THE COLLINS CUP
How a ‘Ryder Cup’modelled race is being used to leverage the sport of Triathlon Following the first ever instalment of The Collins Cup in Slovakia, Sam Renouf, the PTO’s Chief Executive, outlines how the Ryder Cup style event has taken the triathlon to the next level. Team Europe won the first-ever Collins Cup, the Professional Triathletes Organisation’s new flagship event which ran for the first time at the end of August 2021 in Šamorín, Slovakia.
Named after John and Judy Collins, the inventors of Ironman (a longer version of the traditional triathlon) the three-team triathlon competition has been billed as the endurance sport’s version of the Ryder Cup. Unlike the golf tournament, however, the Collins Cup featured Team Internationals as well as outfits representing the United States and Europe competing in a 12-person mixed relay. Each team was made up of six male and six female competitors, where the top four eligible men and women in the PTO rankings automatically selected for each team, while captains were then able to select the final two men and women to compete. Each trio of triathletes set off at 10-minute intervals, with the first to finish scoring three points, two points for second and one point for third. With the scores of the 12 trios combined to determine an overall winner and bonus points awarded for the distance between each competitor, Team Europe come out triumphant with a total of 42.5 points. Team US ended with 31.5 and Team Internationals 21.5 points. Founded in 2019, the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) is a not-
for-profit entity that supports the body of professional triathletes. It’s mission statement for adopting a Ryder Cup modelled race is simple… to celebrate the sport of triathlon and showcase the passion, talent, determination, struggles and achievements of the dedicated professionals through iconic events, reimagined broadcast and compelling storytelling to inspire global sports fans to watch, engage and participate in triathlon. Chief Executive Sam Renouf is leading the way in reinventing how audiences can
engage with the sport, by taking it to a new commercial level and promoting the talents within its ranks and he believes that the body is well positioned to be able to do so. “The Collins Cup brought together the greatest professional triathletes in the world in a team competition to do battle to see who dominates the sport,” said Renouf. “It is a new race format modelled after the Ryder Cup, which will see teams of International, European and USA athletes pitted against one another and aims to create and leverage the excitement, rivalry, drama and personalities of the sport of triathlon to attract a wider fan base. “By adopting a proven format like the Ryder Cup with its nationalistic intensity and having a points system that creates drama throughout the race, the Collins Cup is designed to be a compelling live TV event that appeals not only to the fans of endurance sports, but also to the general sports enthusiast.” In a world dominated primarily by well-established sports, it will always be more difficult to breakthrough and offer something unique to fans and to those interested in commercial opportunities but the PTO’s invested goal of putting its athletes at the forefront of their exponential growth will likely see that continue long into its future. “Our innovative ownership means both men and women professionals share ➡
OTFF ISSUE 17 ★ OCTOBER 2021 | 19
