http://www.usatf.org/events/2012/OlympicTrials-Marathon/entry/index.asp
WTF? Anyone else find this absurd?
WTF? Anyone else find this absurd?
That does seem absurd. Do the boxers in the Olympic trials pay a fee? Gymnasts? USATF has blown a lot of money so I guess they have to make it up somehow.
Yes - because you're a hobby jogger. These are our countries best! Jealous much?
*yawn* become part of USTAF and change something, otherwise cry somewhere else.
and not only do they have to pay, they either have to use Visa or a ridiculous electronic transfer. USATF is trying to make this really hard for athletes.
I'm all for sponsorship money, but USATF should not let Visa beat them up like this. It's fine if they want to advertise Visa all day, but to not accept any other cards for payment into your trials? That's absurd.
For many of these athletes, even at their level, a $50 fee is one less massage therapy or fewer groceries that week. They dedicate their entire lives to scrapping by on the roads/track to get where they are - and it's kind of a kick to the dick that they have to pay a fee to compete for the United States Olympic team. Other countries force their athletes to pay for their own gear and travel - but the US has not and should not take money away from their athletes - who, in many instances, have very little money to live on and train with in the first place - USATF provides no support for their athletes throughout the year, no stipends, no travel funding - unless you're a highly regarded sprinter or Ryan Hall. The rest - the middle class and working poor of elite American runners - they get to bear the burden on their own. USATF has a lot of problems and this $50 fee is just a small example.
It's pretty comical that they tout free travel/hotel/per diem for A-standard athletes, but still make them pay $50 to enter.
Do the A standard runners have to pay the entry fee?
It's Assnine !!!
Which top athletes aren't paying? I don't get your point.
Letsruners have generally shown strong support for keeping qualification for the marathon trials within reach of runners who are far from world class. When the qualifying time was changed to 2:19, a lot of people here were pissed because they thought that 2:20 types should be able to run the race. Unlike the track trials, runners have rejected the idea that the Olympic Marathon Trials should just be a race to select the Olympic team in favor of the idea that the trials should allow for broad participation.
The trials is basically just a marathon with an entry standard that also happens to be the venue in which the Olympic team is selected. This is by our own choice. Given this, an entry fee seems to make sense. If the race was purely an event to select the Olympic team, I'd be completely against a fee. But since we've decided to make it basically an invitational where the team selection is only a part of the race, I'd say it makes just as much sense to charge a fee for the trials as it makes to charge a fee for any other race.
ura nut wrote:
wtf??? wrote:Which top athletes aren't paying? I don't get your point.
That's because you're a hobby jogger and don't understand how elite athletes are handled. Hint: where do you think they get their shoes, singlets, etc.
That means they are still paying. How do you not understand. Think about it for a little bit.
Pay attention wrote:
wtf??? wrote:http://www.usatf.org/events/2012/OlympicTrials-Marathon/entry/index.aspWTF? Anyone else find this absurd?
How do you expect it to be funded? Marathons are much more expensive to put on than a track meet. And with the relatively soft standards you'll get a lot of average Joes showing up.
How about the marathon that in coincides with. They do beg for the Trials to be there because more hobbyjoggers will run it if they have the Trials.
Pay attention wrote:
johnnyb1610 wrote:How about the marathon that in coincides with. They do beg for the Trials to be there because more hobbyjoggers will run it if they have the Trials.
They don't do it that way anymore. Pay attention.
You asked how it should be funded. I told you what the best answer is. The marathons bid for these races, they should have to pay. They are getting more interest in their main event, so they can hike the price up and pay for the Trials.
ura nut wrote:
johnnyb1610 wrote:That means they are still paying. How do you not understand. Think about it for a little bit.
Okay I thought about it. You're wrong. The elite aren't paying. It's how the system works for them. Are you that naive?
If their shoe company is paying for the race, it's the same thing. Why are you not getting it?
D U M B A S S. Do you think money grows on trees ? How else do we pay for 5 star hotel rooms, meals, rental car, 1st class airfare, etc. for Pinkowski, Hightower, Wittenberg, Latimer, and their kids and spouses.
wtf??? wrote:
http://www.usatf.org/events/2012/OlympicTrials-Marathon/entry/index.aspWTF? Anyone else find this absurd?
No.
I don't see what the problem is?
wtf??? wrote:
http://www.usatf.org/events/2012/OlympicTrials-Marathon/entry/index.aspWTF? Anyone else find this absurd?
I'm guessing you've never run USATF Outdoors. Galen Rupp, Allyson Felix, Jeremy Wariner, David Oliver, Nick Symmonds, Kara Goucher, etc. all pay their entry fee for the USATF Championships (or at least someone pays for them).
It is funny that you have to pay AND declare. Isn't paying the fee enough to show your intention to compete?
Plus you have to be a USATF member. There's another registration and fee.
Could they think of a more convoluted, bureaucratic process for signing up for a race?
I would love to hear one of the Hansons chime in on this one. Seeing as how they have 20 qualifiers that $50 has to add up a little.