Yesterday I went to cheer on 15 to 20 cycling and triathlon friends at the Lake Davidson SPRINT Triathlon sponsored by the Jimmy Johnson Foundation. Notice I capitalized SPRINT ? Perhaps I should have capitalized Jimmy Johnson instead or perhaps USAT for allowing what occurred.
The event was a huge success with many amateur competitors and by far more than last years event. I figured the crowd would be big being that a big name Nascar driver would be there. What I didn’t expect was the number of so called Pro card holding triathletes to be there competing. Competing for what? A sprint race title? Money…..which there wasn’t any, or perhaps to get there name in front of their Nascar driver buddy?
Now don’t take this wrong, I had a blast watching the pro gals and girls race and do the course at full throttle. What I didn’t like is the fact that amateurs lost out on what could have been a super cool experience for their hard efforts.
For example, there was a very young and talented 14yr old racing from Community School of Davidson. This kid finished 6th overall and was flying. Guess what finished in front of him……..4 pros and one guy who won the event last year. Now, how special might it have been if a 14yr old would have been on the podium in 2nd or 3rd overall position? Do you think that would have attracted the attention of Jimmy Johnson?
The situation spirals down from there because the Pros take overall positions in both male and female categories. This means that a few other amateurs that train and work hard to do their best, get bumped off the podium back into age group categories.
So does the sport of amateur triathlons in local communities thrive off pro triathletes? Heck NO. The amateur competitors are buying products from your local bike shops, and buying training packages from local coaches, and fitness centers. The pros get their equipment for free in most cases. I feel pros competing in local sprints does nothing but hurt the moral of our amateur athletes.
I personally want the sport of Triathlon to continue to grow and attract more competitors. The only true way to do this is by introducing more kids, juniors, and local amateur competitors into the sport. Once people are there, at least allow them a chance at the experience of winning. Pros should be volunteering at the events, cheering people on, and sharing their helpful tips.
Why don’t these Pros just nullify themselves from the awards? Good Question……Ego, Pride, recognition, who knows.
What does the USA Triathlon Org think about this? Or do they even care? If they want the sport to continue to grow, perhaps USAT should add a few new rules.
The only TRUE PRO Triathlete I know of from this area wasn’t at this event. Had he not been out of town, he would have been there cheering people on. Well most of the people anyway.
Many of my friends ask me why I didn’t do the lake davidson triathlon sprint race. In all honesty I wanted to. My last 2 weekends consisted of tri events including my first international at Langley Pond. I have bigger goals in my near future and that is to finish Beach to Battleship 70.3 Half. My training provided by a PRO Triathlete wouldn’t allow 3 events back to back. So I chose to stick to the plan and cheer on my friends and I had a great time doing so.