Elitetrack: Sport Training & Conditioning

With USATF National Champs behind us and the big-time European season about to kick off, elite track and field is in full swing. The average American fan probably wouldn’t know that though. Heck, they might not have even known that Jamaica and the U.S. had their World Championship trials / National Championships last weekend. What to do? Michael Johnson thinks he has a solution. In this article M
 
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They tried the City versus City thing in the UK it was affected badly by sponsorship issues.

USA TV coverage is just not good.  They should tune into EuroSport for ideas.  I don’t want to watch 2hours of track to see a total of about 5 events and virtually no field coverage.

Even on the flotrack broadcast on the final day they showed the freaking racewalk…all the while, chatters posted SHOW THE HIGH JUMP.  Or SHOW SOME HAMMER.  All we got for the most part, was good old racewalk.  “First off, I’m an elite racewalker.  I can’t reach lactate threshold” oh the memories.

Oh and stop it with the clone uniforms.  I want to see club/team/individual uniform customizations.  I want team Bobby Kersee and team John Smith and team Mike.  You wouldn’t see Flojo in this generic Nike schoolgirl uniform (schoolgirl uniforms…now that’s an idea!).

mortac8[Ashley Mort] - 30 June 2009 01:00 PM

Oh and stop it with the clone uniforms.  I want to see club/team/individual uniform customizations.  I want team Bobby Kersee and team John Smith and team Mike.  You wouldn’t see Flojo in this generic Nike schoolgirl uniform (schoolgirl uniforms…now that’s an idea!).

I like the idea of the team uniform - to help identify schools/teams. That would improve it for die-hards like me. Not sure what to do about improving the attraction to the general public. The concept of schoolgirl uniforms…I think that male javelin throwers/high jumpers or sprinters would certainly draw attention in a schoolgirl uniform. It does open the question for some imaginative advertising spaces.

How much of the population in Jamaica or Europe watch athletic events on tv? Is it a culture thing?

lol @ this:

I have heard many times from those in the sport, from media to promoters, that a lack of stars since my own retirement in 2000 is the problem.

I can’t take Johnson seriously.

If the sport at the highest level is going to be professional it needs promoting and it needs something more than sponsorship alone.  It needs a sportsbook and knowledgeable handicappers, something which it doesn’t have.  I think the sport should be run like horse racing in the professional ranks.  That’s the one big change and why Europe is so different than the States.

The only good idea I have heard for track in a long time…

The best thing about the horse racing idea is that it would force Powell to finish a race if he wasn’t winning, or else people would accuse him of taking a pay off

Josh Hurlebaus (00Scoots) - 30 June 2009 11:30 PM

The best thing about the horse racing idea is that it would force Powell to finish a race if he wasn’t winning, or else people would accuse him of taking a pay off

There are lots of other reasons I like the idea.  It allows for the creation of the things Michael Johnson wants to see and means athletes have more choice in who their coaches are going to be without having to argue with sponsors.  It also, forces a change in the dynamics of the business as appearances fees would go to the wayside in favor of larger purses and allow a larger pool of semi-pros to compete.

Other added pluses would be more money towards drug testing and harsher penalties for doping.

I’m definitely for a larger pool of semi-pros and anything that makes the sport more popular.

Damn good idea

How many people watch ESPN? How many times a… MONTH do they show anything about track on ESPN?

Especially in the US, track isn’t publicized like… Basketball, Football, or even Nascar. Not to diss Nascar or anything, but why do I see it on Sportscenter everyday? The only athleticism in it is trying to jump out the car before it explodes after you have a crash. I don’t think that the general public isn’t interested in track, but you’ve got to go digging for it. Stats aren’t readily available, clubs are scarcely known, and track meets are only word of mouth. Not only that, Usain Bolt is the only sprinter that most people have ever heard of.

But in all honesty, I don’t think track needs to be saved because it’s not dying. It just needs to grow faster. I do like the idea of city vs. city track meets. That might get more sponsorship opportunities and more people watching. I’d love to see an Atlanta vs. Jacksonville track meet.