Elite Level Pole Vault, Throws and Track

[vaultmd]

Ummm . . .

Notre Dame is Adidas, or at least was when Mary was there.

[rainbowgirl28]

Ummm . . .

Notre Dame is Adidas, or at least was when Mary was there.

I'm talking about this year, not when Mary was in college.

[tsorenson]

Nick Symonds, former U of Oregon runner, is weighing in on this debate, and suggesting that athletes need more ability to display sponsor logos during races, similar to Nascar. I see his point, but doubt that IAAF cares about the difficulty of making it as a US elite track & field athlete. Most countries sponsor their elites with taxpayer dollars, not corporate sponsorships.

Either way, nice to see somebody stirring the pot

http://www.flotrack.org/blog/38650-Im-T ... -Our-Sport

[73-vaulter]

"Nick Symonds, former U of Oregon runner"

I am surprised you made such a fundamental mistake. You are from Oregon and should know he is a Willamette graduate.

[tsorenson]

Ha ha, whoops, thanks for clearing that up.

I remember him running for the OTC, that's where I made the mistake. I don't follow running nearly as closely as field events.

Little does Nick know that it's probably easier to score sponsorships as an elite runner than a vaulter. Either way, it's funny to think about track athletes being covered in logos like Nascar!

[tsorenson]

Sounds like IAAF changed their rule, so how about USATF? Hopefully this is good news for aspiring elites seeking sponsorships, although I still think it's sad that a nation as great as ours can't support our international-caliber athletes without slapping logos all over them

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/new-ru ... link=kiosk

Pretty funny at the end about Symonds changing his name to get a sponsor's name on his singlet

[rainbowgirl28]

Sounds like IAAF changed their rule, so how about USATF? Hopefully this is good news for aspiring elites seeking sponsorships, although I still think it's sad that a nation as great as ours can't support our international-caliber athletes without slapping logos all over them

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/new-ru ... link=kiosk

Pretty funny at the end about Symonds changing his name to get a sponsor's name on his singlet

USATF did make some major changes this weekend, I haven't had a chance to post about it on here. They will no longer be enforcing IAAF uniform rules at their National Championships. They will still apply to the Olympic Trials, because those fall under USOC jurisdiction. For pole vaulters this mainly means you can wear whatever you want at Indoor Nationals, but not the Trials... although I can't say anything 100% for sure since the Board has the ability to take action on this topic. But trust me, most of the board members do NOT favor tight regulation.

[rainbowgirl28]

If anyone wants to be added to Nick Symmonds' Facebook group, let me know. You have to be Facebook friends with me for me to add you.

[IluvMarkHollis]

Another downfall about ChulaVista is that they have no married housing program.

[dj]

hye

Chula Vista is not the answer.....

the answer is to have a facility and time for training… the correct input from a coach/mentor and a none stressed home/social environment.

That said I will add this…………………….

1.a situation where you don't have to live "poor" or have the "fear of being poor" or spend most of your time at a job that takes all your energy and focus.

2.To succeed you do need to be a full time athlete.. that doesn't mean you can't spend a few hours at school on working on something gives you a "break"

3.And a situation that doesn't create stress financially today or the future for you, friends and family.


dj

[getvertical]

I think we will see some improvement. Our recent successful athletes are turning to coaching. I spoke to Nick Hysong and he's coaching. Toby is coaching, Mike Tully.

There are only a few great coaches that make a good living unless their athletes are in the top also.

The issues that Nick and Adam discuss exist at all levels of the sport. I know many good coaches, including myself and most peopke in this forum, that dedicate a lot of time and money to the sport out of the love of it. I would love to coach full time in ordrt to increase the number of opportunities athletes have to practice in Milwaukee, but making a living to support a family becomes very difficult to impossible then.

The bottom line is that the ability to develop the next talent needs more than volunteers to produce the results across the sport.