Ironman Australia - the way forward
Following Tuesday’s announcement of World Triathlon Corporation reaching an agreement with Port Macquarie Hastings Council to host Ironman Australia in Port Macquarie until at least 2013 the World Triathlon Corporation has opened the vault on some of their plans for the future.
- The 2011 Ironman Australia field will be limited to 1,000 athletes. The field limit is designed to allow the best possible opportunity to limit any drafting issues on course.
- The 2011 Ironman 70.3 field will be limited to 500 athletes.
- In order to provide a bike course that limits any drafting issues, WTC is working with Port Macquarie Hastings Council to identify a two-lap bike course for the 2011 event.
- Ironman and Ironman 70.3 will have separate starting times and locations, up to four hours apart (times to be confirmed). Wave starts will apply for the Ironman 70.3 event.
- The Ironman swim start and transition will be located at the car park/parking lot on Short Street bringing the event closer to town.
- Race headquarters and expo will be located in the state-of-the art Glasshouse Arts, Conference and Entertainment Centre, offering athletes a first class race experience.
- The finish line will be located in the town green area, adjacent to the Rydges hotel. There will be two separate finish lines for Ironman and Ironman 70.3 competitors, but they will be located within the same precinct.
- The Kona qualification ceremony is to be held in the Glasshouse main theatre on Monday morning after the event.
- The allocation of forty Kona qualifying spots at both Australian events results in a total of eighty (80) qualifying spots being made available in Australia, between Ironman Australia on the East Coast and Ironman Western Australia on the West Coast. WTC also advised that the ratio of Kona qualifying spots for the 2011 event (40:1,000) is equivalent to the 2010 event (60:1,500).
World Triathlon Corporation has advised that details regarding the date of Ironman Australia 2011 will be released in the weeks following Ironman Australia 2010.
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Comments (11)
by peter, 07 April 2010Yes crazy idea ,you wanted 1800 last year ,you got 1500, so why not drop it to 1000 ,I thought IMG were idiots but not any more.!!!!
by Tony, 22 March 2010with 1522 entries this year why cap it to only 1000 next year what about the rest of them who do want to compete but miss the cut because of the validation process. This year is my second, what do I do next year if the spots fill by the time October and the Gold Coast Half Ironman comes around what then?? is it just to bad go to WA. Surely by the increase in the numbers each year you can see that this event needs to increase it entries.
by Zach, 20 March 2010Kona is THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS! its not meant to be easy to get there. and as a port mac local, the changes are absolutely spot-on perfect. obviously the people slamming these changes have no idea what they are talking about. thanks for this website's coverage of this news and all things triathlon but can we do something about the people (ed) who get on here and seem to criticise every blog or news feature posted? seriously
by Matt, 19 March 2010Looks like the only chance average joe triathlete has of making it to Kona, is to try and qualify in the US where there are six iromans offering around 67 Kona slots per race for age groupers, the only race outside the US to offer more slots is NZ which has 70, and Frankfurt 114.
by Mark M, 19 March 2010And you'll likely find that the most of the 1,000 entered in 2011 will have finished in the top 1,000 of the 2010 IMOZ. Therefore the ratio argument comparing 2010 to 2011 is not valid. After the 2011 event at Port Mac, let's compare the cutoff times for the Kona qualifying slots to the 2010 times. My prediction is they it will be substantially faster in 2011. And it won't be because it's an easier course.
by Mark , 19 March 2010Brad, the shortfall in numbers will be offset by the fact that with the 1,000 entry limit, entries will close and be paid by June/July or whenever they open them. Cash in the bank early for WTC!
by Brad, 19 March 2010Promote the sport, gain profile, increase numbers involved. So the strategy is to drop entry numbers. Genius idea!!!
by TW, 19 March 2010Whose making up the shortfall in entry revenue?
Use ratios however they want to explain the reduction in slots.. fact is, 20 less Aussies get a chance to get to the 'World' championships because WTC want to run another US IM (St George) and need to find the slots from someone without cutting US numbers in the lottery or other US races.
by grumpy swimmer, 18 March 20101000 field limit! come on get real
by Crap idea, 18 March 2010No you don't need to qualify anymore if you are an australian resident
by Steve, 18 March 2010Do you need to have completed a half ironman the previous year to qualify for Ironman Australia 2011?