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Absolutely no clue what’s happening here

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Charles Adamo, PTO Chairman said: “The PTO and its professionals appreciate that in this current environment people are rightfully focused on the immediate health and economic concerns that the COVID-19 situation has raised. This is not a time to compete, but to band together to support one another. The fear and anxiety surrounding COVID-19 is real and understandable, and of course, we do not purport to have many answers. Like other self-employed people in the economy, professional triathletes have found themselves unemployed and dealing with financial uncertainty. As previously announced, the PTO was able to provide some assistance in these circumstances by paying out $2,500,000 to 200 professional triathletes. In response to the PTO’s action in helping athletes, the professionals wanted to find a way to use their talents and expertise to help others. To add a triathlon spin to an old saying, ‘When life gives you aid, make an aid station.’ ”

Tim O’Donnell, Co-President of the PTO said: “Sport has a unique power to unite and inspire people, as professionals we have traditionally done this through our racing. However, with the season on hold, we have realised that we can do more. Through the PTO Hub we have come together to volunteer our expertise and experience in an effort to unite and inspire in a new and unique way. The athletes are grateful for the PTO’s support and can’t wait to pay in forward by supporting the triathlon community with the PTO Hub.”

Two-time Olympic gold medal winner and PTO Board Member Alistair Brownlee, said: “Exercise is a vital element of both physical and mental health, and it is especially important at this time. We hope that the PTO Hub will encourage and inspire people to be active in a responsible way.”

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Athletes from around the globe, like Jan Frodeno, Alistair Brownlee, Lionel Sanders, Lucy Charles-Barclay, Daniela Ryf, Sebastian Kienle, Sarah Crowley, Anne Haug, Tim O’Donnell, Holly Lawrence and all of their PTO colleagues, will be joined by well-known multisport media pundits Bob Babbitt, Till Shenck, Stef Hanson, Greg Bennett and others, and the occasional celebrity contributor, and will look to provide the triathlon community with a home to support one another.

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“Over recent months, the world has been turned upside down and I think we are all adjusting to a new normal,” says Eric Min, Zwift CEO and Co-Founder. “We’re in a unique position to bring together a global community and unite behind one cause, raising money for those who are helping to keep us safe. MSF is responding to the COVID-19 emergency in multiple ways – caring for patients, offering health education and mental health support, and providing training for vital infection control measures in health facilities around the world. I invite our global community to join us in supporting these lifesaving efforts. Of course, let’s have some fun along the way!”

Zwift’s Tour for All will be a five-stage event running from May 4th to 30th. Stages will be held across all time zones globally, and in keeping with the name, there will be events for all interests.

Zwifters will be challenged to complete all five stages but can do so in a variety of ways. There will be group rides and runs with both long and short distance formats. Those with a competitive streak will be able to take part in races during each stage, and there will also be women-only events as well.

For more information on Zwift’s Tour for All head to:

Ride – zwift.com/tfaride

Run – zwift.com/tfarun 

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For more information on Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) head to www.msf.org

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It will be the first time in over a year the Brownlees have been available for an open Q&A, giving fans the rare chance to quiz the duo.

Prior to lockdown the brothers were almost stranded in New Mexico whilst altitude training. Alistair Brownlee has also confirmed he has put his Ironman dreams are on hold whilst he continues to focus on the Tokyo Olympics which has been postponed until next year.

The Wiggle Lunchtime Live sessions will take place every Friday at 12pm and see athletes and well-known sports enthusiasts join with Wiggle team to answer the publics questions.

Future guests include Olympic triathlete and double World Champion, Helen Jenkins and multiple Ironman winner, Joe Skipper.

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The public can watch and take part in the Wiggle Lunchtime Live sessions via Wiggle’s Facebook page at 12pm every Friday.

We are helping the endurance sport industry plan for an uncertain future and would like to find out a little about how Covid-19 has affected your training and your race plans. The survey is about you and your experiences as an endurance sport athlete and consumer. All responses will be anonymised and it should only take you around 5 minutes to complete.

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Please find the link here:
https://www.research.net/r/endurance_sport_motivations_survey_Apr_2020jk

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Thank you very much in advance for any input that you can give and if you can, please share the link to other triathletes in your social channels.

British Triathlon is encouraging people to track their progress in the challenge through the time they’re active. The bespoke chart is broken down into segments, with participants colouring in a segment for each five minutes of activity they complete and creating a wave of colour across the chart.

The Big Colour Challenge will support the 2.6 Challenge, which aims to raise vital funds for British charities that are finding themselves in a funding shortfall due the COVID-19 crisis. Participants can either donate to the overall total or fundraise for a charity of their choice.

The first weeks’ worth of activity in The Big Colour Challenge will be tailored around the 2.6 challenge which will include completing a 26 min turbo time trial, finish 26 shuttle runs in your garden, and complete a homemade obstacle course.

Andy Salmon, British Triathlon Chief Executive, said: “We are very aware that the world has changed for everyone right now, and not having the release valve of organised sport during this difficult time has affected triathletes of all levels.

“We’re launching the Big Colour Challenge to help give structure to regular exercisers, but also small steps to help families and people who are, or want to be, casually active at home and within their once-a-day period of outdoor exercise.

“The Big Colour Challenge is accessible to everyone, and I hope as many people as possible sign up to not only use triathlon to improve their physical and mental wellbeing, but to also raise vital funds for this country’s charities.”

t www.thebigcolourchallenge.co.uk

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:  Gemma Field on 07587 038061 or [email protected]

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Please visit http://www.britishtriathlon.org/media for British athlete profiles, free images* and general information about triathlon. *Please refer to image use restrictions in the gallery section of the site (http://www.britishtriathlonmedia.org/media/licence)

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The three-day triathlon festival will attract athletes from around the world to compete at the “World Center of Racing ®” and will feature an array of different events, including age-grouper sprint and middle-distance events, junior challenges, a Pro-Am relay and will culminate with a PTO Middle Distance World Championship Race with a $1,000,000 prize purse for the world’s top professional triathletes.

William Christy, CEO of Challenge North America said: “In often a divided world, triathlon has been a unifying force for athletes across the globe. We come together to compete as a family of global athletes. The global pandemic has displaced athletes and cancelled races and now more than ever, our world needs to unite. Our festival allows us to cheer and compete for a shared cause.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our daily lives and routines in dramatic ways. As we adjust and adapt to these changing circumstances, we also know that our entire multisport community is eagerly awaiting the day we can safely and responsibly race again,” said Rocky Harris, USA Triathlon CEO. “USA Triathlon is proud to supportChallenge North America and the PTO by sanctioning a world-class event in December that will showcase the camaraderie of our sport.”

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Charles Adamo, PTO Chairman, stated “The PTO is pleased to be able to work with the USA Triathlon and Challenge Daytona to support the triathlon community to provide race opportunities for athletes. Since many professional events have been cancelled and some races rescheduled without a professional prize purse, the PTO is committing $1,000,000 of prize money for the PTO Middle Distance World Championship.”

In addition, the PTO Championships on December 6th, the Challenge Daytona Festival weekend will include a wide array of events catering to athletes of all ages and abilities. The event weekend is anticipated to host the following events:

PTO Middle Distance World Championships
Sprint and Middle-Distance Triathlons
Junior Challenge kids’ race
Pro Am Relay Race
5K/10K run/walk events
Relay categories
Duathlon and Aquabike events

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The top six male and female finishers in each Middle-Distance Triathlon age group will qualify for entry in THE CHAMPIONSHIP, to be held in May 2021 at the x-bionic sphere in Samorin, Slovakia.

It’s a highly emotive subject and one this column chose to duck during the early throes of the Covid-19 outbreak as tri’s prognosis for 2020 blurred, and hasn’t enjoyed much clarity since. But what now sticks firmly in the spokes is the curious, surely misguided, assertion from Ironman chief executive Andrew Messick in a New York Times article that most athletes he heard from “were not interested in getting money back” from postponed races, which informed Ironman’s decision to not offer refunds.

Perhaps Messick needs to broaden his polling beyond Ironman investors, because this line is likely to raise hackles as much as it raises eyebrows. It’s not that triathletes do not want their money back for cancelled events – in a Twitter poll by Brick Session podcaster Mark Livesey over two-thirds would prefer a refund to deferring – but that the majority understand why it’s not always economically viable.

What they do want, however, which should be within the gift of any race organiser, is to be treated in a fair and reasonable manner, with communication lines kept open and honest responses from those in charge. What they’re less keen on is some kind of post-truth flannel that pretends no-refund rationale is customer preference.

Right-minded triathletes understand that event organisers cannot issue full refunds without the risk of jeopardising the future of the business. Often smaller race organisers, possibly because they can be more personable in their communication, receive more grace from spurned entrants because of the perception of tighter cash flows and aborted credit lines. But make no mistake, Ironman is not immune to the financial pressures either.

If it paid out millions in refunds instead of an increasing list of deferred races, it would hit major liquidity problem. Sources tell me staff have been reduced to working four days a week with a concomitant 20% reduction in salary, with senior management taking bigger percentage cuts as the company prioritises safe working conditions and jobs. It’s not alone among firms in this and few customers would quibble if this was open testament. We are, after all, in unprecedented times. However, there are a couple of caveats.

Firstly, cancellation insurance can be sought for a pandemic, albeit at great expense. For example, it’s understood The All England Lawn Tennis Association, which organises Wimbledon, will recoup almost half its losses from cancelling the 2020 event thanks to the $2 million pandemic insurance policy it has taken out every year for the past 17 years. The premium might seem high, but is dwarfed by the $141million pay-out according to Forbes (Report: Wimbledon’s Organizers Set For A $141 Million Payout After Taking Out Pandemic Insurance). Either this type of foresight seems almost unique among event companies or privately run businesses are keeping details withheld because a chunky pay-out changes perspectives on how customers and employees are treated. As for Ironman, it doesn’t have a valid policy, or if it does, it’s keeping schtum. We have asked.

The second is the moral stance of the company to shoulder more of the burden, by offering the option of a partial refund, for example. The current offer of a race deferral does still see Ironman take a hit (as it eats up future spots it could have sold, although potentially with lower future demand). But many triathletes, who have already paid for travel and accommodation and cannot make the rescheduled dates, feel it is they who pay the heaviest price.

A more cynical view still is that Ironman is only protecting its interests. Its Initial Public Offering flunked and it’s a debt-laden business agreed to be sold as a cash purchase to Advance, a family-owned group, but with co-investment from Orkila Capital, a private equity company. It needs to make the balance sheet look good for the sale to go through, and customer satisfaction and long-term reputation don’t factor highly here.

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The overarching point is that the financial health of Ironman, or any other events company, is really only known to its core stakeholders, and it’s down to trust that they’re attempting to do the best for their customers, while planning for a grisly trading environment. Armed with this knowledge, triathletes will continue to pay their money and make their choice, but even if the financial impact of cancellations can be stomached by the individual, it’s a sucker punch to claim – as Messick has – that it’s their preference.

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