Super League Triathlon

Anyone get sucked into the Triathlon Super League qualifier event up in Bali over the weekend? I have to say I sure did.

Super League has been around for a little while now, I want to say a couple of years now, but I would just be guessing. For those unfamiliar Super League is an attempt to make triathlon digestible to the masses and, therefore, attractive to coverage and as a result sponsorship. They have distribution deals with the BBC, stream events online etc. Chris McCormack is fairly a big part of the concept and I think part of what he was aiming for was a return to the sort of racing we used to see in the St George Triathlon series in Australia in the 90s. Fast, exciting and spectator friendly etc.

To help achieve this aim Super League has a particular approach to triathlon, first up it changes the triathlon formula. As an example, the event in Bali over the weekend had three parts, a one mile running TT, an Equalizer Stage which was a swim, bike, run, swim, bike run and then an Enduro Event on Sunday which was a swim, bike, run, swim, bike, run, swim, bike, run triple. There are other formats that they use too like mixing up the order of the legs etc. These events are fast and furious done on a tight course, as an example the Enduro was a 300m swim, 5km bike and 3km run x 3. Added to this mix is the fact that Super League offers good prize money (theoretically an athlete could earn $160000 US in the series) and attracts the best athletes in the world, regularly attracting ITU top 10 athletes, as example the Brownlees often take part. So far the formula appears to be working.

The event in Bali was what they are calling a qualifier event. The Super League field is made up of 25 men and 25 women racing at three events around the world. To select the field they take the top 10 finishers from the previous season and then choose another 10 athletes from a range of qualifier events. This is what Bali was. The top three finishers from Bali got a Golden Ticket into Super League, there will be other qualifying events around the world during the year. Given that the Golden Ticket is all expenses paid and brings with it an opportunity for good prize money against the best triathletes in the world plus some global exposure, it is a pretty sweet opportunity.

I have to say I hadn't really jumped fully on the Super League band wagon until this weekend. It isn't that I wasn't interested, it is just that there are lots of races to watch around the world and this series was one too many. However, this weekend was different. For this qualifying event there were a large number of athletes from Perth racing, some of whom I know reasonably well. Turns out that this personal link was all it took me to get interested. Having given it some time I have to say it was pretty cool.

The qualifier events don't get the same level of coverage as the Super League Series events, but all the same it was rather exciting to keep track. With the fast racing a lot can happen, the athletes are  going absolutely flat out and so there are lots of changes, even from lap to lap. The person who featured highly in Round 1 could make one mistake and be out of contention for Round 2 (which happened to a friend of mine) and vice versa. I can see what has attracted the fans, the events are short enough to be easily digestible so it keeps you involved and keen to know what is happening. It is a compelling formula.

In the end a couple of Aussies got Golden Tickets, including one from WA. The athletes I know a bit better missed out, but some of them got very close and hopefully they will have got some great experience from it.

Will I be avidly watching all the Super League races for the 2019 series. I am not sure, there are still lots of races to watch throughout the season, however, I will certainly be giving the events a lot more attention than I did last season.