Always nice to garner a few moments of fame! Track and Field News has provided a mention of our discussion on Elite Track and Field in its July 4 online edition ( link ). Many thanks.
Track and Field News has been at it for years. I recall fondly following the stories, and perusing the many performance lists, throughout my high school, collegiate, and post-collegiate competitive years. Even to this day, it still retains its “Track and Field Insider” feel. It is an excellent resource for the sport.
With online discussion comes the inevitable comments. I appreciate those that I have received. I do see some common themes in them:
C. “Track is not like tennis. They are completely different sports.”
ETF-Forward: The ideas I have on improving ET&F are mostly about seeing how the structure of tennis aids in its success as a business. Track is certainly NOT tennis (no racquets–only warlike implements!) and ET&F need not become the sport of tennis to realize improvement. What it should consider is how a more successful organizational structure, and strategy, could be applied to its benefit.
C. “Tennis is a rich sport. Track is for poor people.”
ETF-Forward: Like in the above comment, I concede that they are different sports, with different athletes and fans. Still, requiring absolute equivalence is much different from borrowing best practices from a more successful example. I do not think that ET&F needs to attract Rolex as its flagship sponsor in order to implement a different structure, and to (hopefully) generate relative improvement in its business. It is quite reasonable, and acceptable, to see significant improvement in ET&F, even if it never becomes as large as professional tennis. Matching tennis’ financial performance is a dream, but it is much less my goal. Borrowing ideas from it is the main point.