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more Day 4 stories and highlights
THE CROWD
Jamaica shows how to enjoy a track meet
by Mike Byrnes
Going to 99.8%, no, make that 99.9%, of all track meets in the
US is usually a chore. Sure the races are usually great, regardless
of the level, a 4:43.54 miler edging a 4:43.55 miler is exciting.
But you’d never know it. There’s rarely any announcing.
The Announcer, who should be the most important official present,
the official who is, literally, the Voice of the Meet, rarely speaks
during a race, any race. As a result, the crowd ordinarily sits
on their collective hands. Jim Spier and I have been to hundreds
of meets at every level. A few states have good announcers, California
and Texas spring to mind. But the rest are an abysmal lot. They
reduce their role, and it is the Announcer himself who reduces his
role, to merely announcing the names of the starters, their lanes
and then making some inane comment, repeated during almost every
race, “Here they come!” Thus, the fans are cheated,
the kids are cheated and the sport reinforces its reputation as
a lengthy, boring event. Most parents wait until their kid competes
and then they leave. And it doesn’t have to be that way.
I wish all of you could attend a major competition. The announcing
is the focal point of the competition. They actually call the race,
keeping the crowd up to date as the race progresses, telling the
fans who’s in front, who’s made up the stagger and,
occasionally throwing in some tidbits, “Paul Foster, Biloxi
HS, was the runner-up in last yrs JO competition.” They bring
the event to life and the fans respond accordingly.
Her in Jamaica the meet is awesome. The band plays, drums pound,
cowbells ring incessantly, semi-organized cheers break out (Let’s
go Jermaine, Let’s go Jermaine!) and the stadium is alive.
One can’t help but become caught up in the excitement.
The Jamaicans are great. They cheer enthusiastically every time
one of their own is announced or appears on the TV monitor. When
a Jamaican wins a heat, WOW! The place goes crazy. And when they
win a medal, forget it. For several seconds you can’t hear
yourself talk. Surprisingly even when a kid disappoints and wins
a lesser award than expected, they still go beserk.
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Medal bearers
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drums bang, bells ring, and the
crowd roars
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fan climbs the flag pole
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Can you imagine such behavior at a state championship? I realize
a World Championship is at a far higher level than a state meet
but still, a little excitement would be nice. At the Texas state
meet there’s usually a crowd of about 20,000 – 30,000.
It used to be higher, 40,000+ wasn’t too unusual but they
built a new stadium exclusively for track and lowered the capacity.
Please don’t think that’s totally out of the ordinary.
I’ve been to the Ohio meet and there are always about 20,000+.
I recall reading somewhere the average state meet attendance is
about 12,000.
Sitting beside me is USA Assistant Women’s Coach Cedric Walker.
He asks what I’m writing about and, when told, comments, “You
go to a meet almost anywhere other than the United States and I
guarantee you it will be hard to get a ticket. The place will be
packed and they’ll make noise, lots. You have to go outside
of America to watch a track meet.” Walker is a super guy.
The US team is staying, as are all the other teams, in the dorms.
No AC. Lots of bugs. Walker went out and bought, out of his own
pocket, screens for all the windows so at least our kids can catch
some of the almost constant breezes without having to worry about
being eaten alive.
How can our sport be rebuilt within the US? All change starts at
the grassroots level. Jim Spier and I created the National Scholastic
Sports Foundation after having seen the horrible performance of
the US Junior team at the World Jrs. From that came the first National
Scholastic Outdoor Championships, the present adidas Outdoor competition.
The meet is open to anyone but we strongly suggest the athlete be
able to meet the Entry Guidelines. The meet is also recognized as
the unofficial National High School Championships. The three major
high school meets, the Nike Indoor Championships, the National Scholastics
and the adidas Outdoor Championships have played a huge role in
the revival of our junior team as well as the level of high school
performances. Some kids plan their season around the major meets,
especially the outdoor event. For some, it’s their first taste
of a true National type event. And they rise to the occasion as
dozens set PR’s. They go home with a better sense of what
they have to do to reach true Elite status.
One of the first steps at the high school administrative level
is to vastly upgrade their state meets. And that begins with the
Announcer. He/She has to do their homework and prepare for the meet.
Find out something about the kids, what's their best performance?
How did they do in other sports? Are they academically solid? Things
that will introduce the crowd to the individual make the athlete
more than just a name. Give them a chance to get to know something
about the kids in the race.
Most importantly, call the race. Who’s in the lead? Who’s
just made a move? What was the 400m split? The 800m. Get the crowd
into the race. Make them a part of it. Build their excitement. Then
they’ll cheer. You can bet on it.
At the dual meet level, get a teacher or someone who likes the
sport and knows something about it to do the same. These people
would love to have the opportunity to be an integral part of the
sport. And it will make the crowds more knowledgeable. Then they
may go to the state meet just to watch. It can be done. It must
be done.
Hep HJ – Carolina (pronounced Kaar-o-leena)
Kluft (SWE) is high jumping out of her mind. Her pre-jump routine
is great. Several false starts, thigh slaps, hand rolling, hand
clapping, head shaking and the like. Once she convinces herself
she can clear the height (much like a weightlifter has to be convinced
they can lift the weight) she goes. Perfect takeoff, she jumps straight
up, waits until she’s high in the air, then arches and is
over at 1.89. 1.92 – 6’03.5 coming up. First try is
unbearably close. No sweat, she clears, barely, on her second try.
That ranks as the #2-WJ this year in the HJ. And this is a Heptathlete
NOT exclusively a HJ’er.
World Junior Championships
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