The Ben, Doug and Eric Challenge! On Twitter the boys and I are having a good spirited debate on how to go forward. Like most social media, everybody wants to see a shit fight. I want to point out, this is not the case with myself, Doug, Ben or Eric on Facebook, because we all want the same thing. Doug has written a terrific little article on Kona, and the waste of time of the debate (no matter how right it is to have 50 pros in kona) when there is only 10 pay checks. Good read, clear concise and informative, and comes to all the right conclusions. Ben has been a supporter of dove from day one, and Im sure wants a better deal for athletes. Just as Eric who is a good man, but has a little different circumstance, as his partner is a champion and further up the food chain ladder. However, all like me want to see the pros have a fairer deal. Now here is the problem for all to see. Four men all want a similar outcome, but all have completely different takes on what is needed to get there. Three share one common theme that my people skills need to be sharpened appreciably if you want people to listen to you. Well one in this group who knows me, will testify my people skills of getting people to produce 110% of what they have are second to none. Im not here to make friends. I dont hold pros up on the age group pedestals others do. I know their strengths and weaknesses. I know of their daily fallibility, just as I know their stupid trance like state, that they train, and everyone else can take care of the rest - talk to my manager for that. This insular cocoon they live in is why they are here in this predicament. Doug no matter how much I shout, until next December when they have had a year under the new system, 75% dont think there is a predicament at all. Next year, when they realise why Mr Messik just shakes his head in disbelief why do they do it when I just told them only the top six have some relevance for us? So here is the very problem, that with four people, and only one that races, you have four different opinions. Can you imagine a room full of pro athletes? If you have twenty pros, you will have twenty opinions, if you have fifty you will have fifty. Nothing will happen. The truth of the matter is they will only come together under one banner when they agree to take orders from a boss who says this is the way we are going, get in line and do your part, and in three years we may have races with back end money not rubbish. We will have thirty pros men and women who can make a living. They better hope that they have the right dictator, because up till now they have followed the WTC one, and its not looking too bright. So now they turn to Challenge. Why? Its the easy out! Challenges business model is the twenty year old one that WTC left behind, and believe me, Challenge will do the same when it realises Roth works because they bloody well own it. WTC can thank Ben Fertic for that little U-turn that turned the money on its head, we gotta keep it all. Doug here is the challenge. You want to help then be relevant. I seen your great performance in Pentiction. Lets itemise how great Challenge is for you. Yes I know, its better that WTC as you got a check! Well is that better? False hope is a painful thing. Why dont you list those races and put an itemised list of what the real expenses were to get to that 9th which I personally think is very honorable indeed. Here a challenge for you Ben, sit down and do the same. Eric, lets be clear, your Mrs is one of the sports true champions, no she hasnt won Kona, but she has been crowned Ironman Champion so many times. Why dont you join the boys and put that list out, and show the world how WTC treats their champions. When you get to the top that gold pot at the end of the rainbow. You see guys with these three lists the 70% of bone heads that are wishing for the triathlon tooth fairy to turn up in the shape of a big sponsor or TV deal, might then realize even with a lot of races with little prize money, is better for racing for points and points only as Doug very correctly stated. Because people, I watch very hard, very tough, very deserving of at least food on table and roof over head athletes, train day in day out, and race their guts out, to be told by the toffs that dont train as hard as them that they dont deserve?? We did deserve cause we were the best of the best? Why? Because we had better genes and more talent. Yes I agree, WTC cleverly muddied the water of what is a pro, by the $750 back of the cornflakes packet license, so we were flooded with age groupers looking for cheaper race entries, but lets leave that aside. Doug has proved he got a top 10. I dont care what time, that deserves compensation, not 500 dollars but in a bad situation 3000, just as MBE winning deserves compensation. The only difference is one is faster than the other, as Im sure both did their very best. But if MBE and Eric cant say something because of a little deal, then take it from me, should a champion like her have to be out looking for a job within a month, as her earnings in triathlon at the top of the game wasnt enough to put anything away! You want to say I rant. You better bloody believe it! Here is a company that capitalized itself as a 1/4 billion dollar entity, and the great performers, within days of their retirement are looking for a job! Do me a favor, dont defend it as its indefensible when you brand yourself custodian of the sport. What about it boys? No one believes me. Why dont you show people how it really is at the coal face from independent people, so others can get a better picture from all the different levels of this truly athletically mismanaged sport. Just the way i see it. the doc
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 18:21:59 +0000
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