A lttle rant about entry fees....

[rocknrollgirl]

So, there is a nice duathlon, off road at the end of this month, not too far from my house. It would be a great C race for me to do early in the season. It is not a big sanctioned race. More of a local thing, probably 100 people or so.

The entry fee is 70 bucks, plus 9 bucks for the one day tri-fed fee. Naturally I have USAT, not tri fed....

79 dollars for a small little race, no T shirt. Holy cow. And in most case the DH and I race together so time 2.

I starts to add up...ya know?

OK...rant over.....

[Offthegrid]

That is expensive for a du. The most expensive race I am doing is the Danskin tri at Sandy Hook. It comes with a technical tank, which I rarely wear because it's revealing for a woman of my size. But I like the race.

An Ironman is getting close to $500 to enter -- and that doesn't include hotel stays with mandatory minimum days and all the other travel costs.

[Bluetree]

I just paid an $85 entry fee for a USAT duathlon. I thought it was pricey, but the IS a significant race on the calendar (it's written up in the annual race-calenders for IT and Triathlete mags).

On the other hand, there was a new local sprint tri this month that I passed up because of price. $75 just seemed too high for a reverse-sprint with a 150m pool swim. Even as a season prep, it wasn't close enought to USAT race conditions to merit that price. I feel your pain.

[BikeMomma]

I know this may not help the frustration, but might perhaps explain. I work for the local City government and since I'm of course closely involved with the local cycling scene, I have the somewhat unique perspective of seeing an event happen from both sides of the line....from the fan/participant aspect and from the permits/insurance/ordinances, etc etc perspective.

Each year, a small group of dedicated cyclists here in Merced, CA put on a HUGE, very popular pro-am bike race, the Merco Credit Union Cycling Classic, which was renamed from the McLane Pacific Cycling Classic this year due to a change in sponsorship $$ requirements by USA Cycling, Inc. Merco CU put up the necessary sponsorship funds to keep the race on the National Racing Calendar (NRC) -- $15k each year for the next five years.

Anyway, because of all the operating costs of putting on the races (RR and Crit) plus other activities and expenses -- a bike rodeo, bouncehouses, food sales, new signs and banner costs because of the race name change, road closure permits and special insurances for the City and County, and insurance premium increases -- the operating costs of this race increase each year to staggering amounts. It's amazing how much money is involved in putting on races and how much sponsorship is crucial in not only putting up the money, but by putting up enough money in prizes, perks, etc. to keep the athletes coming back the next year and thereafter. Logic says that if race organizers don't get enough sponsorship money to cover operating costs, entry fees will go up accordingly. What helps our race is that a century ride is held in conjunction with the day of the criterium, and thus is used as a revenue generator to fund the road race and criterium. Although I'm not totally familiar with how a duathlon works, I doubt organizers of those events could do the same to raise funds.

Long explanation short, and with that in mind, perhaps the costs of putting on the duathlon have increased as well --- insurance premiums are stooopid expensive --- and so they have to pass those costs down to the participants. Especially if the events happen in two different jurisdictions (i.e. City and County, or different cities...each will have their separate fees and insurances).

All that said, yea -- I totally agree and share your frustration, from the participant level, that entry fees are expensive. Like I said, as I see it from both sides, I have a deeper understanding of both the organizers' and the jurisdictions' needs. But, alas, it's a monetary hit I'm willing to take in order to get out there and race. I'm sure you guys feel the same. Yea, we complain, but we pay it anyway.

Happy racing and good luck to ya!
~BikeMomma

[RoadRaven]

I know what you mean - but $79 and not even a tee?

Maybe the $25 I paid at the weekend to join in a team triathlon isn't too bad after all - it was $75 for the team, but we did get a tee-shirt each... (and this year they were purple - my FAVE colour! BONUS)

[Wahine]

Yup. I hear ya. IM will cost me about 1000 clams. Add to that my tri Northwest races and USAT, so I can get ranked, I'm probably looking at at least another $500.

Triathlon ain't cheap.

[limewave]

I share in your frustration. DH and I do a lot of the same events as well. And now is the time to start registering for all of our events.
Chicago Marathon: $220 (not including transportation & lodging)
X-Terra Blackhawk Tri: $110
Iceman Cometh: $130
Stark Raving Mad Adv. Race: $120
Tour of Cedar Creek: $75
Owasippee TT: $50
Pendalouon Trail Run: $50
Block 58 Tri: $150
. . . and there are more . . . We have a monthly budget for events.

I was really upset when DH and I spent $180 for our first Triathlon last year. We showed up race morning to find out we were dq'd because we were literally 30 seconds late to checking in our gear to the transition area. I could vent about this forever because it turned out we WEREN'T late according to their own instructions. And they never refunded us either. Grrrr. That organization is now being sued by a national triathlon association

Anyways, the point is, racing is expensive.

[Lise]

I agree. And I've found some local races that cost $35-45. Sprint tris at suburban YMCA or Park District. They aren't fancy. You do get a t-shirt. The Leaning Tower YMCA had a contest last year, and a HS senior had the winning t-shirt design. They had cheering squads from a local HS on the corners. OK, the kids kind of wandered out onto the course sometimes...but it was fun. Nothing glamourous, but neither did it break my bank. You never know. You might find some good "little" triathlons out there.

[btchance]

Wow - I never realized how lucky I am down here in Alabama. The most expensive race I'm doing this year is Chatanooga Olympic, which is USAT and a well run, nationaly known event - it's only $75. My duathlon, another USAT, in April is 45. Most of the sprints around here are 15 - $45, all with t-shirts and a few other goodies. I am definately lucky.

[Running Mommy]

Yeah BT- Go to California! The races out there are ridiculous! 90.00 for a sprint! 75.00 for a super sprint!!
Not that it's much better here in AZ... Actually come to think of it, it's about the same.... sigh....

[KSH]

You know... I would give up my T-shirt and water bottle... to get a cheaper entry fee.

I also would be OK at the shorter races, if they cut some of the food afterwards to save money.

I don't really NEED pizza at 10:30 AM after a race. Right?

This an expensive sport... and it's hard for someone on a limited budget to do it. I still marvel at the fact that I was even able to buy a bike 2 years ago when I was barely making enough to live.