> It is wrong to think that "loads" of people in the general population
would
> be attracted to participate in T&F after HS and College are over if WE
DON'T
> EVEN WANT TO. It is like Garry said: Road based competition? Yes, people
> are doing it. Sprinters, throwers, Jumpers? No, people aren't doing it.
I still am not convinced that there is no chance of greatly increasing
participation on all levels, although I am not convinced that those who say
it could never happen are worng, either. An interesting choice of words in
this post - "road-based competition". I would argue that most road racers
are participating, not competing - and I am primarily a road racer, so it is
not meant to bash anyone.
I tend to agree that track is a sport in which it is difficult to
"participate" only. Not only are most events difficult/undesirable to do
without some kind of reasonable training, but there is a perception that
track is only for the elite. A guy I know (a list-member) told me this
summer that he wiould never run a track meet unless he was training hard,
but he will run road races all the time. He usually finished in the top
10-20% of road races even out of shape, so it's not like he is a pure
jogger. He does this out of respect for the discipline that track & field
requires. While I sympathize with him, I think that this is an attitude
that will have a negative impact, not a positive impact on track & field.
We will probably never see hundreds of adults showing up to run 7 or 8
minutes for the mile, and logistically it might be difficult to handle
anyway. What we can do is focus some efforts on instilling a desire to
"compete", as opposed to just participate. This MUST start with youth
programs and continue through high school. And more focus needs to be given
to this aspect of club development. It doesn't matter how good you are or
even how much time you have to train. What matters is that you approach it
as a competition, as an opportunity to find out about your limits and
abilities on any given day, as opposed to just showing up and finishing, as
many road racers do.
IMO, teaching the value of competition at a young age and supporting it
for open and masters athletes will end up having a positive impact on the
elites, even if participation numbers at the adult level never get to the
point where we are satisfied with them.
- Ed Parrot
