The Collins Cup: A global annual competition in which teams of professional triathletes from the USA, Europe and the rest of the World (the “Internationals”) will compete to determine which region dominates the sport of Triathlon.
USA vs EUROPE vs INTERNATIONALS
Modelled after golf’s Ryder Cup, The Collins Cup will be held annually with a rotating location. Team USA, Europe and the Internationals will each consist of 12 professional triathletes, six men and six women.
Inaugural Collins Cup 2020: The inaugural Collins Cup in 2020 will take place at the x-bionic® sphere, a world-class purpose-built sporting complex in Samorin, Slovakia from 29-30th May. The weekend will be an all-inclusive festival-like celebration of the sport of triathlon.
Team Selection: Eight athletes, four men and four women, will earn a place on their respective Team by way of the PTO World RankingsTM System, and the remaining four athletes, two men and two women, will be designated as "Captains' Picks", and will selected by a committee of non-athlete members of the PTO Board, in consultation with the Team Captains.
Eligibility: Qualification for The Collins Cup are open to any professional triathlete who is a member in good standing of the PTO. Any licenced professional triathlete is eligible for membership in the PTO and there are no membership fees or costs.
PTO World RankingsTM: The PTO World RankingsTM system is a first-of-its-kind ranking technology to measure the performance of the world’s greatest non-drafting professional triathletes. It set forth in the PTO World RankingsTM protocol.
Distance: The race will be a half distance non-drafting event.
Race Matches: An athlete from each of Team USA, Europe and the Internationals will battle against one another in an individual race of three, so there will be 12 separate race matches, each staggered 10 minutes apart.
Match Selection: The day before the race the Team Captains will select their individual race match-ups by way of a draft mechanism. For Match No 1, USA will first designate an athlete, then Europe will name an athlete and finally The Internationals will name an athlete. For Match No 2 Europe will select first, then the Internationals, then the USA. For Match No 3, The Internationals will select first, then USA, then Europe. This process will be repeated until all twelve Race Matches are set.
Captains’ Tactics: There is no criteria for match selection, it is down to pure tactics and strategic plans of the Team Captains.
Communications: During the bike and run portions of the event, each athlete will be mic’ed and in contact with their respective Team Captains, and their communications will be broadcast to the TV audience. All Team Captains and the viewing audience will have access to various live metrics (pace, power watts etc.) of all competitors and Team Captains will be permitted to communicate this information to their athletes throughout the race.
Team Captains: Each Team will have men and women Team Captains, who will be former greats in the sport. Team Captains will be selected by the PTO Board. For The Collins Cup in 2020, the Team Captains will be:
USA:
Mark Allen
Karen Smyers
EUROPE:
Normann Stadler
Chrissie Wellington
INTERNATIONALS:
Craig Alexander
Simon Whitfield
Erin Baker
Lisa Bentley
The Collins Cup: The Team with the most overall points from the 12 race matches will claim the spoils of The Collins Cup and bragging rights as the most powerful athletic force in the sport.
The Broken Spokes: The Team that finishes last will be presented with The Broken Spokes Trophy. For the next 12 months they will have the ignominious title of being The Broken Spokes, determined to relinquish the title to an opposing Team in the following year’s competition.
Athleta Emeritus Honouree: The PTO has determined that each year the The Collins Cup race will honor an individual who has distinguished themselves in the sport of triathlon by recognizing them as the Athleta Emeritus Honouree. For the inaugural Collins Cup in 2020, it has been decided that there would be no better person upon whom to bestow this honour than Dave Scott.