I often wonder why this sport has such a difficult time marketing itself because we live in the age of the Internet – and dispersing information is as simple as clicking a few buttons. But then I log on and try to get information on a track meet – and it’s not available. Or, as when I attempted to watch the Jamaica Invitational this past weekend, the information flow is horrible. In the case of the Jamaica Invitational, everything from a results site that didn’t update, to a feed that froze often and finally just cut out before the conclusion of the meet.

On the one hand I hate to complain because we’ve come a long way from the “dark days” of communication when all there was was television and the rare televised event; and that handful of newspapers that carried track and field results – often days after the completion of the meet. Once upon a time Track and Field News and The LA Times were my only lifelines to information on the sport. But the world has evolved and we do have the Internet and it’s a fantastic communication tool. So great that today’s youth get more information, and watch more media related events on their computers and smart phones than they do on television!

Yet I don’t think that the sport is really maximizing the Internet. We have a medium that has instant access to 2.3 billion people on the planet – that’s how many currently have Internet access!. Unfortunately our information is often difficult to find, non existent, or provided at the last minute. Entrants to meets are often posted the same day as the meet – losing the opportunity to attract the public via MARKETING of the participants. Meets often fail to list past results, meet records, and bios of top competitors. “Live” results often means “sometime today”. And video streaming is still a dream for many meets.

Now I can accept some of these “deficiencies” for local high school, and perhaps even community college meets. But I would think that most four year schools should be able to work with their Computer Science departments to deliver creditable websites with the necessary information flow. That said, at the “elite” level of the sport, there is no reason with the money spent of presenting a world class meet that a world class Internet presence shouldn’t be part of the overall package.

Just as there are standards for starting blocks, track measurements and officicals, the IAAF and it’s national counterparts should develop and mandate a set of “Internet Presentation” standards for its upper level meets – including World Challenge, World Athletic Series, Diamond League, et al. What type of standards? Let’s start with a web site that’s up well in advance of the meet. A meet that runs annually should maintain a year round presence, with updates on the current year beginning January first. The site should have a URL that closely identifies with the name of the meet so as to be easily found.

It should contain press releases; links to articles written by the media; a meet schedule; results (past and current/live); meet history; videos of past performances; photos of athletes scheduled to perform; and a contact/email link for other communication purposes. In short, the web site should be the face and voice of the meet. It should be able to answer any  general questions regarding the meet and provide a reference for other more specific questions.

The data on the site should be current and and available in advance of the meet. Most meets seem to have the attitude that attending a track meet is a last minute decision based on a lack of better alternatives – i.e. you have nothing better to do so you just show up. Therefore there’s no need to have a schedule of events; list of participating athletes; or heat sheets until you show up to the stadium! When in fact those are the things that if available in advance would be most useful in attracting fans to the stadium! When I call or text friends to say I’m going to a meet, or plan on watching a meet on the Internet or television, the first question is always: who’s going to be there? And the worst possible answer is: I don’t know. Being able to forward the link to a preliminary, or actual, start list or heat sheets in advance of meet day would go a long way to filling those empty seats wee have at most meets.

Just as live streaming video tremendously enhances the visibility of the sport. And it should be free. Why? Because you want people to watch the sport. You want people tuning in. I should be able to email friends, fans and potential fans, to have them check out a meet or select athletes without them having them to pay for it. Because I want to get them excited about actually going to a meet and pay to sit in the stands. Streaming video should be used as, and considered, a marketing tool not a revenue generator. Sort of like the early days of the Internet when AOL grabbed dominating market share by giving it’s software away. Everywhere you looked there was a free AOL disk, and soon everyone was using them to log online. We should be using streaming as a tool to get people to go to meets – to get them excited about the product. They want/need to see how good our athletes are before they will want to part with their money to travel to, and pay to see these same athletes in person. What better marketing than for someone to watch Bolt, Jeter, Gay, VCB, Lagat, Uceny and others do their thing! Not to mention we want to keep fans engaged that live in locales that are removed from the few locations where our elite meets are held. Early pro sports developed a rabid fan base by broadcasting games over the radio. I remember people huddling up around the radio to listen to their favorite teams. Today we should have people gathering around their computers to watch the stars of our sport.

To that end they need to have the information available to attract them to the computer or the stadium if its near enough. Preliminary start lists at least a week prior to the meet would help, because nothing draws fans to an athletic competition of any kind better than knowing who the top level athletes are that will be competing! And there should be no reason why actual starts lists can’t be made available 48 hours before the first event goes off. And “Live Results” should mean “LIVE” – as in as events happen! If fans in the stadium can “tweet” results to friends, then the meet should be able to provide results as they occur – including splits, wind readings and finish photos (well the photos might be asking a bit much).

All of the above are things that would add to the experience of a track meet for those not able to attend in person. And THOSE people are the ones that we want to attend in the future! The Internet is today’s “radio” and I believe if used properly will do for track and field what the radio did for baseball back in the day. Which is why the sport’s various governing bodies – starting with the IAAF – should put together and institute Internet Presentation Standards for our meets.