And yes to a forum! I love talking tri but slowtwitch OMG no. One of the most toxic places on the internet (that may be a slight exaggeration but maybe not)
I mean it's sort of obvious based on one year's example that having the women's pro race separate from the men's pros and high-speed age-groupers is a REALLY GOOD THING. If the conclusion is that Kona can't handle two days, then it seems a reasonable solution is to alternate World Championships between Kona and somewhere else - in "Even" years men are in Kona and women in, say, Taupo; in "odd" years women are in Kona and men are in, say, Lake Placid.
I'm of at least two minds on this question. I really really enjoyed the two day format. Giving the women and men separate days made for a great dynamic. Preserving that would be a priority from my point of view. Two, Kona is still Kona to me. As an age grouper with no real shot at ever qualifying, if I ever did get "there" I would want there to be Kona. I understand the challenges to the Island and think we should be respectful to the residents of the island. So where does that leave us? Not really sure. I do hope that people who are paid to think about these things are doing so deeply. I think there is opportunity there to expand and grow the sport, and separate races is a key to that.
Ok, so I have thought about this a bit. The idea of separate women’s and men’s races may be an elegant solution. Especially if it rotates back and forth between Kona and somewhere else - one year the women get Kona and the next year the men do. Preserves the race in Kona, cements the two-day format which is rad, and gives all the “Kona does not suit me so change it to something that does” people a chance as well. While I’d say at first I was a staunch Kona diehard, I like this.
And yes to a forum! I love talking tri but slowtwitch OMG no. One of the most toxic places on the internet (that may be a slight exaggeration but maybe not)
I mean it's sort of obvious based on one year's example that having the women's pro race separate from the men's pros and high-speed age-groupers is a REALLY GOOD THING. If the conclusion is that Kona can't handle two days, then it seems a reasonable solution is to alternate World Championships between Kona and somewhere else - in "Even" years men are in Kona and women in, say, Taupo; in "odd" years women are in Kona and men are in, say, Lake Placid.
I'm of at least two minds on this question. I really really enjoyed the two day format. Giving the women and men separate days made for a great dynamic. Preserving that would be a priority from my point of view. Two, Kona is still Kona to me. As an age grouper with no real shot at ever qualifying, if I ever did get "there" I would want there to be Kona. I understand the challenges to the Island and think we should be respectful to the residents of the island. So where does that leave us? Not really sure. I do hope that people who are paid to think about these things are doing so deeply. I think there is opportunity there to expand and grow the sport, and separate races is a key to that.
Ok, so I have thought about this a bit. The idea of separate women’s and men’s races may be an elegant solution. Especially if it rotates back and forth between Kona and somewhere else - one year the women get Kona and the next year the men do. Preserves the race in Kona, cements the two-day format which is rad, and gives all the “Kona does not suit me so change it to something that does” people a chance as well. While I’d say at first I was a staunch Kona diehard, I like this.