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Post by nije on Oct 8, 2009 10:36:40 GMT 1
Ha ha!
Phil you have far too much time on your hands then!!!! I like baseball as well - we cannot find common ground it seems! I used to watch in the US in bars with my mates - and tbh it is a pretty boring game. It also shows my age as I went to uni with dougie brown of Warks (who also played goalkeeper for scottish schools and I seem to recall him talking about the three day game and some of the agricultural pitches they playe on in some counties - being skittled out of something silly like 20 runs on death trap wickets!
Those were the days Phil - these kids don't know they are born! Now sounding like my dad - i must be getting old!
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Post by Caroline on Oct 8, 2009 17:35:10 GMT 1
Sorry, Nigel, I still don't think you understand the concept. It isn't about 'we've tried everything and it didnt work' with the implication that we may as well go home and not bother. You are looking at a small picture, not the big one, which is where the big multi-nationals are so good. I may have not been in the athletics environment for a particularly long time, but you fail to recognise that athletics is only just another product.
Marketing as defined by the Institute of Marketing is:
'The management process responsible for identifying , anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably'
Note that it is a process for management, not junior staff. In this environment we are all 'junior staff' as we have no decision-making input.
I feel that there is failure on every level - 'identifying', 'anticipating' and also 'satisfying' but mostly in the first 2.
If athletics is such an impossible product to sell to the British public, why are so many people glued to their televisions for a couple of weeks every 4 years??
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Post by nije on Oct 9, 2009 0:30:41 GMT 1
Actions Speak louder than words they say and definitions etc does not equate to actions. What I do know is that outside the Olympics the sport does not attract serious numbers pf support in day in day out athletics and the facts support this. However as naïve as I thinl your idealogical view is I look forward to your first event that attracts a football style attended event and wish you every luck! I like to be proved wrong!
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Post by pj on Oct 9, 2009 10:15:35 GMT 1
I think people have got wise to the probability that the Sport has not been run properly. They want plenty of GB action. They don't get it because large swathes of the Sport are neglected.
An example is Road Walking, not my cup o' tea, but compared to other Counties we do not invest anything like the time and money other Countries do. So we get no success. Our best walkers are approaching the Stadia when the winners are getting their medals. We have one or two near top class. In the '50's and '60's we had several World beaters. Once you pull back from supporting any sections of the Sport you lose impetus and this leads to decline. It might only be surreptitious but Success breeds Success and Decline leads to further Decline. The 'vicious circle' adage comes to mind here. Before you know it you have no-one contending.
Some people could have been contenders you know !!! In those immortal words some athletes' attempts to have a great career in the sport, perhaps achieving a long held ambition to be selected for an Olympics, are left floundering. Why? Because, for fear of having perceived failures at the top end we don't let them appear. And we don't concentrate time and money on helping them get there. Basically we discard people. The Sport has hundreds of Athletes World wide who, upon achieving an Olympics place, not performing to their potential, go away for four years and come back successfully. Our Junior set up allows us to achieve that. Our Senior set up discards people who.........could have been contenders !!!
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gtb
Pitkamaki
Posts: 125
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Post by gtb on Oct 9, 2009 13:36:41 GMT 1
"If athletics is such an impossible product to sell to the British public, why are so many people glued to their televisions for a couple of weeks every 4 years??"
People watching the superstars in their flagship event from the comfort of their own sofa is very different to getting them off their butts to watch domestic events in poor weather for several hours in person. And in fairness, why should they? Many of our "top" performers don't bother to show, the overall standard is low - why would people want to watch the "anything for a point" merchants, there are very few events which produce exciting top class head to heads, and facilities are often poor.
Since the London GP went to 2 days - there have been struggles to fully sell that out, and that's despite the likes of Bolt - a combined crowd of less than some very ordinary football matches.
So, I'm largely with Nije on this one. You can employ all the marketing gimmicks you like, but unless the product has real substance - top class performances - you won't sell it.
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Post by nije on Oct 9, 2009 15:12:39 GMT 1
Sorry if my e-mail soudned sarcastic - it was supposed to be tongue in cheek but my point is - we cannot change public opinion very easily and as GTB rightyl points out - our top meets are hard to sell out so a national league and super 8 are nigh on impossible. As I said, dont shoot the messenger, it is just a fact of life at the moment. PS some of the top athtels then boycotted the super 8 due to contractual wranglings - most notably Ohorougou who was one of the main people promoting it!
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Post by jeremy on Oct 9, 2009 23:52:21 GMT 1
So in the spirit of detente that seems to have permeated a few - what do we think of the above titled statement that CVC has stated? What can we do and what should we do? Should our next lever be into Engalnd Athletics to appoint a javelin lead? I have a feeling that a UKA Jav event lead could be some time off. Do we run our National Squad sessions? Some starters for 10 that I hope will spark some healthy debate and some fresh ideas. Please contribute as you see fit and keep all responses respectful - there are no bad ideas Tom I think that as a community we need to get some form of consensus on "how to educate/coach/mentor people to throw the javelin". On a half sheet of small paper. Adopt this and then adapt to the individual/situation. Jeremy
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