Goodbye Ironman

[livewire]

http://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/news/167195975.html
http://www.challenge-family.com/

Sounds like a fantastic event!

[civilengineer]

[Symbonite]

I think this is one terrible Idea.

Ironman....everyone knows Ironman. No one knows...what is it called again....challenged families....family challenged? Oh Challeng Family.

Looks big in europe..but not here....

Silly Mistake for sure....I hope council will do the easiest survey ever in promotion...go to 10 people and ask them...have you heard of the challenge family triathlon..or Ironman Triathlon....

[livewire]

The point is - Ironman is done....got any better ideas for bringing tourists to Penticton the last week of August? At least it's something that will hopefully grow and replace what we are losing. But hey, if you've got any big events up your sleeve, by all means bring it!

[techrtr]

There's money to be made. It will probably completely change the event, and I wouldn't be surprised if the entrance fees skyrocket.

[JayPeeWhy]

No one knows...what is it called again....challenged families....family challenged? Oh Challeng Family. Looks big in europe..but not here....

It depends on how you define big. It could be considered 'not big' here because it is not here. Hence, not big here.

Ironman is different to the usual triathlon. It requires a bit more dedication and as such the athletes, myself included, are a bit more dedicated. A more dedicated athlete will know more about there sport and a dedicated triathlete will be well aware of Challenge.

Challenge Roth is considered one of the fastest, best attended by professionals and best overall triathlons on the planet. probably second only to Kona. That said, Ironman Canada (IMC) was also considered in high regard, but for it's tradition rather than who it was run by.

So, it may not be as well known as Ironman but it is actually an full iron distance race, on exactly the same course being run by a company (Challenge) that, in triathlon circles, has a lot more credibilty than WTC (the owner of the actual Ironman trademark)

It is sad to see a bit of history disappear but under no circumstances should you believe that Penticton City have made an error. I believe Challenge will provide a bigger and better festival than Ironman, and have a greater benefit to the community.

Right, I am off to hydrate .... I have an Ironman to race on Sunday

[bottleman]

The point is - Ironman is done....got any better ideas for bringing tourists to Penticton the last week of August? At least it's something that will hopefully grow and replace what we are losing. But hey, if you've got any big events up your sleeve, by all means bring it!

But the ironman wasn't done, it was scheduled for Penticton in 2013 according the the news reports, Penticton pushed it out for this new event. If there was no Challenge Penticton 2013 there wouldn't be a need for better ideas for bringing in tourists... because the Ironman would still be there.

I guess the real test will be monday when/if athletes sign up, Ironman spots always sell out within hours of going on sale. I could see many athletes on the fence and waiting for Ironman canada to announce a new location for 2013.

[livewire]

Bottleman, according to my sources, this was actually the last year of Ironmans commitment here and when they came to the city requesting double of what they have been giving them it became not feasable. Correct me if I'm wrong - anyone in the know - but by all accounts it appears that Penticton was pushed out - not the other way around. And the last I heard as of yesterday, they do not have a registration booth slated for Sunday.

Jaymz, thanks for the input, sounding more positive as we go - and good luck on Sunday!!

[JayPeeWhy]

Ironman spots always sell out within hours of going on sale.

Not strictly true. In many place Ironman does sell out and previously so has Canada but the last few years has seen registering being done well after the event (well, days rather than weeks). But, to all intents and purposes it does sell out quickly.

[JayPeeWhy]

Thanks, looking forward to it

Again, some of this is pretty close to the point. But there is a lot of politics involved that make it bigger than the points you mentioned. Ironman as a brand is owned by WTC. WTC never had an agreement with Penticton as far as I know. Penticton gave the licence to the guy who owns the Vees (Graham Fraser I think) he has held the licence for ages and had an agreement himself with WTC. He recently 'gave' control of that race back to WTC. That does not mean that by default WTC got the licence to run the race in Penticton. Hence, IMC as a brand might move elsewhere .... my money is on Whistler.

WTC's reputation amongst triathletes is about as low as it can go. A new head came on board a while ago and was trying to clean things up. In the meantime Challenge has a foot in the door, and also another company called Rev3. Both have had some great reviews from athletes and the general feeling is that they are athlete first, money second .... which ironically, is a great way to ensure you get a lot of money form athletes!

So, yes, it's a big brand. But you wouldn't want McDonalds catering your wedding would you?

I think I was one of the first to break the Challenge news locally yesterday on Facebook. A guy on uber triathlete forum 'Slowtwitch' found a domain registration for Challenge Penticton allotted to City of Penticton. I looked up the registree and they were the IT Manager for the City. Then another guy tried the Challenge-Penticton.com domain. Nothing there. So he tried adding a backslash and some common adlibs to the name /admin /home etc. Eventually he got the placeholder for the press release that was due to be sent today and copied it onto the forum.

They should have accounted for the anal and persistent nature of us triathletes!

Bottleman, according to my sources, this was actually the last year of Ironmans commitment here and when they came to the city requesting double of what they have been giving them it became not feasable. Correct me if I'm wrong - anyone in the know - but by all accounts it appears that Penticton was pushed out - not the other way around. And the last I heard as of yesterday, they do not have a registration booth slated for Sunday.

Jaymz, thanks for the input, sounding more positive as we go - and good luck on Sunday!!

[Bretbaby]

I guess the real test will be monday when/if athletes sign up, Ironman spots always sell out within hours of going on sale. I could see many athletes on the fence and waiting for Ironman canada to announce a new location for 2013.

There is a new location, it's in Quebec and they had an Ironman event there already this year!

http://www.examiner.com/article/quebec- ... nman-event

[JayPeeWhy]

There is a new location, it's in Quebec and they had an Ironman event there already this year!

http://www.examiner.com/article/quebec- ... nman-event

\

That was always an addition, not a replacement.

[JayPeeWhy]

Seconds out, 'Round Two' ..... pass the popcorn

http://www.slowtwitch.com/News/WTC_Not_ ... _3013.html

[fluffy]

So this might not necessarily be the end of an era so to speak, but possibly more like changing sponsors? The raise will remain the same with the same athletes, but with new management?

[zululoca]

As a tourism operator who has met many triathletes over the years, I can tell you this is a positive move. It is the beginning of an era. When the race began, it was operated by locals and had a local feel. Over the years, the corporate bully started rearing it's head more and more. Time and time again, we have been told that Penticton is the best race. Believe me, it's not the corporation that makes it that way. It's the volunteers and the course that people come for. It is nice that we are given the opportunity to start again. We have been missing out on triathletes that no longer want to race in the corporate race. Bring it on, we are ready Challenge Family.