by Alfonz Juck
60 meter hurdles, Birmingham, photo by PhotoRun.netWorld Championships to end the season
BIRMINGHAM (GBR): Following several months of extensive consultation with groups including athletes and fans, IAAF Council agreed to a calendar framework that helps provide an understandable and set rhythm for the sport. The top change to current situation is that the World Championships should be held on the last weekend of August or first weekend of September to officially end the season. Also the World Cross Country Championships should be held earlier as currently and that is on the second weekend of February. World Indoors should be second weekend of March. The World Half Marathon Championships on the last weekend of March with the Race Walking Team Championships, allowed some flexibility, in either April or May, the World Relays on the first weekend in May and the World U20 Championships, allowed some flexibility, to be held in July.
RunBlogRun opines: This big question is, how does the IAAF use terrestrial TV and streaming video to bring the sport to more of the globe especially to the US, which had a smaller crowd given the opportunity to watch without buying the NBC gold medal deal. How does one continue to let the country that gives our sport the most stars and medals still give the fewest chances for people to view for free? Am I time traveling back into the 1990s?
