I’m on the PTO athlete board. What would your top one or two requests that you’d like to see from the PTO this year? Where can we help you the most?

Question

Lance Watson · Answer

Thanks for asking for feedback. And first of all, I just want to commend PTO for what they are building and helping me sport to grow and emerge. I can remember the early days of the sport where there was a small handful of athletes who made a living and and that was about it. Whereas I feel like now there is maybe where you call an emerging middle class within our Sports athletes who can at least survive and get by while they pursue their Dreams, but I will also say it's tough. As a coach to go to some of these events and see some really, really good athletes. Dedicated athletes high-quality talented athletes race their hearts out have good, have good performances and not get paid or not, get paid very much and knowing that they're running a deficit because you know, there's only so much of a lifespan for those athletes in the sport before they have to find other career options. So obviously I'm paying a little bit Is an easy answer or more guaranteed. Money for athletes showing up, is a great, easy answer. It would be interesting in a long range to look at an evolution or sport where they're actually tiered levels of professional racing. Much like a Formula, 1 Formula, to Formula Three or in ice hockey as a Canadian. I love ice hockey, NHL AHL Regional, professional leagues, where? And you can see the starting to evolve with these Regional championships with big purses but whether it's actually kind of a senior touring League of the cream of the crop, but there's also a development league which is capped and the top athletes, don't come down and cherry pick, but the developing group or the, you know, aspiring group are battling it out to score points to get into the senior circuit. So I think that would be a positive development for sport and I guess the last thing I would say is continuing opportunities for athletes to To build their brand to have opportunities for digital marketing. Whether it's driving social, eyeballs to their own personal social, or to their sponsor Partners or creating digital branding opportunities within the broadcasts themselves, highlights on that athletes sponsor while they're performing on screen that kind of a thing. So there's my feedback. Hope it goes somewhere.

Alistair Brownlee · Answer

Hi, Laura, great question. I saw this. I thought I better answer it very easy. One to answer the PTO exists for the athletes to put on great events. So number one. It has to put on the best events in Long Distance, Triathlon for the best athletes to race number to the PTA is job is to make sure Triathlon gets to new audiences and has people watching, which is obviously going to increase the revenues, have a bigger fan, base more sponsors and companies interested. Etc, etc. And to do that it has to make sure it promotes the athletes racing. The in those big events, promotes them in the right way and make sure that they get plenty of people watching.

Tim Don · Answer

Wow, you've opened up a whole can there. I think the biggest thing is the voting situation. I think it's only the top 50 athletes in the world can vote on certain things. Yeah, I would rather see everyone be allowed to vote on certain certain things. I think that's fair after all part of the same PTO then surely we all have the same. What's the right word experiences? Thus, you know, we all have our own Viewpoint and I think it's important that we We spread that deeper than the top 50 personally. So that would be a massive thing that Clarity with a world ranking. It's rather confusing would be another thing. I bet. You know what they're doing a great job, you know, they're putting money into the pros. Yes. We need the probe, the top Pros to, we need to use them for exposure and or their experiences. So I totally get that. And the fact that fed through in covid to some of the smaller Isis. Absolutely amazing. I don't know any other sport, any other organization that's done. At. So it's totally commendable actually started quality that we need across, you know, the better you are the more leverage you get and you're going to leverage the system towards you. I think. Also I'm not sure quite the direction as a whole or their race organizer first. And then looking after the professionals or vice versa or is it equal but yeah, keep it up and I need to improve their live coverage. They really do which I know they will this year. So I'm excited to watch the Collins cup and all the other PTO races.

Ben Kanute · Answer

Hey Laura, I love to see that. You're asking this question on the platform. And honestly, I think as far as athletes go just transparency is key. I think that the PTO is doing a lot of right things right now. But really we just want to know how the the point system is calculated and see some stuff like that because I think that's the biggest question because it's obviously a very complicated system and it's tough. Anticipate what those points are going to be and I would say from listening to other athletes and kind of watching social media. That might be the biggest issue. Honestly, as far as I go. I'm I'm pretty easy going, straight forward in the fact that, you know, Race fast and the rest will take care of itself, but I think some of the transparency and just updates with what's going on. Even if it's behind the scenes, to the athletes themselves, and then, you know, keeping the public updated with the vision and And everything like that would be just super awesome. So that everybody's on the same page and we all know the direction that it's going. Otherwise just excited for all the opportunities. The PTO has for us here in 2022 and Beyond.

Emma Pallant-Browne · Answer

So for me, I think a big thing is just having the races that are going to get everybody together. So I was going to say like the ranking system going into races with there being like set points for like first second third and whatever. But I think if there's four big PTO races then I think that will then three of them you can have as you're right. Cooking. So I think that's going to be pretty much standardized this year. But I think having those races are really important because with four big races where the prize money is big enough. Like at the moment, you can go to a race you can win and you're breaking even when you pay for flights accommodation and yeah just having the top 20 pay being more than enough to cover your flights accommodation. And actually yeah. Making money from those. Isis. I think is like one of the biggest things that pz I did different last year with their races and obviously that been affecting the rankings, which you also get paid when the year. And, yeah, I think we're already seeing, like, with the maternity pay. That is such a massive, step forward, more, good, things like that. And perhaps, as well, with opportunities of Of, I don't want to say, like, in and around Chapel on like job prospects for. Yeah, when I don't know, I had a bit of a scare and like a couple of weeks ago and when you think are, maybe I won't be able to do this. Like, it can literally stop like that. I think it's knowing that there's something. Yeah, you can be supported in going into roles after that, if that makes sense.

Erin Carson · Answer

He said Aaron here, not only as an athlete but also as a coach, I would love to know how the points work for the PTO, just a little bit more clarity on how each race kind of plays out and how we, as fans and coaches, can help understand the points. Process a little bit better.

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"I’m on the PTO athlete board. What would your top one or two requests that you’d like to see from the PTO this year? Where can we help you the most?"