Peter John L Thompson is an example of the wonderful people in the sport of athletics. Peter has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach and advisor. A true athletics geek, Peter provided the following from the renowned AIS, on how to get athletes and coaches back into the daily regimen, in the COVID-19 environment.
Read this, consider it, and discuss with coach friends on how they will return to sport. Please use CDC and WHO guidelines before entering into a return to daily regimens.
1928 spike, built by Adi Dassler, founder of adidas, photo by adidas Communications
Hi guys (non-gender specific)
A colleague of mine in Australia sent me this document yesterday. It includes coverage of the sport of Athletics (Track & Field) but you will notice, not Cross Country, for a reason (see Addendum).
I’m sure that we are well on track within USATF to have formulated a Local, State, Regional and National plan for the return to training and competition.
And, I’m sure you all may well have seen this Australian AIS document already but one of the things I always emphasized to our Department and to others in the organization, while working at the IAAF, was not to ignore the opportunity to learn from any nation. To look, critically examine, and then either reject concepts or, incorporate, with any needed modifications to what we required or had already designed. This document is very thin on detail but could be a useful framework.
This is sent to you to inform and support all our work in the US to return to some semblance of normalcy within our sports, at an appropriate and situationally-specific speed. What do you personally think of this Australian 3-Level or 3-Phase approach and what we have planned in the US?
Hope this finds you safe and well.
Carpe diem
Peter
ADDENDUM – Cross country:
You may think that it is a little strange that Cross Country as a High Performance Sport is omitted from this Australian Institute of Sport, AIS, report, particularly since Australia is hosting the next World Athletics World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, March 20, 2021.
But the AIS, in common with all National Programs of Sport around the world, ONLY recognizes and finances Olympic sports. This has been one of the motivations behind the IAAF and now, World Athletics, to return Cross Country as an Olympic Sport, so that the whole of Athletics can benefit from increased funding at the National Levels to include more athletes. To move funding of endurance runners to National Cross Country funding, where appropriate, would make available more financial support for the throwers, jumpers, sprinters, hurdlers and combined events athletes.
Peter John L Thompson
SPIRIT OF OREGON
a 501c3 Foundation committed to Coach Development
601 Country Club Road # 2020
Eugene
Oregon 97401
USA
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