I’m feeling like a true disciplinarian today. I’m supposed to be on Jury Duty. While I normally would look forward to serving, the work-lords of USAT have too many hours of issues for me to sift through to lose a day. The good news however is that I’m on the alternate list so I don’t need to go to Court. I just need to call back later this morning.
The whole idea of being put in a position of deciding if someone is innocent or guilty is indeed an interesting concept. Sitting here in my office, I’m now thinking more about USAT Officials and the laws of our sport over a potential case in Colorado Springs City Court.
We seem to be an anomaly in the world of sport. Some races have USAT Officials, some like Ironman self-officiate and others choose not to officiate at all. For those races with officials, the stewards of the rules can’t be at all places at once so the reports of rampant drafting infest almost every chat room within multisport.
Can you imagine going to an NBA game where some teams decide to have officials and others don’t? Granted we are talking pros vs. amateur athletes but take any other competition that must enforce a rulebook. Look at youth sports like soccer or baseball. Can you imagine having a sanctioned game without any referees or umpires controlling the play?
Early on in my tenure here, I had this discussion with someone who reminded me that history reveals that triathlons developed as a test of an individual’s athletic capabilities. It was stated that multisport athletes really can police themselves and so races don’t really need officials.
I said this then and I’ll say it again. Baloney. This is a sport driven by type-A personalities. Most athletes are driven, goal-oriented and extremely competitive. Sure they all intend to follow the rules but most of us also intend to follow posted speed limits.
Playing sport without caring for the rules is nothing more than a game of backyard football. Playing sport with rules and willing to accept the penalties when those rules are broken is true competition. As a growing sport, we need to decide which direction we really should go and attack it.
Of course if life mirrored some of what I’ve seen in multisport, I certainly wouldn’t ever have to worry about sitting on Jury Duty. Unless of course I lived in a community that actually policed its laws.
– Skip
C’mon Skip, sure lots of the top triathletes are type-A personalities, but many come into the sport as a way to manage of some kind of personal issue. I find it all the time with tri-people. Maybe it was a break-up, a divorce, turning 30 or whatever, so one sprint race becomes two and then an Olympic and then an Ironman and that is how many of the tri-girls are born. I think it’s a family and most of us feel that and try to abide by the written rules. I do see your point about consistent officiating, but triathlon is an extreme test of mental and physical endurance which drives the athletes beyond perceived boundaries. That is the allure and the magic and the mystery you won’t find in any rule book. I guess I sense a fraternal courtesy — excepting the stolen glasses in return for hogging too much bike space — and I’ll bet I’ve accidently drafted behind and been accidently drafted from in equal measure if you put it on the scales of justice. We’ve got a big field we play on in our races. Covering that much territory could get pretty expensive.
By: Trigirl-Flygirl on January 27, 2008
at 2:55 am
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feel free to write and i’ll put you in my blog.
http://www.trikinggatorsofbarrie.com
By: Jamie Nielsen on February 22, 2008
at 10:34 am
When was the last time you saw a referee at a golf match?
We can be self-policing. We just have to cultivate honor among triathletes.
By: Curtis Harter on May 22, 2008
at 2:54 pm
Skip, thanks for the article. I really just don’t get competitors responses.
I absolutely agree with you and strongly advocate very strongly that the races be officiated. Coincidentally, I logged on today in order to provide my feedback to the USAT on this very subject.
However, so far I seem to stand alone. 99% of every comment I have heard in person or on forums was of the nature of “leave us alone because we know the rules and will follow them”. The problem is, as I see it, rules are not always followed. Not even close. Some folks purposely violate rules, and some do it accidentally. Both should receive penalties which are regularly handed out in other sports as pointed out by Skip.
Rule violations go beyond drafting too. It can be a swimmer starting in an early wave, a rider or runner cutting the course (even accidentally), or an improperly racked bike. I’ve even been at a race where a volunteer signaled for me to dismount my bike and while I did so another competitor road straight into the transition zone – no penalty either.
Poor riding is also a safety issue. Competitors and repeat all day that they know the rules and stay to the right. That won’t stop the absolute fact though, that ever day new competitors enter the sport, some for only one event, and put others safety at risk.
Let’s keep things clean. If folks aren’t violating rules then the presence of a USAT will go largely unnoticed. If folks are violating rules, the USAT officials can fix it.
Why would that ever be a problem?
By the way; officials are at sanctioned golf matches and regularly penalize players for rules violations.
By: Thomas Schroeder on June 19, 2008
at 3:52 pm
I do it as an amateur, and for fun, and I feel sad for people who deliberately cheat. I’m not sure I care about policing them — I mean, it is a defect in their character, and I’m not sure how much of a problem it is for me. I’m not winning any awards, nor really care about awards, so… how much do I need to care about potential problems involving lack of sportsmanship and perhaps character defects in other athletes?
By: Perry on July 28, 2008
at 2:43 pm
Perry,
I am also an amateur, and at this point I am just trying to improve my own personal times, not trying to win. However, I do care about lack of sportsmanship and character defects because if something is done (won) without integrity, then it has no meaning. We WANT this to have meaning, because we want to ensure the future of this sport. It’s also important to consider that sometimes people put others at a safety risk all in the name of winning. That is unacceptable. Wouldn’t you agree?
Stacy
By: stacshox on August 10, 2008
at 4:54 pm
I agree with Skip that it would be great to have every race officiated but I sure hope it doesn’t drive up the cost of races. I do think it is important to hold people accountable for following the rules and when officials are present…even if just a few it is better than races that are not officiated. Many compete just for the fun of getting into shape but some of us compete because we are competitive and we don’t think it is fair that we are following the rules why others are not. Our sport is growing tremendously and we want it to grow with integrity. DREAM BIG!
By: Jeff Paul on November 4, 2009
at 1:47 am