Published January 13, 2016 03:41PM
Several news sources are reporting that Ironman Muskoka will not take place going forward because of the low registration numbers and high expenses associated with the race.
Ironman Muskoka will not be coming back in 2016. Huntsville mayor Scott Aitchison announced to general committee on Jan. 11 that the event, which was held on Aug. 30, was expensive for the town and not particularly profitable for Ironman Canada.
“Due to the fact we lost $100,000 last year and, of course, we signed a three-year deal with Ironman, there was a legitimate fear of losing another $100,000 over the next two years,” said Aitchison. “I met with representatives of Ironman Canada in Toronto and they weren’t particularly thrilled with the results either. They like to have about 2,000 people at these events and they only had about 1,500.”
At an earlier meeting, representatives with Ironman Muskoka Experience committee told council last year’s Ironman Muskoka and Ironman 70.3 had a more than $2-million effect on the area’s gross domestic product according to economic models created by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport.
Aitchison said one possible reason the event didn’t do as well as hoped is that the course is just too challenging.
“They thought in part a full Ironman on these hills was a little too difficult. The ones that sell out are the ones that are flat. Arizona has no problem, Miami has no problem,” said Aitchison.
Read more: Muskokaregion.com
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