Sport Today

Loser Les was re-elected 55-5.  Mark Sisson was also re-elected.  My page will
be blackened for a week in protest.
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Marty Miller

Proprietor of The Triathlete's Web
http://w3.one.net/~triweb

Will Sisson be posting his future ranting and raving in Spanish now?
Andrew Peabody
Miami Beach

Les's election is just one more reason for me to no longer consider going
pro. (Being 45 and slow are two more, but who's counting?)

This is bad news.  You know, we had that long thread on
aerodynamics/weight/tube length etc. etc. and now....what is any of it
going to matter if the "triathlon" the world is going to see is pack/draft
racing with a 10K?  I wonder how all the aero innovators feel about this.
Aero bars in Sydney?? Who REALLY is going to need them anymore? Steep
angle frames in pack riding?   I've loved the sport in part because it was
just what "you" could do...if you swam or rode or ran faster than the next
person, you" won".  Now....sheesh.
Bemoaning the politics of the sport,
Mark

LO.

I remember an article in a Zuerich newspaper ("Neue Zuericher" ?)
which was published immediately before Powerman Zofingen (12 May 96).
I don't have this article in front of me, but from memory it said
that if the ITU does not change direction in August 1996, a
"World Multisport Corporation" would be formed.

According to this article, the World Triathlon Corporation would
represent longer-distance, drafting-illegal triathlons within this
new organisation and Powerman would represent longer-distance,
drafting-illegal duathlons. With this in mind, an "International
Duathlon Union" had been registered already (in Switzerland).

In order to counter the move, the ITU offered Powerman Zofingen
the title "ITU Long-Distance World Duathlon Championship" but the
Powerman organisers declined.

Once again, this is the way I remember it and it might be inaccurate
in details. Nevertheless, it would be very interesting to know what
happened to these plans.

Cheers,
Joe Diederich
Brisbane, Australia

Hey guys its time to get over this thing.  The majority (by a Big margin
voted for Macdonald) so I guess thats what the majority of the
triathletes in the world wanted.  Maybe the Americans didn,t but thats
the way it works.  And for age-groupers who cares, nothing will change
for us.
Keith Constable.

TriDork

p.s  Drafting, ITU and you make me wanna blow chunks!!

I don't agree with Keith that we should "just get over it" and accept
drafting, but TriDork, don't just drop the nuclear bomb on the guy. Maybe
he is new around here and hasn't yet been converted to the cause.
Certainly any reasonable person seeing that vote count would think we are
a bunch of raging ***nuts who are out of touch with the rest of the
sport. I certainly doubted my conviction that most everyone hated drafting
except Les and his cronies. But even if we are the minority, it is
important that we keep trying to explain to any and all that triathlon is
not about drafting on the bike, that it will ruin the sport, and that our
golden opportunity in the Olympics should not be wasted on one of these
ITU sham races. But let's explain it to people, not bomb them.
Brian Sullivan

Hey, Keith,
  Just because Less won by a big margin doesn't mean that the majority of
triathletes support him and the drafting resolution. The election was one
vote per *country*. I'd like to see the breakdown of who voted. Many of
these member nations have never hosted a triathlon, have no triathletes,
and may not even know what a triathlon is, except for what they have been
told (by Less). They are just riding the Olympic cash cow. Also, how many
of these voting delegates were representing their members wishes. Once the
big money of the Olympics (for the men in suits, not the athletes) gets
mixed into a sport, the politics takes over. You scratch my back, etc.
  As for the age groupers not being affected, do you really think drafting
will be enforced for age groupers when it is part of the race for the
pros? How will juniors develop skills to become pro when a major race
strategy is "illegal" for them? What about all of the aero advances of the
past few years, and the manufacturers behind them? Will age groupers still
use aero equipment while the elites revert back to standard road bikes?
Will aerobars and disc wheels be allowed in pro races? Will triathlon
develop into a team sport, with domestiques to pull the sub-30 minute 10K
runner through the bike portion? There is a lot more to this than
abandoning a rule that was a little difficult to enforce. The entire sport
will change. Enter the age of "10K in a swimsuit".
  So, you see, we are not just a few whining Yankees who didn't get our
way. We are upset that the sport we love is being changed into something
totally different for the sake of a few advertising dollars. The Olympics
did not demand a change. They accepted triathlon as it was. Less decided
that drafting is easier to televise (only need one camera), and eliminates
any messy arguments at the finish line over penalties or DQs. Imagine if
other sports gave up on rules because the athletes argued about being
penalized.
Sorry to ramble, just in a pissed off mood today.
Andrew Peabody
Miami Beach

: I don't agree with Keith that we should "just get over it" and accept
: drafting, but TriDork, don't just drop the nuclear bomb on the guy. Maybe
: he is new around here and hasn't yet been converted to the cause.
: Certainly any reasonable person seeing that vote count would think we are
: a bunch of raging ***nuts who are out of touch with the rest of the
: sport. I certainly doubted my conviction that most everyone hated drafting
: except Les and his cronies. But even if we are the minority, it is
: important that we keep trying to explain to any and all that triathlon is
: not about drafting on the bike, that it will ruin the sport, and that our
: golden opportunity in the Olympics should not be wasted on one of these
: ITU sham races. But let's explain it to people, not bomb them.
: Brian Sullivan

It was only a small tactical nuke from TriDork. You should see him
let loose with with one of the three-stage fusion devices.

--

Tom Roehr       "The Javanator"

Ruth Kazez

TriDork:  I wish you hadn't spewed all over Keith in your response to his
post.  We all know your passion on this topic, but insulting someone with
whom you disagree doesn't aid the cause and will only encourage those who
oppose it to regard you as a ranting ineffectual ***.  Don't insult,
inform!  Argue!  Explain!  Clarify!  But don't give drafting proponents
any ammunition to say that we're just a bunch of irrational, unthinking,
over-emoting *** incapable of intelligently expressing our position on
the topic.  (All right, all right, Miss Manners Mode OFF).

At any rate, I would like to offer Steve Locke my heartiest thanks and
congratulations for a battle well and honorably fought on his part.  As he
pointed out in his platform, he chose to campaign on "high m***ground",
and he refused to resort to mudslinging and name-calling in his bid to
unseat Less.  I don't believe his efforts were a total loss, either,
because I am certain they must have raised the consciousness of a number
of influential parties in the triathlon world, including the IOC and many
sponsors of the sport.

Bravo, Steve!!!

Personally, I would be more than happy to see USA Triathlon break away
from the ITU, but I don't suppose that is a realistic approach at this
juncture.  I have an ominous feeling that our sport is on the brink of a
rift between its professional and amateur branches, which makes me
extremely sad.  I get a kick out of occasionally racing the same course
with the pros, but I'm afraid that opportunity will soon become rarer and
rarer, if not disappear entirely.

MacDonald's politics nauseate me, and Sisson's tactics are nothing short
of putrid.  He's obviously getting some sort of pay-off for his position
of Treasurer, otherwise why would he resort to such an underhanded
maneuver as declaring himself a member of the Mexican TriFed in order to
get re-appointed?  Why would anyone want to be involved with a governing
body that is largely reviled by the majority of its constituants UNLESS he
was being well recompensed for it?

In the end, I'm afraid it all comes down to $$$.  So much for
sportsmanship and honor and the value of individual effort and achievement
and democracy.  None of those things matter.  Just $$$.  Welcome to
Triathlon in the '90s.

:-(

Tri-Baby

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 `     '         -    \<         - __/\
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^^^^^^^^^^    

"REAL Triathletes don't draft!"

http://SportToday.org/~brooksie        

Is draft legal racing the only point of contention with Les MacDonald?
What other issues exist between most amateur triathletes and ITU? I
think we need to analyze the results of this election in terms of the
age group racer.

Judging by the Atlanta Olympiad, triathlon will be staged by the pros,
the sport be damned. I only hope that the US paticipants show a little
more sportsmanship than our representatives in Atlanta. What a hideous
show!

Eric Averill