Coinciding with the recently launched IRONMAN VR All-Terrain Series, IRONMAN has created the IRONMAN VR Team Challenge – a new live broadcast racing format. This focuses on three teams of age-group athletes that will compete exclusively on the IRONMAN Now Facebook Watch page.
The 2021 IRONMAN VR Team Challenge kicks off on Wednesday, March 17 with three months of programming via Facebook Watch.
During a three-week competition cycle, three teams of athletes from a featured region will race in Sprint, Olympic, and Half Distance virtual triathlons.
Kicking off the competition will be teams from North America. These will be captained by Nashville singer and songwriter Ryan Kinder; US Marine Corps veteran, Motivational Speaker, and IRONMAN U Certified Coach Morgon Latimore; and veteran sportscaster Shannon Spake.
Notable professional triathletes will also be featured each week providing the teams an opportunity to bolster their scoring with Pro Wild Card Lifelines while engaging with the teams on the broadcast.
Following the North America IRONMAN VR Team Challenge, the competition will continue with three teams from the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and then three teams from the Asia Pacific region in the following months to come.
The IRONMAN Team Challenge broadcast will kick off with a preview show on Wednesday, March 17 at 19:00 ET (12:00 GMT). The first competition takes place on Thursday, March 18 at 19:00 ET. IRONMAN VR Team Challenge can be viewed on the IRONMAN Now on Facebook Watch page: www.facebook.com/IRONMANnow.
“We are excited to bring the IRONMAN VR Team Challenge to our global audience in conjunction with the new IRONMAN VR All-Terrain Series,” said Andrew Messick, President & CEO for The IRONMAN Group.
“Our goal has always been to elevate the athlete experience. Through our continued partnership with Facebook Watch, we are bringing the excitement of this innovative virtual competition in an easily accessible format to the global triathlon community.”
He added, “This new broadcast will highlight the hard-working athletes who have competed in and continue to utilize IRONMAN VR while training for their upcoming live and in-person races.”
Broadcast schedule
| Date | Featured Region | Event |
| Mar 17 | North America | Introduction of Team Captains from North America |
| Mar 18 | North America | Sprint Distance |
| Mar 25 | North America | Half-Distance |
| Apr 1 | North America | Olympic; 1-year anniversary of IRONMAN VC celebration |
| Apr 7 | EMEA | Introduction of Team Captains from EMEA |
| Apr 8 | EMEA | Olympic Distance |
| Apr 15 | EMEA | Sprint Distance |
| Apr 22 | EMEA | Half-Distance |
| Apr 29 | Asia Pacific | Introduction of Team Captains from Asia Pacific |
| May 6 | Asia Pacific | Olympic Distance |
| May 13 | Asia Pacific | Sprint Distance |
| May 20 | Asia Pacific | Half-Distance |
Team make-up
Each three-week regional competition cycle will feature three age-group Team Captains who will be required to complete the respective virtual events for that week (Sprint, Olympic, Half Distance).
Additionally, each week, the captain will be tasked with forming a team of three athletes to join them for the weekend competition with the identified team members completing one of the disciplines (i.e., one swimmer, one biker and one runner).
There will also be three professional athletes joining each regional showcase as part of the challenge. Notable professional triathletes will provide the opportunity to bolster the scoring with Pro Wild Card Lifelines while engaging with the teams on the broadcast.
Each week, professional athletes will join in the competition by posting a single sport split for either the swim, bike or run segments. Team captains will have one opportunity during their three-week competition to swap one of their split times with a coordinating split time from their pro ambassador athlete, prior to the time being unveiled, allowing them to better their overall team time and performance.
Each region will compete in its own three-week-long competition – consisting of a Sprint, Olympic and Half-Distance virtual triathlon simulation.
- The teams from North America will compete during round one on March 18;
- EMEA will take part in round two beginning April 8; and
- Asia Pacific will participate in round three beginning on May 6.
In addition to watching the live racing unfold, viewers of the broadcast will be able to engage through live interaction consisting of challenges, Q&A, and voting polls. At the end of each three-week regional challenge, the Champion Team Captain will be announced.
The winner will be decided by whichever captain has the most cumulative points at the end of the three-weeks of competition. Team captains will set up IRONMAN Foundation Your Journey, Your Cause fundraising campaigns where they will be able to collect donations for a charity and cause that is important to them.
The winning team from each regional showcase will receive a US$5,000 donation from the IRONMAN Foundation to further grow their fundraising campaigns.
Scoring will be based on:
- Athletic performance: Each week, team captains will test their endurance by competing in each of the respective disciplines of the Sprint, Olympic, or Half-Distance virtual triathlons. The scores for their swim, bike, and run segments for each distance are cumulative and combined with their selected team members’ swim, bike, and run times.
- Social media and engagement: Athletic performance is not the only way teams can move up the leader board; throughout their three-week-long competition each team captain will share their personal experiences including favourite triathlon memories and tips, among other topics through their social media pages. During the live broadcast, viewers will vote on their favourite social media posts throughout the week, rewarding teams with more points.
- In-broadcast challenges: Throughout each region’s three-week-long competition, in-broadcast challenges will require athletes to think on their feet to showing off their triathlon knowledge, helping them to earn more points and move them up on the team leaderboard.
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