care of my chickens.We have 5 new chicks who are very amusing and are great at providing a distraction from the housework. However. I DO need to clean my bike!

Many thanks to for all the good luck messages. I’ll be aiming for the top on Sunday :-)

There’s Jane, my physiotherpaist. She works wonders for me. Without her magic tricks I’d be a wreck. She tries to keep those injuries at bay with a personal strength and conditioning program and when the sh*$ hits the fan she scoops me onto the bench and gets me back on the road. Not only is she a fabulous physiotherapist, she’s a great friend. Jane: you (and your mastery of those needles) are amazing.

There’s West Lothian Leisure: my local pool and gym. I know that I hog the public swim lane like I own it and I know that I really should have taken out shares in that cross trainer. You are all so tolerant of my excessive lane swimming (beyond the allotted public time) and my super-human sweating over the gym machinery and yet you welcome me with a smile every day. Thank you, you’re amazing.

Smiling Alana at the gym

Pedal Power, West Calder. I don’t get to join with the chain gang often (the truth is that I don’t want to get beat by the boys!) but when I do I love it. I phone and issue demands and I send my nasty husband up to monopolise your time and raid your stock. And yet you have given me a beautiful frame to ride and you always there to help. You’re amazing.

My husband Richard. He has his own career to worry about and yet he works two jobs: his own and taking care of me. Bike mechanic, shoulder to cry on, cook, skivvy and chief motivator. I love you, thank you.

My Mum and Dad. I know I’m always late and I always have to put training first. I eat all your food and treat your house like my own (except that I don’t clean up behind me in yours – oops). I’m always complaining about how tired I am and phoning to get sympathy and rarely ask how you both are. Know this: I do appreciate that you are always there for me and I know that you are my number one fans and I love you. You are amazing, thank you.

THE CHANGES

PROFESSIONAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING, PRIZE MONEY & POLICIES Athlete Comment Distribution Draft Ironman Professional Athletes Introduction WTC is circulating this document to all its pro members. The policies and rules changes stated in this document are not final. Before announcing a final version of these rules and procedures, WTC will take into consideration all constructive comments from our pro members. Comments must be submitted to promember@ironman.com no later than July 2nd, Tampa USA dateto be considered. Please include your name and pro number on all comments. WTC intends to publish the final version of these rules and policies on July 9th with the changes having an effective date of September 1st 2010. These new rules and polices are the product of long-hours of debate and consideration by WTC’s pro working committee. The committee concluded that the current pro incentive policies, which have been in place for over 25 years, are outdated and that the new rules and policies are best calculated to achieve these five primary goals: Rewarding the sport’s best athletes for their performances Creating income opportunities for new and regional pros Qualifying the most deserving athletes to the World Championships Controlling the number of athletes qualifying for the World Championships to assure fair and exciting racing Creating additional media interest in pro races through points standings and more frequent head-to-head racing   I.  WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING Overview and Philosophy/Rationale The objectives in creating a points based  World Championship qualifying system for pros are to assure that the most deserving athletes qualify and to limit the number of athletes in order to assure fair and exciting racing. Pro Qualifying Program – Kona World Championships Definitions: “Kona Qualifying” means qualification to the Ford Ironman World Championship held in Kona, Hawaii each year. “Races” means Ironman branded full-distance and Ironman 70.3 events worldwide that are authorized by the World Triathlon Corporation. “Qualifying Year” means the period between September 1st and August 31st. “Kona Pro Rankings” (KPR) means the ranking system to determine pro athlete eligibility to  race at Kona. Effective Sept. 1, 2010, the  single-performance slot based system will be discontinued. Beginning with Races on Sept. 1,  pro athletes will earn points for Kona Qualifying correlating to their finish position. The top 50 male and top 30 female pros* in the KPR at the end of each Qualifying Year will qualify to race in Kona.  (* The proportion of male to female pros may be adjusted in future years to reflect the then current percentage of registered male and female WTC pro members.) KPR will be determined as follows: Athletes will be ranked according to the number of points that he or she has accumulated during the Qualifying Year. See the Points Table below. Each athlete’s five highest scoring Races will count toward their KPR. All lower scoring Races will be “thrown out”.   Athletes may accumulate points from any combination of Races PROVIDED that  each athlete completes a minimum of one full-distance Ironman race during the Qualifying Year.   A maximum of three Ironman 70.3 races are included in an athlete’s score. Athletes are not required to do more than one full-distance Ironman race in the Qualifying Year to be ranked. Athletes may score five full-distance Ironman races. Athletes finishing the Ironman World Championship (Kona) race will be awarded points that are retained during the Qualifying Year. Scoring points in Kona DOES NOT fulfill the requirement that each ranked athlete must score in a full-distance Ironman during the Qualifying Year. No points carry forward from one Qualifying Year to the next. The 5% rule is no longer applicable. Example/Fast Freddy Based on his 5 highest scoring results after September 1, 2010 Race                                                                   Place     Points 2010 IM Kona                                                      2nd          2200 2010 AP 70.3 Championship                                    1st          1500 2011 $75,000 IM                                                  3rd            780 2011 $50,000 70.3                                                1st           500 2011 $15,000 70.3                                                1st `        250 2011 $50,000 70.3                                                2nd          440 Total Points                                                                     5,230                                                                                      Example/Steady Eddy Based on his 5 highest scoring results after September 1, 2010 Race                                                                                    Place       Points 2010 IM Kona                                                          32nd        150 2010 $25,000 IM                                                       7th         260 2011 $75,000 IM                                                       20th         20 2011 $25,000 IM                                                        7th        260 2011 $25,000 IM                                                        5th        300 2011 $25,000 IM                                                        3rd        390 Total Points                                                                                        1,120   Automatic Qualifiers – Kona Past Kona champions will receive an invitation/exemption to enter the pro division in Kona for a period of three years after his or her last championship. Past champions will not be required to qualify during this three-year period. Past champions entering as pros will be required to validate their entry by completing a full-distance Ironman race during the Qualifying Year. In keeping with the tradition started by Valerie Silk, past champions will continue to have a lifetime invitation to race in their appropriate age group category. Past champions making this election will not be required to qualify or validate their entry. Past champions must abide by all WTC, national and international federations rules regarding professional and age group status and switching between these categories. Automatic Qualifiers will be accepted into Kona in addition to the 80 available pro slots. If, for example, a returning champion is ranked in the top 30 women, the 31st ranked woman will qualify for Kona. Entry & Roll-Down The final KPR will be published as soon as possible after the last Race of the Qualifying Year (end of August) but not later than September 1st. Qualified athletes will have until September 3rd* to complete on-line registration for Kona. An on-line roll-down will be held for any unclaimed slots with entries rolling down to the next highest ranked athlete. Details of the roll-down procedure will be made available at a later date.  (* Tampa, Florida USA date) Wild Card Entries In 2011 and following transition years, WTC retains the right to award “Wild Card” pro entries into Kona. While Wild Card entries may be awarded at the sole discretion of WTC, these entries, if used, are intended to “fix” any holes in the new qualifying system. Wild Card entries are not intended to provide any athletes relief due to injury, illness or other external factor. 70.3 World Championship Qualifying Pro qualifying for the 2011 Ironman 70.3 World Championship will be based on a similar format with the primary difference being that full-distance Ironman races will not count in the pro rankings for this Championship. Details will be announced as soon as the 2011 Ironman 70.3 World Championship race date is announced.   II.  PRIZE MONEY POLICIES  All Ironman races will comply with these prize money standards (This does not include the two World Championship events which have separate prize standards) Championship Events Ironman     $100,000+ (Paying through 10th Place) 70.3           $75,000+ (Paying through 10th Place) Including Asia Pacific 70.3, U.S. 70.3, European 70.3 and regional Ironman championships to be announced Ironman Series Events Ironman Series events will offer total prize purses in one of two amounts: $25,000 (Paying through 5th Place) $75,000 (Paying through 8th Place) 70.3 Series Events Ironman 70.3 Series events will offer total prize purses in one of two amounts: $15,000  (Paying through 5th Place) $50,000  (Paying through 8th Place) Notes: The total amount of 2011 prize money will exceed the total amount of prize  money offered in 2010.  At minimum 2010 events will pay prize money as advertised.   The 8% Rule is no longer applicable. The prize money break-down for each prize purse amount and the 2011 event listing will be provided at a later date. III.  ADDITIONAL POLICY CHANGES   A one-day Pro License will be offered to allow local and regional pros to compete at events in areas of the world where there is only one Ironman race such as 70.3 Philippines. A one-day license will be more affordable for these athletes to participate in one event. The suggested one-day fee is $250 USD for 70.3 races and $500 USD for full Ironman races. One-day licenses may be “upgraded” to an annual license with the one-day fee credited toward the annual $750 fee. A Pro membership ’scholarship’ program will be available to waive or reduce membership fees for athletes from developing countries who can’t afford to pay the membership fee. Local Ironman race directors will recommend deserving athletes.

IRONMAN KONA QUALIFYING POINTS TABLE        IRONMAN RACES     70.3 RACES     Place  Kona  Championship $75,000 $25,000  70.3 WC  Championship $50,000 $15,000 1 2500 2000 1000 500 1500 1000 500 250 2 2200 1760 880 440 1350 880 440 220 3 1950 1560 780 390 1275 780 390 195 4 1725 1400 700 350 1200 700 350 175 5 1500 1200 600 300 1000 600 300 150 6 1400 1120 560 280 900 560 280 140 7 1300 1040 520 260 800 520 260 130 8 1200 960 480 240 750 480 240 120 9 1100 880 440 220 650 440 220 110 10 1000 800 400 200 600 400 200 100 11 900 720 360 180 540 360 180 90 12 800 640 320 160 475 320 160 80 13 700 560 280 140 420 280 140 70 14 600 480 240 120 360 240 120 60 15 500 400 200 100 300 200 100 50 16 450 100 50 25 75 50 25 15 17 400 100 50 25 75 50 25 15 18 350 100 50 25 75 50 25 15 19 300 100 50 25 75 50 25 15 20 250 100 50 25 75 50 25 15 21-30 200 50 25 10 40 25 10 5 31-40 150 50 25 10 40 25 10 5 41+ 100 50 25 10 40 25 10 5

THE RESPONSE

PROFESSIONAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING,
PRIZE MONEY & POLICIES

• Excellent that the WTC has circulated this for comment, and is willing to take on board the views of the athletes. This is a step forward and is to be commended.  

• Agree with the stated goals of the policies, but concerned that the system – as proposed in the document circulated – may not actually achieve the goals specified.

Specific comments on Kona Qualification process/ranking system:

• Agree that the field size at Kona needs to be reduced, and the strength/depth of field is commensurate with it being a World Championship. However clarification is needed about how the 50 and 30 field size was calculated, and how and why this ratio may alter over time. If it is based on the numbers of WTC pro members then the fact that many of these pro members might not even race an IM, and may be 70.3 athletes, needs to be taken into account.

• 1 September is too late for athletes to know whether or not they have a Kona slot. Athletes need to know months in advance whether they have qualified for Kona so as to dedicate the time in training and preparation that participating in a World Championship deserves. Contrary to the stated objective, this policy could actually decrease the quality of performances at Kona as athletes simply do not have the time to prepare effectively.  

• In addition, the timing will make it difficult for the athletes and their families, sponsors and supporters to book travel and accommodation. (age group athletes will still be able to book accommodation earlier, reducing availability for the pros). If the pro field is being reduced to 80 – and has been around 150 in previous years – will the overall field size remain the same, and hence the number of age group slots actually increase? This will further serve to exert pressure on limited accommodation and flights making it hard for the pros to book if they are only finding out in September whether they are racing.

• Crucially, the new structure reduces the flexibility we 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.  

• The key issue is that the proposed Ironman/Kona points system is -  somewhat perplexingly  – a) heavily weighted towards 70.3 athletes; and b) does not necessarily reward a good IM performances to the value which one might expect. This is contrary to the stated goals of the policy. The value of a good ironman performance should be higher (rather than being devalued under the proposed system) by increasing the points awarded for IM races. It is illogical that the value of winning a 70.3 Championship 70.3 race is the same as winning a $75,000 IM (eg both worth 1000pts) or even that winning the 70.3 World Championship is the same as a 14^th at Kona. The risk is that Kona will be populated by athletes that only do one IM race a year, with the remaining points accrued from 3 strong 70.3s. Kona qualification should be based principally on ironman performance and not 70.3 performance. And (as the policy already states) the converse should apply for Clearwater qualification – eg IM points do not count and so qualification will be based on 70.3 results.

• We urgently need clarification about which races are being included under each series, and the dates of these races. If the $100,000 IM races are not until June-August, it could reduce the likelihood that athletes will actually race them, given that they would rather earn points (and secure a high ranking) as early as possible. In addition, given that this new framework could force athletes to race earlier in the season it may deter them from taking a proper (essential) physical and mental break after Kona and increase burn out (or worse, the increased used of performance enhancing drugs).

• The system could also be skewed by the place of residence of the athlete. Athletes that live in Europe and North America will have more opportunity to race, and gain points, as there are many more races there, than Asia, Australia and South America (athletes from Asia, Australia and South America may also have to invest more to travel to races – and this may deter them from competing). Conversely, though, the race season starts later in Europe/North America and hence will mean that the opportunity to accrue points in these two continents is later than Australia and Asia and hence could put the European/American athlete at a disadvantage as they will not be able to start accruing points until May onwards.

In summary – the field size at Kona should be reduced in line with the numbers suggested and that all those who want to get to Kona should have to do at least one IM to secure their slot. However, given the above limitations the proposed ranking/points framework will need considerable refinement – and it needs to be carefully considered whether the proposed structure is better at achieving the stated objectives than, say, giving automatic qualification to those who win an IM, and then rolling down the additional slots to 2nd/3^rd placed finishers (perhaps provided they are within a % of the winners time). If the proposed ranking system is implemented the following improvements could be incorporated/taken into account: 

• At the very minimum, winners of a Championship ($100,000) ironman race should get immediate qualification for Kona – but ideally all those who win an IM should qualify.  At a minimum a top ten Kona finish should count for points accrual for the following year.

• It may be worthwhile establishing a points level beyond which athletes get automatic qualification. eg – if an athlete reaches a certain amount points by a selected date (eg 1 July) then they automatically qualify for Kona.

• The number of 70.3 races that count towards the total should be reduced (perhaps to 2). Kona should be the World Championship for deserving  Ironman athletes and Clearwater for 70.3 athletes.

• The ranking list should be made public and up to date so that athletes, the media, sponsors, the public etc can see the current ranking. This will enable athletes to take an educated guess about whether they are likely to have a Kona slot; galvanise competitiveness between closely ranked athletes, and also shape what races athletes may chose to do in order to be able to increase their number of points. In addition, it will be important that race start lists are published, so that athletes can determine what races they should enter in order to stand the best chance of accruing the most points (and money).

• It is regrettable that the WTC does not seem to value previous Kona Champions through the suggestion that automatic qualification be restricted to 3 years following the last Kona victory. It could be suggested that previous Champions are allowed automatic qualification but that these individuals are additional to the 50/30 field limits. These Champions are the history of the sport, and continue to attract media and sponsor interest. Furthermore many are still racing (ironmans and/or 70.3s) as a WTC pro member and so would not be able to qualify for/or race the World Championships as an age grouper.  

• Ideally, ironman prize money payment should be for top ten in all races, which will continue to ensure depth at all levels of the series – even if the prize purse for 5^th-10^th in the $25,000 IM races is only nominal (say $200), at least it will cover transport/accommodation.

• Further clarity is needed on the ‘Wild Card’, and the potential ‘holes’ that the WTC refer to.  If the wild card is not used for athletes with special circumstances (injury, illness, another external factor), what is it being used for? It is a special friends/Lance Armstrong clause? Can the Wild Card athlete take a slot away from the 30^th ranked athlete?

• What happens in the event of a ranking tie?

• Do athletes HAVE to do five races to qualify – or it is only the top five races that actually count?

• The examples given don’t match the points in the table. For example, under Fast Freddy it states that 1^st at the 2010 AP 70.3 Championships is worth 1500 but in the table it states that it is worth 1000; and also the Steady Eddy example states that 20^th at the 2011 $75,000 IM  gets 20points, but in the table it is 25 points.

Additional comments

• The cost of the one day license still seems incredibly expensive – and prohibitive for many athletes. In addition, clarification is needed regarding the criteria for awarding the license, and whether this then includes membership in the anti doping programme?

• It would be useful to see the published list of criteria for determining eligibility for the scholarship membership programme.

• Interested to know what steps the WTC will be taking to maximise media interest in the pro races, and thereby achieving the stated goal of increasing media exposure to benefit the pros, as well as their sponsors.

• Entry to Kona and Clearwater should be free for all pros (with no increase in cost for age groupers to cover shortfall)

• Will the prize purses increase annually? And what is the prize purse for Kona? Will the races have primes to provide additional income opportunities?

• Clarification and consistency is needed on prize money payment terms, conditions and timelines.

• The top ten placed athletes should all be subject to in-competition anti doping tests at Kona as well as selected random pro and age group athletes. As a minimum, the top 20 ranked male/female athletes from the previous year should be subject to out of competition testing – but if possible all Kona qualifiers should be included in the Registered Testing Pool.

• We need a discussion about how to reduce the amount of drafting. One solution would be to send the women off 5minutes behind the male pros and then 20 minutes (at least) in front of the age group athletes.

And they are very very different. I got lost looking for the changing rooms at the swimming pool as I couldn’t read the signs. But then again the “man” and “woman” silhouettes on the doors should give the game away. Anyway, after wandering around smelling that tantalising wiff of chlorine I found the water. Add that to the wee man guiding me around the bike course on his mountain bike during the race. He just couldn’t stop chatting and cheering me on. In Basque. I am sure that he was being inspirational and motivational but it did cross my mind that he could have been telling me that I looked a monkey and my granny could run faster. Who knows? That’s not fair to monkeys or grannies.

However, I digress….. 

I was in Zarautz this past weekend for the Trigrandprix double Olympic distance triathlon. The race has actually been going for a whopping 24 years and has quite the reputation in Spain for being one of the most challenging and most beautiful courses in triathlon. And it sure did live up to the reputation. The sea swim was looooong. I know that the organisers told us that it was only 2.5k. However, when it’s point to point along the coast and there are only 2 buoys, you begin to wonder where you are going to end up. In fact, Rinny and Jo who were (strangely) relying on me to navigate were at the sharp end of my screw-kick breast stroke as I floundered to spot the buoys in the swell. I eventually dragged myself like an elephant seal (although a lot slower) out of the water with the thought that I should really fall to my knees and kiss terra firma. We’d been out there for days. Jo, Rinny and I were at least 2.5mins down on Leanda and it was time to get to work. Zarautz has a cheeky bike course. A three lapper – 2 big loops with a couple of hills and then a 20km final lap which contains the affectionately named “wall”. Let’s just say that even with a 27 rear cassette I really could have done with another emergency granny gear. That’s not to say that I did not enjoy the course. I love hills and a relish that sort of bike ride so I was in my element. Rinny and I had pulled away from Jo on the first climb of the day and by the close of the first lap I had put a gap into Rinny. It was hard to tell where Leanda was as there were very few people taking timings on the course so I rode as hard as I could and in the end could only put a minute into Leanda’s stonking bike split. The transition area was a blast, hairs stand up on the back of your neck because the crowd is so animated and are making so much noise! As I headed out on the run a made a deal with myself. Run as I felt, I did not want to push to a pace and pressure myself. Having completed an Ironman only 3 weeks previously and doing virtually no running before the weekend my intention was to take things as they came. For me they came good. Laps one and two were super and I felt as if I was dancing along the pavements. Lap 3 was tougher, running with Rinny stalking you is not a great feeling. I tried not to dwell on this and to focus on catching Leanda. The run course is a three lap tour through town and allows you the chance to see the competition on a short out and back section on the sea front. That’s motivational when you know that you are gaining. Around 4.5k from the end I passed Leanda and tried not to slow down. The finishing 500m through the town was a blast with loads of people lining the streets. I’m not known for smiling during races but it was impossible not to grin big time on this one! 

Thanks to Jim and Jose and the race organisers at the weekend. It was an honour to race in such a wonderful place. It was also super to race against such a top class women’s field and to hang around with a great bunch of athletes. I hope that the Trigrandprix goes from strength to strength. There was even a Trigrandprix rose on my bed when I got back to my hotel room. I’m not reading too much into the fact that it was addressed to Mirinda……

As a professional athlete I feel the need to voice my opinion on the new policy changes that have recently been instigated by the company with the monopoly over long-distance triathlon – the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC). While the new policies are focused on professional athletes I think it’s important for me, as World Champion, to articulate my views and encourage everyone involved in triathlon to take an interest in how our sport is being run.

The WTC’s new polices and rules can be found at www.ironmanusa.com, but briefly are as follows: pros wishing to do Ironman or 70.3 races must register with the WTC’s Professional Membership Program. The cost is US$750. This provides free entry to all of the WTC’s Ironman and 70.3 races (aside from the Ironman and 70.3 World Champs where athletes still have to pay the entry fee), as well as membership to the new WTC anti-doping programme. In addition, significant changes have been made to prize money payment and the distribution of pro slots for the World Championships.

The new ruling states that athletes must now finish within 8% of the winner’s time to win money (not 10% of second place as before), with any ‘un-won’ prize money being redistributed between the prize-winning men and women. So, for example, say the third to 10th place women don’t win anything then the rest of the women’s money will go to the first two women. In addition, pros must finish within 5% of the winner’s time to qualify for the World Championships.

Communication is key

I should précis this with a caveat. While I have, of course, spoken at length to many of my peers, the views herein are mine and mine alone – I cannot speak for everyone, but I do hope that by opening up this wormy, WTC can, I will encourage more dialogue and discussion on this important subject.

The first key issue that needs to be addressed relates to the information and communication (or lack thereof) from the WTC regarding the new policies. The majority of pros have found out about recent rule changes from Facebook, Twitter, forums and athletes’ blogs. The changes are significant and will have a big impact on both existing and future pros, and the athletes have a right to know about the changes that will affect their career so that they can make informed and considered decisions. A quick search of ironman.com yields nothing. Instead it is to be found on ironmanusa.com. I know nothing of this site and who it is run by, and why global rules have been published on a site whose name suggests a US focus.

One means of facilitating better information exchange and dissemination would be to create a mechanism for athlete representation including, perhaps, a seat for a small number of athletes on the WTC committee. For example, each country has an athlete representative on the ITU committee. Perhaps we could have something similar, as well as a mechanism for consultation between athletes, such as a secure discussion site on ironman.com.

I applaud the fact that the WTC is actively addressing the issue of doping in triathlon and that our licence fees will, as I understand it, go towards supporting the new anti-doping programme. And yes, I do think that the pros should contribute towards some of the cost of these measures.

Key is that there is an improvement in procedures/protocol on the ground, with in- and out-of-competition testing (blood and urine) as well as coordination between the different testing bodies, to avoid duplication of resources. I haven’t raced a WTC event in 2010 so I can’t comment on changes or otherwise with in-competition testing. But I have had three urine and two blood tests this year – all commissioned by UK Anti Doping (through British Triathlon), not the WTC.

It’s vital that athletes within the WTC’s testing pool are actually tested out of competition, as well as all prize money-winning athletes (as a minimum) tested in competition. The pros should also receive adequate training and education about the anti-doping programme.

Prohibitive costs?

Regarding the licence itself, I know a number of athletes who have decided against racing WTC events due to its cost. For many, the costs are further compounded when an athlete is required to pay twice, for example for a pro licence in their own country (which often includes drug testing) as well as the WTC licence. In addition to the $750 fee, Active.com charge a further $35. Why is this additional fee added and where does that $35 go? The risk is that the initial licence outlay will discourage potential pros from racing WTC events, or even ITU athletes from trying their hand at the longer distance. This would serve to weaken pro fields, rather than strengthen them.

Furthermore, athletes will still have to pay entry to race the World Champs (US$500 for Kona). I would be interested to know whether pro golfers have to pay to play at the Masters, or tennis players at the Grand Slams. We have qualified as professionals. Perhaps entry should be free, especially given the amount of discretionary slots that are given out and the media, publicity and sponsor interest that the pros attract. (I do, of course, appreciate that age-groupers are charged entry and I would not want to see them bear any additional costs to offset the pro places.)

Another point about the licence relates to the term ‘professional’ athlete. Clearly each country has different definitions of what constitutes a pro, and hence who is granted a national pro licence. The WTC has said that it will respect the national federation’s decisions regarding who is and isn’t ‘a pro’. But if the aim is to achieve standardisation, shouldn’t we have one set of criteria by which an athlete is deemed to be a pro or not?

There are pros and cons to the new prize money rule and these will vary from athlete to athlete, particularly depending on what stage you’re at in your career. The most important thing is that the changes have a goal, and that that goal is carefully articulated. Yes we need standards. And yes we need cut-off times for payment of prize money and yes, the field at Kona and Clearwater should be full of the world’s best.

But I would like to know why the WTC settled on the 8% (and 5% for the World Champ slot) figure, and see the data analysis that was undertaken. Had these rules been in place in the past few years, what would have been the impact? According to research that I’ve seen, under the new ruling Lisbeth Kristensen would have missed out on her slot entirely, and not gone on to finish seventh in 2004, while Sandra Wallenhorst and Tereza Macel would not have been paid for their ninth and 10th places at Kona last year. Is this the strengthening and streamlining of the pro ranks that we want to see?

Becoming, and being, a pro athlete is an investment. Athletes must be prepared to invest time and money into personal development – and accept that they may not make money initially or even at all.

But these rule changes may see fewer athletes testing the waters as a professional. In addition, ‘slower’ pros might avoid WTC races where fast athletes are racing for fear that they won’t get paid: stifling competition not enhancing it. Some WTC Ironman events only have five or six pro women racing. Don’t we want to increase this number rather than limit it by restricting who can win prize money? Yes it may mean that sometimes ‘slower’ athletes get paid, but these athletes may invest this money in their own development and go on to be World Champs.

On the plus side, I think the recent changes will help to promote the growth of non-WTC races, such as REV3, Challenge, TriStar and TriGrandPrix series. Many of these are attracting large, high-quality fields. Not necessarily because of the sizeable first-place prize money, but because of the prize money that they pay those who come eighth, ninth, 10th and so on. And because of the excellent pre- and post-race athlete support.

I am all for change. Continuous improvement is crucial if triathlon is to become a majority sport, in terms of media and corporate interest. But we need to ensure that the rule changes are carefully thought through and communicated to the athletes, professionals and age-groupers alike. We are all in this together, and we all have a role to play in making sure we nurture existing and future athletes to ensure triathlon goes from strength to strength.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbBgMtKEwbw
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/other-sports-news/ironwoman-morrison-s-amazing-comeback-triathlon-catriona-morrison-makes-amazing-comeback-to-win-lanzarote-ironman-1.1029952
 
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/life/women/health-and-fitness/2010/05/25/scots-athlete-catriona-morrison-stuns-male-rivals-after-recording-fastest-triathlon-debut-86908-22283875/