5150 Bela Bela

[SwissVan]

"NON WTC STD". I take this means non TSA?

 

Well it is simple no race may take part unless it is TSA sanctioned so we dont really know (or this is how I understand it).

 

What I can tell you is that I am doing a race this weekend also Olympic Distance organised by Spectrum Sports (they do quite a few races).

 

It is very well organised -- it cost me R270 to enter. I did it last year as well. They normally ask around R600 for a 70.3. of which they also organise a few.

 

WTC = World Triathlon Corporation (or somethiong like...) the same Corporation that own Iron Man.

5150 is a WTC licensed event

Koff koff....

Mr Haremse prices sound good

 

 

True, but we are still a third world country with BEE in full swing so please dont assume for one minute things are the same as they used to be many years ago in terms of income. A lot of us are struggling.

 

At least your water and lights taxes doesn't double every year......

 

Agreed my water and lights are rrrridiculously low but then we pay for what we use and not subsidising the not so fortunate.

Struggling I hear you… but you probably have a house, garden, swimming pool, hounds n cats, double garage with 2 cars, maid, gardener / service…

Me… no house, no garden, no swimming pool, no double garage, no hounds, no cat… can’t afford them….

[8848]

I agree that costs are getting out of hand.

 

BUT I must say that all the Ironman, Ironman 70.3 and the 5150 event that I have done, have started on time,NEVER RAN OUT OF WATER/ juice / food, had nice event shirt, medal, great race closure, good marshaling, STARTED ON TIME, great finishline vibe and so on.

 

unfortunately, the same cannot be said for all other races.

 

XTerra was also excellent. so yes, the fee is high, but you get a lot more than you get at most "cheap" events.

 

still having said all of that, something in the middle would be great!

[B-Active Sports]

Suncoast / Durban Multisport Series entries are open guys!

 

Only R280 for the Olympic races

 

Includes:

1. Full road closure
   
2. loaded Goodie bag
   
3. Loads of water and drinks @ Water tables
   
4. One of the fastest race routes in SA.
   

Enter now... http://www.bactive.com/events.htm

[davem]

B Active gets the daily spot prize for well timed relevant opportunistic marketing.

 

Whew, am away for a few days and Garfield starts another s#@!fight.

 

I agree the Bela Bela 5150 is very pricey but they do organise a great event.

 

I almost fell off me couch when I got an SMS on Friday telling me early bird entries close in the next few days. Why would I register six months in advance for an Olympic distance event. To save a whole R100 nogal. They must have a new shipment of good stuff in PE.

 

Unfortunately as with last year, I feel that the event schedule is spread out in such a way to make it practically impossible to do as a one day event (from Joburg) which skyrockets the costs into thousands for accommodation, kennels for dogs etc.

 

On the whole, it looks almost like race organisers have abandoned finding sponsors and looking for the full race revenue from the athletes. Triathlon is a commercially run sport where events are owned by individuals or companies and everyone is paid for the work they do and the owner has to make a living from it.

 

Running by comparison, is a volunteer run sport where races are owned by clubs and staffed by volunteers. They are just as well organised. The difference is that it costs those that volunteer to organise the race a huge amount in time and lost income. They can continue to do so because the sport and clubs have a long tradition of volunteerism and community service.

 

Triathlon does not have any meaningful clubs and certainly no spirit of volunteerism. (The volunteers at IM and 70.3 are not generally athletes).

 

Everyone wants a slice of this nice juicy pie. As with every exciting new industry, some will do well in the short term but likely most will fall by the wayside and the quality and value will remain. Hopefully, the greed does not damage the sport in the long term.

Edited February 20, 2012 by davem

[Garfield2010]

Hey Dave

 

The idea is more to bring awareness and somehow put pressure on the organisers to somehow reduce the entry fees. Hopefully the pricing issue will become a discussion point among everyone as at present we are like a bunch of lemmings. I think your idea of sponsorships is brilliant.

 

I cannot think of many "mass participation" events that ask R300+ per hour of racing (or in your case even more as you are soooo quick!!)

 

It is killing the sport in my view and I will not take part in those events. I would much rather do my own little triathlon on a Sat morning in the cradle and then go and buy groceries with the R1,000 + that I have saved.

 

Oh and if you do the maths WRT interest you will only save around R50!

[davem]

I have now decided to race slower to get better value for money for my entry fee.

 

Perhaps, Garfield, we should organise a passive resistance campaign. Do the race in a big bunch then stop at every water station and drink and eat everything they have. We will only stop when the race fee is better value.

 

On a more serious note the Durban races at R280 for an Olympic seems fair. Nice one B Active.

 

On a slightly different tack. When I registered for the Joburg Tri a few weeks ago at Troisport, they wanted to charge R50 late entry fee. I complained because the online entry was down the two times I tried to enter and they did finally waive the fee. However, entry involved filling in my details on a single A4 sheet, signing an indemnity (which early entrants have to do anyway). I felt that this late entry fee was unnecessary and opportunistic. (I understand if it was on race day). I did not get a goodie bag, that should be enough incentive to enter early.

[Garfield2010]

And in any case I think the point is made by the votes.

 

If these votes are anything to go by then 40% of existing athletes is actually willing to change sport while the remaining 60% only takes part in some events and not all liek they used to........

 

Wonder what is going to be left of the Golden Goose by next year this time?

[davem]

Another thought, why dont we organise a triathlon to fund our own racing. We can make megabucks and not have to work and we can train all day.

 

We will make it R2.95 cheaper than Bela Bela, then everyone will do our race. I am sure we can also throw in a nice water bottle. I got a lot of reasonably clean ones in the cupboard.

[Garfield2010]

Ja Dave thats a brilliant idea.

 

We can open entries 18 months in advance and throw in a Verimark knife set to ensure we have the competative edge!

[davem]

Would you like to be the marshal (we can use an oval track so no-one gets lost) or man the water point. We will only have one box of water sachets, so it wont be so much work. At the finish, we can have scraps of paper and a pen so people can write down their own time. Save a fortune on those pesky time companies.

 

This sounds like a good business model.

[davem]

Hey we better take this off line or B Active is going to steal all our ideas.

[davem]

We will make it wetsuit compulsory so we dont need any life guards. If you drown wearing wetsuit, well sorry for you.

Edited February 20, 2012 by davem

[davem]

We could actually cancel the event a week before and just keep everyones money. What a brilliant idea, surprised no-one's ever tried that before.

[Garfield2010]

Bwahahaha! Die waterpunt gaan `n tuinslang wees en `n kraan.

 

We can even sell hotdogs at the halfway turn on the cycle-leg.

 

Special of the day will be a cheese griller with Gu-Roctane-Sauce

[Garfield2010]

We will need an area with lots of trees for transition.

[Garfield2010]

We could actually cancel the event a week before and just keep everyones money. What a brilliant idea, surprised no-one's ever tried that before.

 

Wrong, Challenge Cape Town did that!!