Youth appeal
After watching an evening of athletics at last year's , a leading IOC member took me aside and said simply: "This sport has to change. The show isn't good enough."
Now athletics is taking the first steps to making its programme more accessible to younger people. It has to. TV audiences for its have fallen dramatically since 2000.
In an , Seb Coe says the programme has to be shorter with more finals together. He also wants more commentary available to spectators.
This is likely to mean that the next will not last for nine days like the current event in Berlin.
It could also mean that athletics shortens its programme at the . No decision has been made on this yet but many will welcome it.
Not only would the athletics show be improved but a few extra days free of track and field would give other sports the opportunity to grab the limelight.
Evenings at the games have usually been dominated by swimming and then athletics. Why not give a few free nights in the middle of the Games when sports like gymnastics, cycling or badminton could take centre stage?
We might even see rugby sevens staging a special tournament in 2012 if it gets the go ahead to be part of the 2016 Olympics.
I've been told rugby chiefs are keen for it to be part of the cultural programme.
But this week's decision by the IOC to put forward golf as a new sport in is likely to be controversial before the IOC vote in October on two new sports.
I've learned in Berlin that golf has lots of work to do to persaude all of the voting IOC members that it deserves a place in the Games. Should you let in a sport where the Olympic title would not be the biggest crown in the sport?
What could happen is that rugby sevens will be allowed in for 2016 but the IOC decides to leave the door open for another new sport in 2020.
I'm ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ London's Olympics Correspondent, which means I report on every aspect of the preparations for 2012. I'm going to be telling you what people are saying about London's preparations - both in the Olympic corridors of power and on the streets of the capital - and I want to hear your views.
Comment number 1.
At 15th Aug 2009, RUNNERJONATHAN wrote:IVE BEEN RUNNING FOR 1 YEAR IN THE U.S. AND TO ME THEY WILL ALWAY BE ON TOP OF ATHLETICS BECAUSE THEY PUT SO MUCH MONEY IN TO IT, I MOVED OVER HERE 4 YEARS AGO AND I ONLY STARTED RUNNING THIS YEAH AND I BECAME THE CT STATE CHAMP AND FINISHED #1 AT THE NEW ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS IAM A BRITISH RUNNER THAT NEVER GOT LOOKED AT I ALSO FINISHED 9TH AT NIKE OUT DOOR NATIONAL AND IAM 1 OF MANY YOUNG BRITISH RUNNERS THAT NEVER GOT LOOKED AT AND IAM ONLY 19!!!
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Comment number 2.
At 16th Aug 2009, You_Little_Biscuit wrote:I think sports like Golf should follow suit with soccer. Olympic soccer is an u/23 tournament because soccer's biggest prize is the world cup. Tennis is lucky to have its Olympic status, because like golf, the four majors are much bigger prizes than Olympic gold.
Golf should look to develop the top juniors (say u/23's).
Olympic golf could also take over the teams championships that happens every year at the end of the golfing calender. The top players have not really given it the attention it either needs or deserves - the format of foursomes and beterball could be a feature of Olympic golf.
As for shortening the program so that more finals are on the same day - this is good. As an athletics spectator - you get lost with what is going on (unless you are ADHD ;-)).
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Comment number 3.
At 20th Aug 2009, grunny92 wrote:I think shortening the athletics programme could be a good idea - to give other sports their night (like you said) and to make sure there are no empty seats like there have been in Germany! However, it should not be made much shorter. There should be fewer heats, in particular 100m and 200m - Usain Bolt made a joke out of his heats and fellow competitors. It could be possible that the top 5 quickest in that year could go straight into a semi/quarter final; they deserve it surely?! Although shortening the programme may result in a shorter rest period? What are the athletes' opinion on this?
Commentary in the stadium would be popular, I can see people purchasing headsets/radios like you get at Rugby matches. It would be nice if we could hear what was being said between athlete/coach in the field events. Interviews after finals could be put on the screens in the stadium.
Although I am a big fan of Golf, I agree it shouldn't feature in the games as it wouldn't be the biggest event of the year (same for Football and Tennis). I did ask Jonathan (Edwards) what he thought about their involvement in the OG - surprisingly for me, he felt that they should be in the Games. 'You_little_biscuit' if Golf was to feature I doubt it would be u23 as it seems that one of the main attractions of Golf for the IOC is that age doesn't matter!
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Comment number 4.
At 30th Aug 2009, dennisjunior1 wrote:Adrian:
I am glad, that there will be a strong young compoentent to the Olympics....
=Dennis Junior=
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Comment number 5.
At 4th Sep 2009, kwikscull wrote:Adrian, interesting blog. I just hope that the powers that be follow through and shorten the athletics programme. Having seen some of the heats live at Athens and watched most of Beijing the time between the 100m heats and final for example is insane, why they have so many below par sprinters is a beyond me also.
All sports, not just athletics need to be looking at ways of attracting new fans, look what 20 20 has done for cricket... even I watch it now and watched a couple of tests too after watching some 20 20 so new formats don't have to get in the way of the traditional forms, they just give an opportunity to new viewers.
As for you your other point about the Olympics should be the peak of the sport, you are of course 100% correct. That is why football should not be in the Games, but worldwide popularity will keep it there.
I don't think golf should be in nor rugby 7's but the IOC need to look again at squash, I am not a fan or a player of sqaush but surely sqaush should be looked at again.
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Comment number 6.
At 4th Sep 2009, Adrian Warner wrote:Kwickscull, you make an interesting point.
Many of the world's media think it is a done deal that rugby 7s and golf will be in the 2016 programme but I'm not so sure.
Wait for the vote in October. There are plenty of people who may be worried about accepting both sports because it will close the door on all the other bidding sports for a long time.
Sometimes, the key to understanding the IOC is thinking beyond the simple question in hand and thinking about other agendas.
In this case, stop thinking about whether these sports have the right to be in the Games and think about whether all the IOC members will want to pour cold water on all of the aspirations of other bidding sports.
Some will say it's good to have people continually knocking on your door and wanting to come to your party.
Others will want sports more popular in their part of the world to have a decent shot at the Games.
And some won't like the idea of the IOC's leaders telling them what to do by putting up just two sports instead of all of the others. Don't underestimate that.
So the solution for 2016 might be: rugby 7s in but one spot left vacant for the next Games.
Funny, old world -- sports politics, eh?
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