Triathlon

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?

PTO's Potential: Evolution in Athlete Compensation & Branding Opportunities

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.

PTO is doing a great job with helping to grow the sport. It would be great to have more guaranteed money for athletes and also look into having tiered levels of professional racing (e.g. Formula 1, 2 and 3). Additionally, it would be beneficial to create digital marketing opportunities for athletes to help them build their brand.

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Thank you for asking for feedback. Firstly, I want to commend the PTO for their efforts in building and supporting the growth of our sport. I remember when only a small handful of athletes could make a living from it, but now we have an emerging middle class of athletes who can at least sustain themselves while pursuing their dreams. However, it's still tough to see talented athletes give their all in races and not receive adequate compensation. So, my top requests would be:

1. More guaranteed and fair compensation for athletes. It would be great to see increased financial support for athletes who show up and perform well at events. This would help them cover their expenses and ensure they are not running at a deficit.

2. Exploring the possibility of tiered levels of professional racing. Similar to other sports like Formula racing or ice hockey, having a senior touring league for the top athletes and a development league for aspiring athletes could be a positive development. This would provide opportunities for athletes to progress and earn their way into the senior circuit.

Additionally, I believe it's important to continue providing opportunities for athletes to build their personal brands and engage in digital marketing. This could involve driving social media traffic to their profiles or sponsor partners, as well as incorporating digital branding opportunities within broadcasts, such as highlighting an athlete's sponsor during their performance on screen.

These are my suggestions and I hope they can contribute to the ongoing growth and support of athletes in our sport.

Lance Watson answers your Triathlon questions. See all the advice Lance Watson has and get answers to your own Triathlon questions.

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Lance Watson has an extraordinary 30-year coaching career with gold medals at the Olympic, Commonwealth, and Pan American Games. He has coached over 20 IRONMAN victories and numerous World Championship podiums. He was recently inducted into the Triathlon Canada Hall of Fame and is the founder and President of LifeSport Coaching.