Stuart Weir has an opinion on many things. His thoughts on the Exemptions Rule, where, in the sprints, 12 athletes qualify per their season rankings and 12 qualify by making it through the rounds. This Rule is being used in Berlin, Germany and it does not make Stuart Weir a happy camper. Read on, dear readers.
Berlino the Bear appears, Day 2, Session 1, 8 August 2018, photo by Stuart Weir
Exemptions policy
The European Athletics Championships are operating with a rule that anyone ranked in the top 12 in Europe is exempt from qualifying, going straight into the semi-final. Where there are typically 24 athletes in the semi-final, 12 gain their place by qualification and the other 12 get wild cards on the basis of their ranking. The system applies to all track events up to and including 400m.
It seems to me a bad idea for a host of reasons:
1 It is inherently unfair that one athlete reaches the final by running one race when others have to run two rounds. This is particularly the case with the 400m where athletes in the final with one less qualifying race in their legs must have an advantage.
2 It is understandable why the system is not applied to longer races but that simply increases the inequality of the competition. It does not apply at all to field events.
3 The counter-argument that those who have the extra race benefit from the experience may have some merit, but either way it confirms that it is not a fair system.
4 It short changes spectators who buy tickets for Women’s 100m heats only to discover that Dafne Schippers, Gina Lückenkemper, Dina Asher-Smith etc are not in the race. It may be that the German fans are smarter than I think and that explains why there have been few spectators for many of the prelims.
5 One of the joys of sport is its unpredictability. Favorites don’t always win. By exempting the top 12 from the first round we deny the public the possibility of viewing an upset.
6 When I was on the Al Jazeera program this week, one of the questions I was asked was: does the sport lack superstars, post Bolt. I could have answered, “Oh yes we have superstars but we give them a bye so they don’t have to run!
7 At the time of writing there is speculation as to whether Dina Asher-Smith can complete the 100m/200m double. But is it a slightly devalued double if it only involves four races instead of the normal six?
I am all for innovation in our sport. But if it is a bad innovation, then scrap it.
