An Intersting Ruling

You get a DQ, you get a DQ, you all are DQ'ed!

The Crossroads Of Social Media And Competition:

You may have seen the news concerning Ironman and and their revision of a rule concerning taking images during an Ironman competition.  

Here is the wording taken from an article found online at tri-today.com: 

 "Under the revised rule, using any device – including phones, cameras, video cameras, or recording-enabled glasses – to capture images or video during the race is strictly forbidden. Athletes found doing so will face disqualification."

The ruling is to help keep riders safer and to ensure a focus on competition rather than content creation. Some online sources suggest this ruling, effective now, was a revision to help define the previous rule and outlaw smart-glasses along with phone cameras, Go-Pro type units, etc.  

I'm not really all that interested in the "how" Ironman will enforce this ruling, but I am very intrigued by the "why" of it all. As I read more about this I discovered that Ironman is very strict about phone usage and other tech surrounding social media and individual usage of devices.  

Technology and gravel events have had a pretty cozy relationship over the last several years. It is hard to even imagine a world where, for instance, cameras would be banned at Unbound. Events like Unbound, Gravel Worlds, and Mid-South rely heavily on social media both from an organizational point of view, but also as a way to entice sponsors and as a way to activate sponsor involvement in their events.  

Ultra-endurance events also have been impacted by athlete/film crew/marketing agendas and in some cases (Tour Divide) have caused major issues between competitors and the event organizers. 

My stance is the gravel and ultra-distance events people are participating in have become a means to an end when it comes to "social media currency". Of course, not every rider or company/sponsor is there to bank off an event, but this happens a lot and I think we all can agree it happens. What you think of it is where the diverging opinions come into play. I don't like it, and I have many reasons as to why this is, but that is another entire post. 

What do you think of it all? Or maybe you just do not care. Let me know in the comments.