With some questions still unanswered about the 2015 Triathlon World Championships in Chicago, we set out to get some answers and more details. A schedule change now means that all events end on Saturday and not on Sunday as originally planned, and this change of schedule and the fairly steep cost of entry raised some concerns in our forum.

Although the race is not until September, several folks had already booked their trip to Chicago and that now means a day later arrival at the venue and an extra day in Chicago at the end of the trip. An NFL game on Sunday is apparently partly to blame, but according to Lindsay Wyskowski of USA Triathlon this is not necessarily a bad thing.

"On our previous tentative schedule, the Age-Group Standard (Olympic-Distance) World Championships were scheduled for Sunday, as well as the Closing Ceremony. We will now be offering an enhanced course on Saturday for that race, which is different from the course age-groupers competed on last year during the WTS Chicago age-group race," said Wyskowski to slowtwitch. "That course option was not available on Sunday, and we believe this course will be of more interest to the athletes competing in Standard Worlds than the course that would have been laid out on Sunday. The scheduling of the game did factor into our decision-making process, but it was not the only factor at work. Because of the change in this race, a few other races were shifted between Thursday and Saturday to best accommodate everyone and provide a safe, enjoyable race-day experience."

Folks were also worried about the race package pick-up time as originally only Tuesday was listed. But Tuesday is not the only day, that is just when registration opens.

"Packet pick-up begins on Tuesday but will take place throughout the course of the week. Athletes should plan to be in Chicago no later than the day before their first race so they can pick up their packet the day before. We’ll be making more information available soon on the timing for packet pick-up as well as bike racking for each race," added Wyskowsi.

The entry fee of $480 for the Olympic distance race and $440 for the Sprint event also raised some eyebrows, but included in that price for US starters is the parade uniform for these American athletes. Entering both races thus only adds up to $575 for both.

"As far as registration fees, these are specific to each National Federation. In the case of Team USA, the pricing for the events includes a team parade uniform which has typically not been a required part of the package. The uniform cost is rolled into the cost of registration and is being provided at cost rather than at retail pricing," said Wyskowski. "This will ensure that all members of Team USA have a consistent team uniform during Opening and Closing Ceremonies as well as during awards, which is a request we’ve received from many members of Team USA over the years."

The race uniform however is separate from that entry fee and might add another $200 to the expenses for the Chicago experience. Team USA athletes who still have a kit from 2014 can use that kit again and thus are able to save the additional $200.

"The race uniforms are also a bit different depending on the National Federation. ITU sets a particular standard, and all uniforms must meet that standard. There are also standards for each NF – in the case of the U.S. and Team USA, athletes will purchase their uniform through Trisports.com and it will be a TYR-branded suit. Each athlete will get an email with more information specific to Chicago soon. The uniforms are similar to what we had in 2014, so if someone was on Team USA last year, they can use the same suit. If it’s a suit from 2013, they need to email teamusa@usatriathlon.org, because some of those suits may not meet the current standard. For Team USA the suit is around $200, but that depends on whether an athlete chooses a one-piece or two-piece suit. Other federations may have different suit brands, requirements (while still conforming to ITU rules) or pricing. This is the same for all ITU World Championships, not just Chicago," closed Wyskowski.