The World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) will announce shortly that they will implement new Ironman World Championship Kona Lottery procedures that will reward those triathletes with a loyal following.
Our friends John and Bevan from the world famous IMTalk Podcast show who are in Kona have shared some exclusive Ironman news on their latest show from the Ironman World Championship race. Besides interviews with Crowie and others they had a chance to sit down with Andrew Messick, CEO at the World Triathlon Corporation and talk shop. He talks about races selling out and a little bit about the premier Ironman races they hope to attract all pro to with points and money.
One of the things Messick shared with the guys, which has been rumored for a while, is a new procedure for picking winners for the Ironman World Championship Kona Lottery. On the podcast Messick talks about two changes that will take place starting in 2012 for the lottery. Basically it's rewarding those triathletes that have raced many of their events and those that have tried many, many times in winning the lottery.
First for athletes who have done 12 or more of their races, they (WTC) will guarantee they get to race in Kona one day via the lottery procedure. Starting with the athletes that have raced the most to those who have raced up to 12 of their events.
Secondly, they will implement a reward or waiting system for the remaining slots for those athletes that have tried and tried to get to Kona via the lottery but haven't won a slot yet. Basically, the number of times you have tried in the past will mean the number of entries you will get for the lottery pick.
Listen to the podcast with the exclusive news from Messick.
NOTE: These are preliminary details that Messick has shared via the IMTalk Podcast and in no way are final. Stay tuned for additional coverage of this news when it's posted...
If you haven't listened to the IMTalk Podcast, you should check it out, these guys are great. You can find their site at www.imtalk.me or their show on iTunes.
