I just saw a tweet from Chris Chavez talking about all of the replacements for the first Grand Slam Track meet in Kingston. It seems like half of the athletes are already bailing on the first meet! For a series that is totally based on competition and promoting that rivalry throughout the series, isn't this a sign that the whole thing just does not work in track? Trying to create an F1 style thing just does not work in this sport - as great as it sounds.
.@GrandSlamTrack has announced the following changes to its fields for this weekend's meet in Kingston, Jamaica. 🇯🇲
Athlete Scratched | Replacement Shamier Little → Cassandra Tate
Since this is my job, I’ll give you a little insight — this happens at every single meet, you just don’t know it. It’s why most of the time you don’t get the start lists until the day before.
We made the decision that we’d rather publish the field 3+ weeks in advance of the 96 athletes that were intending to run. That’s not a soft verbal - those are contracts.
Unfortunately, things happen. I polled a bunch of media members, including Gault, asking if they’d prefer this methodology or only getting the final list a day before and their opinions were unanimous.
Remember, the Racers committed months ago! Some as far back as June 2024. And many Challengers signed in December. It’s impossible to know then that their Achilles would be bugging them the week before. When is the final lineup announced in the NFL or MLB? It’s sports!
Since this is my job, I’ll give you a little insight — this happens at every single meet, you just don’t know it. It’s why most of the time you don’t get the start lists until the day before.
We made the decision that we’d rather publish the field 3+ weeks in advance of the 96 athletes that were intending to run. That’s not a soft verbal - those are contracts.
Unfortunately, things happen. I polled a bunch of media members, including Gault, asking if they’d prefer this methodology or only getting the final list a day before and their opinions were unanimous.
Remember, the Racers committed months ago! Some as far back as June 2024. And many Challengers signed in December. It’s impossible to know then that their Achilles would be bugging them the week before. When is the final lineup announced in the NFL or MLB? It’s sports!
Good comment. Thanks for posting. More transparency is always better.
Since this is my job, I’ll give you a little insight — this happens at every single meet, you just don’t know it. It’s why most of the time you don’t get the start lists until the day before.
We made the decision that we’d rather publish the field 3+ weeks in advance of the 96 athletes that were intending to run. That’s not a soft verbal - those are contracts.
Unfortunately, things happen. I polled a bunch of media members, including Gault, asking if they’d prefer this methodology or only getting the final list a day before and their opinions were unanimous.
Remember, the Racers committed months ago! Some as far back as June 2024. And many Challengers signed in December. It’s impossible to know then that their Achilles would be bugging them the week before. When is the final lineup announced in the NFL or MLB? It’s sports!
Thank you for your response and I admit that my post is a bit hyperbole.
Your point is well taken, but that is part of my reasoning. The Chiefs vs Eagles in the Super Bowl is still the Chiefs vs Eagles regardless of which players are healthy or injured. That is not the same for Hocker vs. Nuguse (I know these guys have not bailed). That is why I worry about the product.
Since this is my job, I’ll give you a little insight — this happens at every single meet, you just don’t know it. It’s why most of the time you don’t get the start lists until the day before.
We made the decision that we’d rather publish the field 3+ weeks in advance of the 96 athletes that were intending to run. That’s not a soft verbal - those are contracts.
Unfortunately, things happen. I polled a bunch of media members, including Gault, asking if they’d prefer this methodology or only getting the final list a day before and their opinions were unanimous.
Remember, the Racers committed months ago! Some as far back as June 2024. And many Challengers signed in December. It’s impossible to know then that their Achilles would be bugging them the week before. When is the final lineup announced in the NFL or MLB? It’s sports!
I don't necessarily believe that the potential problem is announcing the fields early, but rather our sport doesn't really allow for such contractual commitments to work.
It's extremely clear that GST isn't the true focus of any of these athletes seasons. As such, athletes have to scratch these meaningless meets all the time to do what's best for themselves long term. Not a new problem. GST just isn't important enough to create a product that the fans can get excited about. And if we get excited, scratch, replacement. GST is just another meet with gimmicks.
Since this is my job, I’ll give you a little insight — this happens at every single meet, you just don’t know it. It’s why most of the time you don’t get the start lists until the day before.
We made the decision that we’d rather publish the field 3+ weeks in advance of the 96 athletes that were intending to run. That’s not a soft verbal - those are contracts.
Unfortunately, things happen. I polled a bunch of media members, including Gault, asking if they’d prefer this methodology or only getting the final list a day before and their opinions were unanimous.
Remember, the Racers committed months ago! Some as far back as June 2024. And many Challengers signed in December. It’s impossible to know then that their Achilles would be bugging them the week before. When is the final lineup announced in the NFL or MLB? It’s sports!
Transparency is always better! I don’t think you guys should be the ones to have to enforce this but the sport would benefit from these athletes disclosing their reasoning just like other sports. I feel like this is probably a Rojo point but if I saw Shamier Little (hamstring) and Trevor Bassitt (Achilles) for example, I’d be much more satisfied as a fan. The secrecy in running is not good for fans, and I’d argue it doesn’t serve the athletes well in the long run.
Since this is my job, I’ll give you a little insight — this happens at every single meet, you just don’t know it. It’s why most of the time you don’t get the start lists until the day before.
We made the decision that we’d rather publish the field 3+ weeks in advance of the 96 athletes that were intending to run. That’s not a soft verbal - those are contracts.
Unfortunately, things happen. I polled a bunch of media members, including Gault, asking if they’d prefer this methodology or only getting the final list a day before and their opinions were unanimous.
Remember, the Racers committed months ago! Some as far back as June 2024. And many Challengers signed in December. It’s impossible to know then that their Achilles would be bugging them the week before. When is the final lineup announced in the NFL or MLB? It’s sports!
Transparency is always better! I don’t think you guys should be the ones to have to enforce this but the sport would benefit from these athletes disclosing their reasoning just like other sports. I feel like this is probably a Rojo point but if I saw Shamier Little (hamstring) and Trevor Bassitt (Achilles) for example, I’d be much more satisfied as a fan. The secrecy in running is not good for fans, and I’d argue it doesn’t serve the athletes well in the long run.
I agree completely and we’ll work towards that, but it is year/meet one and you can’t change the culture of the sport overnight.
But I can tell you there are Racers, who I know for fact, who would not be lining up this weekend if it were not for their commitment to GST. That’s partially because of finances, but also because they also believe in the need to further professionalize the sport.
And we told them that we’d rather watch them compete at less than their very best and improve as the season goes on than not run at all. I believe that creates the potential for upsets and season long narratives that fans want to follow.
Transparency is always better! I don’t think you guys should be the ones to have to enforce this but the sport would benefit from these athletes disclosing their reasoning just like other sports. I feel like this is probably a Rojo point but if I saw Shamier Little (hamstring) and Trevor Bassitt (Achilles) for example, I’d be much more satisfied as a fan. The secrecy in running is not good for fans, and I’d argue it doesn’t serve the athletes well in the long run.
I agree completely and we’ll work towards that, but it is year/meet one and you can’t change the culture of the sport overnight.
But I can tell you there are Racers, who I know for fact, who would not be lining up this weekend if it were not for their commitment to GST. That’s partially because of finances, but also because they also believe in the need to further professionalize the sport.
And we told them that we’d rather watch them compete at less than their very best and improve as the season goes on than not run at all. I believe that creates the potential for upsets and season long narratives that fans want to follow.
Since this is my job, I’ll give you a little insight — this happens at every single meet, you just don’t know it. It’s why most of the time you don’t get the start lists until the day before.
We made the decision that we’d rather publish the field 3+ weeks in advance of the 96 athletes that were intending to run. That’s not a soft verbal - those are contracts.
Unfortunately, things happen. I polled a bunch of media members, including Gault, asking if they’d prefer this methodology or only getting the final list a day before and their opinions were unanimous.
Remember, the Racers committed months ago! Some as far back as June 2024. And many Challengers signed in December. It’s impossible to know then that their Achilles would be bugging them the week before. When is the final lineup announced in the NFL or MLB? It’s sports!
Thank you Kyle. Glad we have grownups in the sport.
I just saw a tweet from Chris Chavez talking about all of the replacements for the first Grand Slam Track meet in Kingston. It seems like half of the athletes are already bailing on the first meet! For a series that is totally based on competition and promoting that rivalry throughout the series, isn't this a sign that the whole thing just does not work in track? Trying to create an F1 style thing just does not work in this sport - as great as it sounds.
I just saw a tweet from Chris Chavez talking about all of the replacements for the first Grand Slam Track meet in Kingston. It seems like half of the athletes are already bailing on the first meet! For a series that is totally based on competition and promoting that rivalry throughout the series, isn't this a sign that the whole thing just does not work in track? Trying to create an F1 style thing just does not work in this sport - as great as it sounds.
This will always be a problem for track. If Aaron Judge doesn't play, the Yankees are still playing and winning or losing. If a specific runner doesn't show up he's simply not there.
Since this is my job, I’ll give you a little insight — this happens at every single meet, you just don’t know it. It’s why most of the time you don’t get the start lists until the day before.
We made the decision that we’d rather publish the field 3+ weeks in advance of the 96 athletes that were intending to run. That’s not a soft verbal - those are contracts.
Unfortunately, things happen. I polled a bunch of media members, including Gault, asking if they’d prefer this methodology or only getting the final list a day before and their opinions were unanimous.
Remember, the Racers committed months ago! Some as far back as June 2024. And many Challengers signed in December. It’s impossible to know then that their Achilles would be bugging them the week before. When is the final lineup announced in the NFL or MLB? It’s sports!
When is the final lineup announced in the NFL or MLB? It’s sports!
This right here. I honestly don't know if the people complaining even understand racing, especially at that level.
I just saw a tweet from Chris Chavez talking about all of the replacements for the first Grand Slam Track meet in Kingston. It seems like half of the athletes are already bailing on the first meet! For a series that is totally based on competition and promoting that rivalry throughout the series, isn't this a sign that the whole thing just does not work in track? Trying to create an F1 style thing just does not work in this sport - as great as it sounds.
I just saw a tweet from Chris Chavez talking about all of the replacements for the first Grand Slam Track meet in Kingston. It seems like half of the athletes are already bailing on the first meet! For a series that is totally based on competition and promoting that rivalry throughout the series, isn't this a sign that the whole thing just does not work in track? Trying to create an F1 style thing just does not work in this sport - as great as it sounds.
And in defense of Grand Slam Track- why all the naysayers? They're trying something new, Give it a chance.
Because there's nothing wrong with the current format. There's a simple reason for why diamond league events mainly focus on Europe and it's because the interest in track and field is much bigger here compared to the US.
And in defense of Grand Slam Track- why all the naysayers? They're trying something new, Give it a chance.
Because there's nothing wrong with the current format. There's a simple reason for why diamond league events mainly focus on Europe and it's because the interest in track and field is much bigger here compared to the US.
Do you think it was a good idea for F1 to expand into the US market? To grow the sport, you have to do something different.