Let’s Go Fly a Kite – or Run
a Relay
Copyright 2018, Mark
Cullen/Trackerati.com, All Rights Reserved
The girls 16 x 50m relay at
Berlin’s ISTAF Meet was a thriller. The team in bright
yellow had a substantial lead but missed the final exchange. While they
retrieved the baton, the rest caught up – but not for long. The local Mary
Poppins Elementary School team had the strongest anchor by far, and Mary Poppins
won going away.
Their website describes the
school as “Elementary School with a Sporty Profile.” Sporty indeed – they were
prominent in a number of the youth events. The announcer couldn’t get enough of
saying ‘Mary Poppins’, which added a certain note of levity to the event.
I noted in an earlier post (http://www.trackerati.com/2018/08/epic-mens-5000m.html)
that there had been a well-coordinated same-day national developmental event in
7 cities in Switzerland as part of the Diamond League Zurich meet.
Kids were coached by Diamond
League stars and the event was streamed live on Facebook. At the time, I had no
context for the role that developmental events play in European track meets.
Further stops in Brussels, Berlin, and now Ostrava have been an eye-opening
experience.
Imagine two hours of
developmental age-group events before the Prefontaine Classic or USATF Outdoor
Nationals. While there are many outreach programs in US track and field, putting
the spotlight on future tracksters before the senior events later the same day will
attract many to the sport. Think of how many athletes are in one race 16x50m
relay, and of how many in could be in multiple races before the senior events
begin.
The developmental events have
added a dimension to track meets that has been wholly new and unexpected for
me. What a wonderful discovery to have made on this epic European track tour.
These highly visible events are
the initiatives that will grow and build our sport. Broadcasters could start
the live feed with 30 seconds of the most engaging moments from the
developmental events. In Berlin, youth competitors were introduced with the
same music as the senior competitors, which only heightened the sense of anticipation
about the youth races and gave the kids a sense of being on the same stage as
the great athletes who would compete later.
True, it’s more work for meet
organizers, but in Berlin managing the hordes of nervous youngsters was an
organizational work of art, as was the same-day coordination of the Swiss
events across the nation.
Note the name of the event. Note the number of people in the stands. photo copyright Mark Cullen/trackerati.com |
Meanwhile, the Continental
Cup begins in Ostrava tomorrow. Here’s how the printed schedule reads:
Saturday:
12:00 – Fan Zone Opens
12:00 – 1:15 – arrival of
schools, clubs, issue of t-shirts
Interesting priorities.
One thing has now changed in
my reporting life: getting there early – that is, before the senior events – is
no longer my goal. Getting there earlier for the developmental events is.
Get me to the stadium on time.
Get me to the stadium on time.
(I know I have mixed musicals here; far better than to mix metaphors!)
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