Super League Triathlon (SLT) and the Professional Triathletes Organisation are at the forefront of trying to revolutionise pro triathlon. That doesn’t though mean they are always on the same page.
We got the perfect example of that in the last few days when an SLT pundit criticised the PTO on an SLT show. Shots officially fired.
The moment came late into the latest episode of an entertaining Short Chute Show, hosted by Will McCloy with guests Annie Emmerson and Tim Don.
Don pans PTO over Collins Cup
During a segment entitled ‘The Breakdown’, McCloy asked Don to comment on the fact the Collins Cup – once hailed as the PTO’s flagship event – is not on the calendar for 2023. He teed it up with: “The Collins Cup got canned, what’s going on with that? Couldn’t make it work, couldn’t make it happen.”
Former long-distance star Don had a very short and very sharp take.
“Year three. They were comparing it to the Ryder Cup, when did the Ryder Cup get cancelled? PTO, look after the athletes, sort your s*** out.”
So clearly, while the SLT and PTO are ultimately attempting to reach similar goals, they are not always going to see eye to eye on how they get there.
Why is there no Collins Cup in 2023?
The Collins Cup of course made its debut amid much ballyhoo in Samorin in the summer of 2021, and took place there again in 2022. It was confirmed last month though that it is not part of the 2023 calendar.
Despite rumours that the team competition – which pits Europe, America and the Rest of the World against each other – was set to be held in Morocco at the end of the season, the commercial organisation cited timing and logistics as the reason behind not going ahead in 2023.
Their statement read: “The Collins Cup remains an important format for the PTO and will return in the future, but our immediate focus is on delivering great events at the PTO US Open in Milwaukee on 4-5 August and the inaugural PTO Asian Open in Singapore on 19-20 August – and then securing an expanded 2024 calendar, which we will announce later this year.”
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