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.

[Running Mommy]

Triathlon aint cheap, but liability insurance isn't either... And I don't care how many waivers they have, people will STILL try to get one over if say they hit a button in the road and go down. It's sad that we live in such a litigious society, but we do. So the race organizers must protect themselves.

Now as for IM (and I'm only speaking of the m-dot branded events) yes they are VERY pricey! But I do think that I get alot out of them. I mean they give you a post race video the NEXT MORNING that recaps the race. That cost's something to produce. And they have the best stocked aid stations. They really do put on a top class event. Do I think they still make a boatload of money?? SURE! They are a for profit business afterall. But at least I feel like I get something out of it.
But 100.00 for a sprint. Well I have to think long and hard to justify that.

[Bluetree]

The Los Angeles Triathlon has a $165 sprint fee ($185 for O/D), but they offer an early registration discount of $115. In that case, I wasn't too overwhelmed because, quite frankly, shutting down the city from Santa Monica to downtown Los Angeles is no small feat. Plus since it isn't a loop, so T1 gear has to be transported and distributed to the finish line expeditiously.

I just prefer to enter races that offer some kind of club discount (no matter how small) as a little token appreciation for poor grunt folks like me who have to plan for a whole season.

[Wahine]

Triathlon aint cheap, but liability insurance isn't either... And I don't care how many waivers they have, people will STILL try to get one over if say they hit a button in the road and go down. It's sad that we live in such a litigious society, but we do. So the race organizers must protect themselves.

Now as for IM (and I'm only speaking of the m-dot branded events) yes they are VERY pricey! But I do think that I get alot out of them. I mean they give you a post race video the NEXT MORNING that recaps the race. That cost's something to produce. And they have the best stocked aid stations. They really do put on a top class event. Do I think they still make a boatload of money?? SURE! They are a for profit business afterall. But at least I feel like I get something out of it.
But 100.00 for a sprint. Well I have to think long and hard to justify that.

Agreed 100%. IM races are worth the nearly $500 entry fee. Sorry if I came across as negative. It is a lot of money but you definitely get good value out of it.

[Running Mommy]

No Wahine, you weren't negative. It's true, triathlon and specifically IM's are very pricey. It kind of makes me sad to think that some people may literally be priced out of the sport. Actually it doesn't "kind of makes me sad" it DOES make me sad!
Back when we lived in nor cal I had Spencer in private swim lessons at the Y. His instructor was a student at the local junior college and she REALLY wanted to get into triathlon. She was struggling on her own and didn't have a bike. I gave her my Giant road bike as I had just bought a new one. The bike was in near new condition and my husband wanted me to sell it. But I just couldn't take money for it when I knew there was someone out there that would really appreciate it. She was soooo happy when I handed it over to her. I don't know if she ever got into tri's, but I hope she did.
I really don't know why I just shared that story?? But I guess it's my way of saying we should pay it forward so others can enjoyt the sport as much as we do.

[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.