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.....???
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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