Iowa has 7 relays in high school meets. The state meet is 3 days. It is terrible.
If by terrible you mean the highest attended state meet, by far, in the country, that runs on time down to the second, then yes, it is terrible. College athletes will never in front of a crowd the size of IA state meet.
Well yeah, but the only other thing going on in Iowa is Corn
We all know there are too many TF events. We need to cut it down and make it a more enjoyable experience for viewers. The rule is no matter what there is a multi. You can only include the events you kept in this multi but you don't need to include them all.
100✅ This one is obvious, right?
100h/110h✅ Also pretty obvious.
200❌ An in between distance and afterthought.
400 ✅ One lap, simple and fast.
400h ❌ It's the triple jump of hurdle events.
800 ❌ Not different enough from 400 or 1500.
1500✅ Perfect blend of speed and strategy.
3000S✅ This is exciting with the barriers.
5000❌ You can't have the 5k AND 10k and we need a true test of endurance prowess.
10000✅ A true test of endurance
4x100✅ Pure adrenaline
4x400✅ Also pure adrenaline
SP✅ Pure test of brute strength
Discus❌ Just not exciting to me.
Javelin✅ Pretty much the coolest field event
Hammer❌ Like discus but more spinning? Meh.
TJ❌ Why jump three times? What a weird event.
LJ✅ Simple concept and pure.
HJ✅ Also a simple concept for viewers and pure.
PV❌ Why do you need a pole to high jump?
Multi✅ Figuring out the best athlete in the world is always exciting.
The "new multis" will just be all the events I decided to keep except the 10000, steeple, and relays. So just 8 events... The Octathlon? Nobody wants to see those dudes try to complete a 10k in 45 minutes.
We all know there are too many TF events. We need to cut it down and make it a more enjoyable experience for viewers. The rule is no matter what there is a multi. You can only include the events you kept in this multi but you don't need to include them all.
100✅ This one is obvious, right?
100h/110h✅ Also pretty obvious.
200❌ An in between distance and afterthought.
400 ✅ One lap, simple and fast.
400h ❌ It's the triple jump of hurdle events.
800 ❌ Not different enough from 400 or 1500.
1500✅ Perfect blend of speed and strategy.
3000S✅ This is exciting with the barriers.
5000❌ You can't have the 5k AND 10k and we need a true test of endurance prowess.
10000✅ A true test of endurance
4x100✅ Pure adrenaline
4x400✅ Also pure adrenaline
SP✅ Pure test of brute strength
Discus❌ Just not exciting to me.
Javelin✅ Pretty much the coolest field event
Hammer❌ Like discus but more spinning? Meh.
TJ❌ Why jump three times? What a weird event.
LJ✅ Simple concept and pure.
HJ✅ Also a simple concept for viewers and pure.
PV❌ Why do you need a pole to high jump?
Multi✅ Figuring out the best athlete in the world is always exciting.
The "new multis" will just be all the events I decided to keep except the 10000, steeple, and relays. So just 8 events... The Octathlon? Nobody wants to see those dudes try to complete a 10k in 45 minutes.
Almost the same as me, except I think 10000m is too long to be interesting to a wide enough audience, and I find the 4x400m a bit boring.
100 400 1500 5000 Sprint Hurdles Javelin Shot Put High Jump Long Jump Pole Vault OR Steeple (not sure which... PV is more fan friendly but takes forever... just get Mondo to 6m already!) 4x100m Distance Medley Relay
This post was edited 4 minutes after it was posted.
Reason provided:
On the fence
I would add two events, who cares about people who think it is too much.
We all "care what people think" because a track meet requires other people to meet us there and do the sport with us. If normal people think it is boring or too long, they might be less likely to join. Fewer people means we become more and more niche. That is not a good way to find out who the best runners, jumpers, and throwers are. I don't want our sport to be limited to only the kind of people who can sit around for hours in the Spring drizzle waiting for a chance to run for a few seconds or minutes.
I wish MORE kids would do track but I know that if every meet is a 4-6 hour drag where you sit around for 95% of it, most normal people won't sign up.
At meets, people actually watch the pole vault. Excluding it would take away a crowd favorite. Instead take away some event people watch with less interest. You know which they are.
Javelin is also a popular one to watch.
This post was edited 2 minutes after it was posted.
If we're "saving" T&F, you need the pole vault. 10k is a liability on the track in terms of entertainment and engagement. So is the 5k to some extent. Plus there are lots of other venues for 5k and 10k beside the track.
Not exactly. There aren't too many events in track. There are too many events in each meet!
You can keep all the events (or even add more) but you can't run them all at every meet.
I propose to run the HS meets this way and hope people will support it so we can have shorter, faster meets. Here is what the HS event-order would look like if I were the AD:
Mid - 400 or 800
Sprint - 100 or 200
Long - Mile or 2M
Hurdle - 110m or 300m
Relay - 4x100 or 4x400
The following week's meet would host the other events so we don't cut anything but we cut the number of races way down. Yes, we would have more heats, but that is okay. The heats are not nearly as time-consuming as the event switching, starter moving, clerk moving, etc.
The Diamond League sort of already does this. They don't have every event, every week. Also, the best pro meets I have gone to tend to do this as well.
And I didn't mention the field events because those should be determined by someone who is a "field person." They don't really impact the flow of the running events.
I’ll do you a couple better. For professional, one-day circuit (DL and other “label”) meets, 9 events:
1. 100m
2. 400m
3. Mile
4. 200m hurdles
5. PV (3 misses total and an athlete is out)
6. HJ (3 misses total and an athlete is out)
7. LJ (2 jump prelim, top-8 athletes compete in a bracket of 2-jump jump-offs to advance)
8. Javelin
9. Shot Put
Additionally, on their own circuit and at Olympics, WCs, and national and international championships, and as exhibitions at circuit meets, these events would be held:
1. 4 x 100m (M & W separate)
2. 4 x 400m (mixed-only)
3. 5km road race
4. 10km(ish) XC
5. 4 x 2km(ish) XC relay (mixed-only)
6. Marathon (replaced by half marathon at Area and other international champs, and national championships at countries’ discretion)
7. Add an all-around that is the nine events on the one-day circuit, plus the 2km(ish) XC loop as the final event, with a staggered start based on scores to that point where the first across the line wins—only the defending champion, top-3 in the world on the last year’s descending order list, and top performer not included in the above from each Area earn wild card spots. But individual event champions from the current championship are also allowed to declare (most will pass, of course).
Not exactly. There aren't too many events in track. There are too many events in each meet!
You can keep all the events (or even add more) but you can't run them all at every meet.
And not everyone that is interested in the running events wants to watch field events, jumps and vice versa. Sprints versus distance too. The solution could be separate meets.
When I am watching a replay and they cut to the jumps in the middle of a race I usually fast forward, if I am being honest.
In: 100 110H 400 800 - you're crazy if you don't include, possibly the most exciting race out of all of them. 1500 - the ultimate distance event 5k - it's shorter and most years it's the same people running the 5k/10k anyways) 4x100 4x400 4x800 - yep, distance runners deserve a relay too. Plus it's fun to watch. LJ HJ Javelin - Javelin go brrr
Out: 200 - like the 5k/10k, it's mostly the same runners who do the 100/200. Plus the 100/400 are better tests of speed and speed endurance 400h - not different enough from the 400 imo, the hurdles are too short to really be a test of hurdling ability. It's basically an event for 110h and 400 washouts 3000S - boring, pointless event 10k - see above TJ - stupid, pointless event PV - it's pretty to watch but can be confusing for spectators, also a very slow event SP/Hammer/Discus - SP and Discus are too technical for non-throwers to really appreciate, plus people like to see things thrown far. It was a choice between hammer and javelin and javelins are just thrown freakishly far, but it was a close call. Multi - I like the concept of these types of cumulatively scored events, but they require you to follow along throughout the entire event for it to have meaning. Plus, I would rather differen t many different athletes do 1 or 2 events optimally, than 1 athlete do a bunch of events sh!tty (compared to the rest of the athletes at their level).
We all know there are too many TF events. We need to cut it down and make it a more enjoyable experience for viewers. The rule is no matter what there is a multi. You can only include the events you kept in this multi but you don't need to include them all.
100✅ This one is obvious, right?
100h/110h✅ Also pretty obvious.
200❌ An in between distance and afterthought.
400 ✅ One lap, simple and fast.
400h ❌ It's the triple jump of hurdle events.
800 ❌ Not different enough from 400 or 1500.
1500✅ Perfect blend of speed and strategy.
3000S✅ This is exciting with the barriers.
5000❌ You can't have the 5k AND 10k and we need a true test of endurance prowess.
10000✅ A true test of endurance
4x100✅ Pure adrenaline
4x400✅ Also pure adrenaline
SP✅ Pure test of brute strength
Discus❌ Just not exciting to me.
Javelin✅ Pretty much the coolest field event
Hammer❌ Like discus but more spinning? Meh.
TJ❌ Why jump three times? What a weird event.
LJ✅ Simple concept and pure.
HJ✅ Also a simple concept for viewers and pure.
PV❌ Why do you need a pole to high jump?
Multi✅ Figuring out the best athlete in the world is always exciting.
The "new multis" will just be all the events I decided to keep except the 10000, steeple, and relays. So just 8 events... The Octathlon? Nobody wants to see those dudes try to complete a 10k in 45 minutes.
Yes, let's "save" track and field by eliminating world record holders Mondo Duplantis, Karsten Warholm, Sydney McLaughlin, and Yulimar Rojas, along with Athing Mu, Keely Hodkinson, Femke Bol, and ALL THE FEMALE POLE VAULTERS.
You know, people didn't watch Anna Kournikova play tennis because of her tennis skills, right?
i would get rid of the 1500, the dumbest most idiotic distance ever. how on earth did it become the standard distance?? it makes no sense. 3 3/4 laps instead of 4???
mile or 1600 or bust.
also i would give the entire field category the heave ho, which should get us around 12. steeple then hurdles can go if we still need to make cuts
Help us build the best running shoe review site for a chance to win a LetsRun t-shirt.Help us build the best running shoe review site for a chance to win one of 10 LetsRun t-shirts.