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Micah Ward · Posted: Thu May 23, 2002 3:50 pm Post subject: Relay Meets

I saw an interesting letter to the editor in Track & Field News concerning drawing more fans to track meets. The writer suggested having all relay meets. The lineup of events would be 4x1, 4x2, 4x4, 4x8, shuttle relays, the mile, 2 mile and steeplechase with those last three scored as a cross country meet would be. He also explained a relay fashion for scoring field events but I didn't understand it.

His theory was that relays are exciting and this method would make it more of a team competition than an individual competition. I think this would work well on the college level especially if meets involved traditional school rivalrys. Georgia - Florida, Texas-Oklahoma, Michigan-Ohio St, etc.

What say you ladies and gentlemen?

Distance_Guru · Posted: Thu May 23, 2002 4:31 pm Post subject:

I've never really been a fan of relay meets but a relay meet with traditional rivals would be exciting. Although I think you wold have to have some medlay relays, maybe a regular medlay (2-2-4- Cool

and a DMR instead of the 4x800. Just a thought.
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Time is the fire in which we burn

Hammer · Posted: Fri May 24, 2002 1:49 pm Post subject:

@ the college level everything is riding on qualifying for nationals and because of that a lot of coaches probably wouldn't like participating in a lot of relay meets. The reason to have relay meets is to attract more fans but I think that having too many relay meets cheapens the sport. As a fan I don't watch the olympics to see Maurice Green achor the 4X1 I want to see him in the 100. For true T@F fans I think that relay meets are interesting every once and a while (like NFL Quarter Back Challenge) but I wouldn't want to see a lot of them.

Distance_Guru · Posted: Sat May 25, 2002 8:23 am Post subject:

I'd have to agree in principle, although the first meet or two of the year, especially indoor very few athletes post quailifying marks and if they do they will almost certainly better them later on in the season. Although I definatly don't think that doing more than one relay meet a season is wise from a quailifying stand point.
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Time is the fire in which we burn

Micah Ward · Posted: Sat May 25, 2002 9:02 am Post subject:

From the standpoint of qualifiying I can see the arguments against a relay meet. But from the standpoint of drawing fans I could see it being interesting early in the year to stage some regional rivalry meets to generate excitement and interest.

Down in this neck of the woods how about a SEC meet between Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Auburn and Tennessee or an ACC meet with GA Tech, Clemson, North Carolina and NC State?

How about Michigan, Mich State, Notre Dame and Ohio State?

USC, UCLA, Stanford, Arizona and Arizona State?

You get the idea...

Dan · Posted: Sun May 26, 2002 9:03 am Post subject:

Relays (and relay meets) aren't just big for the fans, they're huge for the athletes. What one event invariably gets nearly every athlete lining the track and screaming wildly at a big meet? The 4x400. Get an entire meet of that kind of intensity, and people might just think this sport is fun...

Dan

Hammer · Posted: Mon May 27, 2002 6:07 pm Post subject:

I love relays don't get me wrong. I just think that too many of them cheapen the sport. One of the things I love about T&F is that an individual can be a team and excell even if she or he doesn't have 3 or 4 other quality teamates. And I love the aspect of the individual vs. the world aspect that you can't get from a relay.

Conway · Posted: Mon May 27, 2002 9:05 pm Post subject:

Gotta say I agree with the relay crowd ... Nothing is more exciting or seems to get everyone involved like great relays ... Simutaneously you have the team and indivdual aspects ... Nothing like watching Calvin Smith or Dennis Mitchell on a 3rd leg ... Or Leroy Burrell onthe second leg ... Steve Williams runnign somkeone down on an anchor leg ... Or othe excitement of a strong miler running down folks in a relay ... Would be great to addd more relays not only to champinshipi meets but to the European season ... Would be n ice to see nations going at it at Zurich or Oslo or Berlin ...

Distance_Guru · Posted: Tue May 28, 2002 8:41 am Post subject:

Now there's an idea. Instead of putting them in college meets have relays in world class meets. Get meet organizers to put up enough money to make it worth the athletes time to run on a relay and let the fun begin. And it wouldn't even half to be along national lines either, just put togerther the best relay team possible. A couple of years ago it would have been great to have Micheal Johnson and Donivan Bailey on the same 4x200 team.
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Time is the fire in which we burn

Dan · Posted: Tue May 28, 2002 9:23 am Post subject:

Distance_Guru · Posted: Tue May 28, 2002 12:58 pm Post subject:

I didn't say it would be easy to get them together, and I guess they would have to arm wrestle for who's running anchor. My money's on Maurice.
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Time is the fire in which we burn

Paul · Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2002 4:47 am Post subject:

...and how about Jim Hines' anchor leg in the '68 Olympics. He made everyone else look like high school runners!!
Paul

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