Disappointing there is no quality TNF for next 3 weeks :-(

[rats123]

WC can't come soon enough.

I still think Usain Bolt is under prepared. He should have run the 200m in Stockholm.

[gh]

"5 DL meets in 14 days in May/June? 0 DL meets in August?

http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/images/stories/tfn_pdfs/nov14editor.pdf

[TN1965]

Perfect time to enjoy some swimming at FINA World Championships.

[booond]

"5 DL meets in 14 days in May/June? 0 DL meets in August?


http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/ima...ov14editor.pdf

While I think the schedule is a bit ridiculous, how many quality athletes will show up closer to the WC?

[betterthanb4]

Check out the American Track League in Atlanta tomorrow. VCB, Asafa, Ashton Eaton, and others compete in their last meet before WCs.

http://americantrackleague.com/

[Always Fan]

It's a bummer, but there are two meets in the U.S. Not Diamond League but should be fun and a chance to see some Beijing bound athletes once more before Worlds. American Track League in Atlanta Aug. 1 and Flotrack Throwdown in Portland Aug. 8. Both streamed Live on FloTrack FloPRO.

[norunner]

I don't understand this at all, it's like the DL provides the only quality T&F, which Stockholm clearly showed isn't true. There are lots of NCs, smaller meets, specialised meets..., for example HJ in Eberstadt this weekend.

[rats123]

Perfect time to enjoy some swimming at FINA World Championships.

FS is all I'm interested in.

[Powell]

I don't understand this at all, it's like the DL provides the only quality T&F, which Stockholm clearly showed isn't true. There are lots of NCs, smaller meets, specialised meets..., for example HJ in Eberstadt this weekend.

Yes, there are some NCs this weekend. There's also a European permit meet on Sunday in Pergine, Italy, and the Kusociński Memorial a week after that.

[ATK]

Stockholm kind of showed that many of the top athletes won't show up for another meet as it gets closer to Champs. Look back at some athletes that ended their regular season after Monaco!

Also this "issue" seems to come up every championship year.

[tm71]

WC can't come soon enough.

I still think Usain Bolt is under prepared. He should have run the 200m in Stockholm.

I don't recall the last time there were three weeks till the worlds. It is usually two weeks off. The worlds should be starting on 8/15 not 8/22.

[tm71]

Perfect time to enjoy some swimming at FINA World Championships.

Yes starts this weekend

[ATK]

I don't recall the last time there were three weeks till the worlds. It is usually two weeks off. The worlds should be starting on 8/15 not 8/22.

Seems it is that way every time the WC are in East Asia.

[aaronk]

Here's a short list of suggestions for improving the US T&F schedule.

End the DL set-up.
Or expand it.

1. As GH has stated several times, the DL schedule is BAD! They should be held weekly, every week, for 20 weeks, beginning as they do now, in May. If the 1st one was held May 1st, the schedule would be, May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, June 5, 12, 19, 26, July 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, August 7, 14, 21, 28, September 4, 11.
If there's a WC or OG, ONLY that week's meet would be postponed (NOT cancelled!) to the end of the season.

2. Hold 4 World Relay meets EVERY year! (Although 3 would be okay!). Space them out to once per month. You could vary the location for each meet. In fact, the first one could be held within the schedule of the Penn or Drake Relays!

3. Have more "specialty" meets for the Throws, HJ, PV, Distance, and Sprints. Right now, we have a good (and expanding) schedule of "specialty" meets. But the rarity of fast 10K's, and the expunging of the HT from the DL's, calls for more of these meets. (BTW, someone mentioned the Portland meet next week. There's also a track 10K there on August 9th.)

In the DL's themselves, expand the schedule of events. Do what Eugene does---hold a special "night before" mini-meet--to include events not normally held during the main TV portion of the meet.

Don't have the same events every meet.
Offer the ENTIRE program of events (except the Multis, Marathon, and distance Walks), and let the athletes CHOOSE which event they want to compete in. And give them the option of CHANGING their event every week!

Bring in MORE athletes. Don't limit it to the Top 10 from the past year, or that year's Top 10 list. Bring in the occasional teenage athlete. If necessary, hold more "B" or "C" events, and make them for EVERYONE, not just that nation's wannabes!

Make a rule that an athlete MUST compete in one meet to be allowed to compete in the next.
Except for valid excuses (injury, illness etc), that means that if the athlete doesn't compete in Meet number 1, he/she cant compete in Meet number 2! The athlete would thus lose points. The missing athlete would only have to skip one meet! (The athletes would sign up for a meet at least a few weeks before each meet. If they need to drop out, make a deadline for them to do so without having to forfeit a meet!

But you know what?
This is the 21st century, and it ain't gonna happen!

We live in an era where LESS is MORE, not the other way around.
A good example comes from baseball.
30 or 40 years ago, it was common to have 3 or 4 pitchers on your team pitching more than 250 innings.
Today, it's rare for even ONE pitcher in the entire Major Leagues to reach 250 IP's!

But there's also the T&F analogy.
Ron Clarke raced over 50 times a year....and I mean RACED!!

In the 3 or 4 weeks leading up to Munich, Lasse Viren ran 4 or 5 VERY fast races, including a 2 Mile WR just DAYS before the OG started!

We're WIMPS today!!

[Tuariki]

Here's a short list of suggestions for improving the US T&F schedule.
End the DL set-up.
Or expand it.

Excuse my ignorance; I wasn't aware the DL was a creature that the US T&F could end or expand.

1. As GH has stated several times, the DL schedule is BAD! They should be held weekly, every week, for 20 weeks, beginning as they do now, in May. If the 1st one was held May 1st, the schedule would be, May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, June 5, 12, 19, 26, July 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, August 7, 14, 21, 28, September 4, 11.
......
2. Hold 4 World Relay meets EVERY year! (Although 3 would be okay!). Space them out to once per month. You could vary the location for each meet. In fact, the first one could be held within the schedule of the Penn or Drake Relays!

24 weeks of competition means 24 weeks of traveling all around the world. Questions:
1. Who is going to pay?
2. When do you expect these 24 meet athletes to train?
3. Does the Southern hemisphere get to be in the 24 meet schedule?
4. What happens to the thousands of other meets that held in the world?

But there's also the T&F analogy.
Ron Clarke raced over 50 times a year....and I mean RACED!!

In the 3 or 4 weeks leading up to Munich, Lasse Viren ran 4 or 5 VERY fast races, including a 2 Mile WR just DAYS before the OG started!

In which years did Ron Clarke race (and I mean raced) 50 times a year.
Viren ran his 2 mile world record on 14 August. The heats of the 10,000 were on 31 August. So your reference to just DAYS is actually 17 of them.

However, I do agree with you that athletics needs to change if we are to survive, let alone grow, as a sport. I guess that will be the challenge for either Bubka or Coe.