Another experience of track and field and why it is failing.

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THE BELOW IS GOING, IN VARIOUS FORMS, TO THE TRACK AND FIELD COMMUNITY.

ANOTHER BORING DAY IN TRACK FOR THE FAN, MAYBE NOT FOR THE ATHLETE.

Dear Friends:

I thought I would share another experience of track and field and why it is failing. Northridge meet this weekend. My daughter in the mid-distance competition; and, the reason I was there with my Mom and Wife in tow. I will point out the goods and the bads and some insight.

BORING. I cannot imagine anyone in their right mind as a new fan or someone out for a day of athletic entertainment would go to a track meet. Northridge had a great track. Great officials. A state of the art scoreboard with names and instant finishing times. Great officials. Well run. Boring.

It was like being at Powell Library without a book. There was no printed meet program. No track announcer highlighting to potential fans the various athletes in attendance, schools, etc. No fan interaction zone. If you were a fan and wanted an autograph? Forget it, you would not even know where to start. Fan seating? Good luck.

Handicap seating and wheelchair zone? None.

Education zone about track and field, a fan zone, starting blocks and testing zones for kids? None.

Permitted selling zones for Vendors or free demo zones about track and field? None.

Parking? - yea, walk that 1/2 mile and reap it.

No signage on campus as to where the meet is. NONE.

We continue to market to ourselves, look for the old boys of yesteryear...Paige, Padilla, etc... at major meets us old guys look for friends of the past because there are no new fans. No new blood. No media.

No results of the meet in the Times.

Much like Keyser Soze, poof, going going gone.

PS...pretty much the same set of facts last weekend at Cal State Fullerton.

Where are the new fans?
Where is the marketing to the community?
Where is the kids friendly zones?
Where can you get an autograph?
Where is the vibrant meet announcer.....???

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I took it up the tail pipe and paid 13 bucks to get in

Think out of the box.

I took it up the tail pipe and paid 13 bucks to get in....AND DO YOU THINK I AM GOING TO SIT THERE FOR 5 HOURS BETWEEN THE 800 AND THE B MILE RELAY....YAWN, SCRATCH MY NUTS....NO MUSIC, NO ENTERTAINMENT, NO ANNOUNCER...NO SH**....I WANTED TO BE SHOT...

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The entire system of track is dead.

The entire system of track is dead.

First, the governing body NCAA and USTAF should have guidelines for marketing meets and promotions on a PDF file.

They are fu**ing idiots. The AD not ad could care less about a meet at northridge. Who has the stake here?

The future of track and not some fu**ing AD at Northridge.

You are thinking SMALL and that is why track is dead. DEAD.

The meets, (2) that I have been at great tracks with great officials and timing - horrible marketing, horrible fan interaction, horrible promotions, horrible fan interaction, horrible sport knowledge cultivation, no meet programs - BUT THEY CHARGE SPECTATATORS? FOR WHAT?

You don't get it and that is why track is dead.

You think and believe that someone at a local level gives a rats     about how their meet is marketed? You want to rely on some AD from Northridge to put on a quality meet? Track and Field today is for the athletes only. They are a self imploding fan base of having no one on the outside care because we have no:

support in marketing guidance from the NCAA

support in marketing guidance from USTAF

grant money available to meets that provide the grantor with a marketing plan.

TRACK IS DEAD. I WENT TO THE CEMETARY TWO WEEKS IN A ROW. THE BIGGEST FAN ATTENDANCE ARE THE ATHLETES. DEAD DEAD DEAD DEAD.

WE STILL HAVE A SMALL UNIT OF FANS THAT THINK IN THE BOX INSTEAD OF GIVING A DAMN TO QUESTION THE PATHETIC STATE OF TRACK AND FIELD. I PUKE.

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It's not about track and field. Because the sport is boring.


It's bull     to not put your best foot forward in a track and field meet. If you have a meet with official officials. Many many runners. The vault, the shot, a great track and a nice university like both Cal State Fullerton and Northridge you put your best foot forward.

I know plenty about track and field and I know plenty about marketing. High School football games and basketball games have more glitz than a track meet.

At Northridge there were some decent runners. So, if you want your up and coming runners to experience a nice event and if you want to build a fan base, you make the meet as good as it can be. Arkansas? Gee, that is the media capitol of the world. Give me a break.

It's not about track and field. Because the sport is boring. It is about making a boring sport grow into and what it once was. And that ain't going to happen in Arkansas. It happens at the grassroots in markets all across America. But, being a track nut drone, you are about 1/10 of the population who will saunter out and spend 7 hours with no enterainment, no announcers, and relish in the thought that you got a glimpse of Dwight Stones.

Everyone else in LA could care less.

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Track and Field is governed by those that do not understand sales.


And as most know here but some not, the key to growing any fad, craze, or product launch is to build a fan base and to make sure than on any given day if customers are coming LIKE ME that you have a standard marketing format to give even one fan a great experience. OR, you will not build the sport of track and field. You will continue to fade and continue to see meets with no fans. No advertisers. No Pepsi, No Sunkist, No San Diego, No Coliseum Relays.....no     .

I tell it like it is.

You could not fill Drake with Bolt running. The fan base is not being cultivated. There are more fans at a small town AYSO soccer game than at Northridge. Where were all the high school runners in attendance at Northridge to see the meet? Where were all the jr.high kids from the area? Oh wait, they were packing for Arkansas.

Its simple marketing 101. Track and Field is governed by those that do not understand sales.

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I can run a sub 4 mile today if you believe that.

. . . and to top off my "fan experience," I paid 13 bucks for 3.

No wheelchair access which is a violation of federal law.

No fan place to watch.

And not one kid or youth in attendance to view the what....what? "the number two sport in the world"..yea right; and, I can run a sub 4 mile today if you believe that.

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Horrible food at the meet or I might have stayed....No BBQ....No burgers....

After my daughter ran....I got the hell out of there because the B mile relay was 5 hours away...so it was either sit and watch the grass grow between events or get some lunch....horrible food at the meet or I might have stayed....No BBQ....No burgers....

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How many of these clubs were notified about the meet?


Now...how many of these clubs were notified about the meet?

Bussed in as most of them have busses

Find a sponsor for the day

Bring the kids in for half the meet

How many flyers were given to the clubs to come and watch...make a family day of it?

OR, are we too scared because we all know...we know that track and field would not even begin to know how to touch the next generation at a meet?

Reseda Elementary School Unit
Reseda, CA 91335
Telephone: 818.610.1054
A unit of: West Valley Boys & Girls Club
http://www.wvbgc.org
Distance: 3.07 miles*

Blythe Elementary School Unit
Canoga Park, CA 91303
Telephone: 818.610.1054
A unit of: West Valley Boys & Girls Club
http://www.wvbgc.org
Distance: 4.588 miles*

Canoga Park High School Unit
Canoga Park, CA 91303
Telephone: 818.610.1054
A unit of: West Valley Boys & Girls Club
http://www.wvbgc.org
Distance: 4.588 miles*

Tierra Del Sol
Canoga Park, CA 91303
Telephone: 818.610.1054
A unit of: West Valley Boys & Girls Club
http://www.wvbgc.org
Distance: 4.588 miles*

Boys & Girls Club of San Fernando Valley
Pacoima, CA 91331
Telephone: 818.896.5261
A unit of: Boys & Girls Club of San Fernando Valley
http://www.bgcsfv.org
Distance: 6.91 miles*

Canoga Park Unit
CANOGA PARK, CA 91364
Telephone: 818.610.1054
A unit of: West Valley Boys & Girls Club
http://www.wvbgc.org
Distance: 7.045 miles*

Boys & Girls Club of Simi Valley
Simi Valley, CA 93063
Telephone: 805.527.4437
A unit of: Boys & Girls Club of Simi Valley
http://www.bgcsimi.com
Distance: 9.478 miles*

The Club at Valley View
Simi Valley, CA 93063
Telephone: 805.527.4437
A unit of: Boys & Girls Club of Simi Valley
http://www.bgcsimi.com
Distance: 9.478 miles*

Newhall Unit
Newhall, CA 91321
Telephone: 661.254.2582
A unit of: Santa Clarita Valley Boys & Girls Club
http://scvboysandgirlsclub.org
Distance: 9.495 miles*

Val Verde Unit
Newhall, CA 91321
Telephone: 661.257.4021
A unit of: Santa Clarita Valley Boys & Girls Club
http://scvboysandgirlsclub.org
Distance: 9.495 miles*

Chaparral Branch
Calabasas, CA 91302
Telephone: 818.224.3097
A unit of: Boys & Girls Clubs of Conejo & Las Virgenes, Inc.
http://www.bgcconejo.org
Distance: 9.82 miles*

Luther Middle School Program
Burbank, CA 91505
Telephone: 818.842.9333
A unit of: The Boys & Girls Club of Burbank and Greater East Valley, Inc.
http://www.bgcburbank.org
Distance: 12.657 miles*

Providencia Elementary School
Burbank, CA 91505
Telephone: 818.842.9333
A unit of: The Boys & Girls Club of Burbank and Greater East Valley, Inc.
http://www.bgcburbank.org
Distance: 12.657 miles*

Roosevelt Elementary
Burbank, CA 91505
Telephone: 818.482.7900
A unit of: The Boys & Girls Club of Burbank and Greater East Valley, Inc.
http://www.bgcburbank.org
Distance: 12.657 miles*

Stevenson Elementary
Burbank, CA 91505
Telephone: 818.482.7901
A unit of: The Boys & Girls Club of Burbank and Greater East Valley, Inc.
http://www.bgcburbank.org
Distance: 12.657 miles*

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The blame starts at USTAF. Horrible leadership.

Fans don't know about the track meets because no one is marketing the meets; and, the media could care less about a sport that does not market itself.

The blame starts at USTAF. Horrible leadership.

Why would anyone sponsor a meet with no fans and no attendance and no marketing. I sure would not.

There is no evidence that track is popular.

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Boy, I cannot wait.

I cannot wait to see the marketing plan for the State meet at Drake.

I cannot wait to see the News Ads.

I cannot wait to see the fanzone.

I cannot wait to see the printed program with advertisers.

Boy, I cannot wait.

Why would anyone sponsor track?

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The national body and NCAA should be marketing/assisting all grassroots meets.

Don't you get it. It's the mindset of the promotors that kills track.

The national body and NCAA should be marketing/assisting all grassroots meets.

Yea, right!

Track is dead because no one knows how to stage an event.

Boring.