Novelty wears thin for Poole
SURF lifesaving could soon have a new “Cereal Wars” as athletes back plans for the Nutri-Grain series to part ways with Surf Life Saving Australia and be run independently from the non-for profit organisation.
In the wake of the muchcriticised Iron X exhibition event on Monday at Mooloolaba, athletes have lost faith in the direction of their governing body after thousands of dollars were poured into an event that they claim strays from the core skills and values of their sport.
Kurrawa ironman Matt Poole, who has just finished his 13th year competing in the professional ironman series, believes surf lifesaving would have a better chance of returning to its golden days in the hands of an independent organisation.
“The best thing for this sport moving forward, to have any chance of getting it back to the pinnacle, is if the series ran independently as a profitable business away from Surf Life Saving Australia,” he said.
Poole, 31, originally put his name forward to be one of the 13 male athletes to compete in the inaugural Iron X race but withdrew a few weeks before the event on the back of what Iron X said about the future direction of surf lifesaving.
“I did put my name forward
not because I supported or endorsed the event but because our sport is in a financial famine,” he said.
“It’s very hard for any athlete to say no to an event that boasts a $100,000 prize purse.
“In the end, I could not get my head around how frustrated I was by the idea and how much I hated the idea of me competing which outweighed it (the chance to win prizemoney) in the end so I withdrew from the event.”
Poole, who watched Iron X on TV, believes the event failed to meet its intended goal of luring new audiences to lifesaving on the back of integrating CrossFit and stand-up paddleboarding into surf sports.
In the female race, CrossFit athlete Kat Baker finished last while world SUP world champion Lincoln Dews also finished last in the men’s race.
“I didn’t see one new sponsor brought to the beach which begs the question, have any of SLSA’s goals or objectives been met for bringing new athletes and audiences to the sport?” Poole said.
“All I see is a group of very disheartened members and clubs. A lot of the girls didn’t even attempt the monkey bars and opted for the penalty run instead.
“Some of the guys were paddling (on SUP boards) on their knees and catching waves on their stomachs so how much of an impression did we make on the SUP community?”
Poole, the 2016-17 NutriGrain Ironman Series winner, said he accepted Iron X’s value as a novelty race but worried for the future of the sport if Surf Life Saving Australia decided to include the additional disciplines into the elite series.
“SLSA wasted no expense and cut no costs to make the Iron X package look good and it did look good to watch on TV and as a spectacle Spartan race but if you put that sort of time and money into something, it will prevail,” he said.
“I can’t tell you how many people I’ve spoken to who have said they can’t afford to keep their kids in the sport if they want to grow up to be like their heroes and buy a stand-up paddleboard, ski, board as well as pay for swimming and gym lessons.”