Lobby TV for more coverage

[sam]

I am a member on many forums around the world for pretty much all throws

on the hammer circle's website there is a discussion about the coverage of throws events on TV. The secretary for THC has offered to collect e-mails and letters and will then send them to the respective TV companies to try and get them to add more throws to the coverage.

This is the post the secretary has made:

OK boys this all really good stuff and positive news for the hammer and other throws but a few comments on this forum are hardly likely to impress on the BBC hierarchy. There is clearly an appetite for more throwing on the TV. We are the paying public and I believe it is up to US to lobby the TV companies/program schedulers/producers, who ever, to show TV that we want to see. I'm very rarely presented with TV I what to see or am interested in. I’m sure this goes for most of us.

Now we need to put some facts and evidence together to take to the BBC bosses and show that there is strong support for athletics on TV, but not the 30 minutes of 10k or 150 reruns of a faulty start. We all know people not involved in athletics that have made comments about seeing a throw televised and then mention it to us because they know we are involved with that event.

Now if there is a real passion to move this forward then I’m prepared to accept letters or emails pushing for throws on TV, and when I have enough of them, on behalf of Throwing I’ll take these to the BBC and lobby for more throws coverage. Try not to get too emotional in your writing and just stick to the detail. Please keep it brief if I’m expected to print it out at my expense. I’m just too generous by half you know!

If you have an interest, throwers/coaches/officials/supporters/parents, then make sure I receive your support! Hurry and we might reap the benefits in time for the Commonwealth Games? An event where athletes form home countries will be bringing back throws medals.

Email to

[e-mail] subject = TV coverage

Snail mail

D Kerr
10 Pershore Close
Bedford
MK41 8NS

When contacting him please state that you are from thejavelinclub..

Cheers

Sam

[zelyear]

The only problem with that is even if you managed to get 1,000 people to say that they want to see more throws (unlikely) on the TV that would not rival the millions that want to see Paula Radcliffe run a 10K or marathon or to see anyone (even if not British) running 100m.

[smule]

I know im seriously biased, but i think the idea of some person laying into a stick and making it go 90m is way more impressive than some skinny russian running round in circles for 30mins. Left foot...right foot...left foot...wow, the technicalities blow my mind, they really do. Im not saying it isnt impressive, i for one would surely have keeled over and passed out by the 2nd lap, but by god, the monotony of it all drives me crazy. They seem to show plenty of long jump, and that has a very similar format to the throws (in that some one runs up/spins round and does something), so why not point the camaras slightly infield.....beyond the skinny russians and nodding blondes (sorry paula) and show a chucker or 20.

You think thatll go down well?

Probably not, but i really had to get that one off my chest

[smule]

Not that anyone spins round to do long jump......ahhh you know what i mean

[Big C]

There was a point where no long jump was shown a couple of years ago, because we had no one who could jump at world class levels. It's taken the likes of chris, nathen and jade to get interest in the event. I cant see the coverage getting any better after the retirement of steve and mick because at the mo we've no 'iconic' throwers (not really the right phrase but you'll know what i mean). Lasher.... Get throwing 90 and we might get some coverage.

Downward spiral... Have no world class throwers, no coverage... no coverage, less likely to have world class performers.

[slinger]

..........definately something i've thought about chris.

when i first started athletics it was probably around 1992 and it was what happened that year that got me in to it, of course that year was the olympics, inwhich we did well at.

what's happened the last couple of years answer.........not a bleedin' lot!!!!!! so i wonder were the kids of today will get their inspirations from to take up athletics???

very worrying when you consider that we are hosting the olympics in 7 years, lets hope that todays young athletes improve and go on to become successful to help inspire further generations!!!

[throwersparent]

I am a new member and have basically starting getting interested in the Javelin since my son started throwing at school last year. He hasn't got into it by watching the 'Big' UK throwers from years gone by. He loves the sport because, as he puts it, 'It looks really cool and I'm quite good at it'. The innocence of youth!

He's got no hero's of the past in the sport but he is slowly realising how big a sport it really is and how far he and the javelin could go. I suppose Bonne is the only thrower of real quality he has seen up close (apart from his coach:)) so I suppose he could have worse role models.

To cut a long story short, he has fallen in love with the sport purely by participating in it, you don't need these big names to get youngsters into the sport. We just need more schools/clubs to really push the boys/girls at all aspects of Athletics and they'll find a part of it that they love.

I asked my son what one thing would sum up why he loved javelin so much and he showed me the second picture of Andreas Thorkildsen on his interview page on thejavelinclub, he didn't say anything else.

Thanks for all the posts, great site.

[tripplefigures]

The reason running is showed more is probably because it is much more watchable to the average joe, much easier to evaluate how good someone is when the whole competition is taking place all at once and there is relatively alot less technique involved.

Personaly i rekon we should get all the throwers to show-boat it n do massive chears at the end of there throws coz that's what makes throwing fun.

I like slinger argument about how my generation diprived of inspiration lol, play the sympathy card 2 get what we want

[aj25]

alrite mate! i sent an email to colin jackson off the bbc sport site when the europeans were on...did i get a reply..erm no!!