PVMD2B wrote:I would love to be in Oregon, in the summer, with the Olympic Trials,
but I have important plans already...
June 2008... I'll be graduating!!!
Dr. Laura!!
2008 Trials to be in Eugene!!
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rainbowgirl28
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rainbowgirl28
- I'm in Charge
- Posts: 30435
- Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2002 1:59 pm
- Expertise: Former College Vaulter, I coach and officiate as life allows
- Lifetime Best: 11'6"
- Gender: Female
- World Record Holder?: Renaud Lavillenie
- Favorite Vaulter: Casey Carrigan
- Location: A Temperate Island
- Contact:
http://www.registerguard.com/news/2005/ ... ion=sports
Ron Bellamy: Trials choice trades dollars for sense
By Ron Bellamy
Columnist, The Register-Guard
Published: Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Monday morning, less than 72 hours after being entrusted with the 2008 Olympic Trials, Oregon Track Club president Greg Erwin admitted he was "still kind of in shock."
Which is not to say that Erwin didn't believe that Eugene's bid could carry the day, but the ramifications of bringing the Trials back home are simply so huge for this community and for the University of Oregon and for the sport of track and field.
Because it's not simply that the greatest national meet in the world will return to Hayward Field in three years, for the first time since 1980.
The significance of Eugene's selection over Sacramento goes beyond the single track meet. A key element of Eugene's bid is a long-term commitment to the sport that will be reflected in new meets at Hayward Field, and a refurbishment of that venue as the crown jewel of the sport in this country.
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"I think it was the notion that Eugene's in this for the long haul," Erwin said. "We're in it to make a difference for the sport. It's not about making a bunch of money for the OTC or the University of Oregon or anybody. We love the sport, we want to be back in the game, and we want to make a difference for the sport."
In its presentation, the Eugene delegation talked about the past, present and future of track and field in this city, using powerful, modern imagery created by Tinker Hatfield, the former Oregon pole vaulter, and other Nike designers.
And there were the poignant words of former Oregon distance runner Rudy Chapa, who spoke of his own experience at Hayward Field, so movingly that when Erwin looked at some of the committee members he saw tears in their eyes.
At its heart, Erwin said, the Eugene proposal was that the Trials would be an "athlete-centric event" as never before. The hospitality for athletes will be better than ever; there will be prize money through eight places instead of five; there will be larger fields for the Pre Classic and a new "high-performance" meet the next three years so more athletes can experience Hayward Field.
Eugene's "closer," as Erwin put it, was Vin Lananna, Oregon's new director of track and field. In the lineup, Lananna went last, with an "impassioned" speech that emphasized the potential long-term partnership between Eugene and USATF and hammered home the point that, in regard to the Trials, Eugene could do it better.
Erwin wasn't the only bidder to react in "shock" to the verdict; so did Sacramento.
"USATF doesn't know what it's missing in Sacramento," wrote Sacramento Bee columnist Marcos Bretón. "It is trading a booming market for an Oregon hamlet; trading crowds of more than 20,000 for 15,000, maybe; trading larger prize money for even more valuable exposure outside the insular, passe sporting scene in Eugene.
"Meaning no disrespect to anyone, but USATF seems to think the late, iconic American runner Steve Prefontaine and the Oregon running scene of Nike mythology are still alive. They're not. ..."
advertisement
You can understand Sacramento's disappointment. As an economic development issue, as a kind of sweaty convention, Sacramento took on the Trials when nobody wanted the event, including Eugene, and set an attendance record in 2000 and drew 20,000 fans a day last year.
Eugene, however, convinced the committee that the Trials could be about more than the gate receipts - none of which go to USATF anyway.
In a way, the shift from favored Sacramento to underdog Eugene was reminiscent of 1992, when Eugene was the form-chart favorite, with a bid that rested on its ability to stage major track meets. Except, as it turned out, the USATF leadership then really didn't care about that; it gave the meet to New Orleans, which had no track record, in part because it thought the sport needed a major league, big-city dateline.
Now, USA Track & Field is saying the sport needs Eugene again.
That it's time to come home, not because of what this "hamlet" meant to the sport in the past, but what it can mean in the future, if it becomes the nation's Track Capital again.
Ron Bellamy: Trials choice trades dollars for sense
By Ron Bellamy
Columnist, The Register-Guard
Published: Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Monday morning, less than 72 hours after being entrusted with the 2008 Olympic Trials, Oregon Track Club president Greg Erwin admitted he was "still kind of in shock."
Which is not to say that Erwin didn't believe that Eugene's bid could carry the day, but the ramifications of bringing the Trials back home are simply so huge for this community and for the University of Oregon and for the sport of track and field.
Because it's not simply that the greatest national meet in the world will return to Hayward Field in three years, for the first time since 1980.
The significance of Eugene's selection over Sacramento goes beyond the single track meet. A key element of Eugene's bid is a long-term commitment to the sport that will be reflected in new meets at Hayward Field, and a refurbishment of that venue as the crown jewel of the sport in this country.
advertisement
"I think it was the notion that Eugene's in this for the long haul," Erwin said. "We're in it to make a difference for the sport. It's not about making a bunch of money for the OTC or the University of Oregon or anybody. We love the sport, we want to be back in the game, and we want to make a difference for the sport."
In its presentation, the Eugene delegation talked about the past, present and future of track and field in this city, using powerful, modern imagery created by Tinker Hatfield, the former Oregon pole vaulter, and other Nike designers.
And there were the poignant words of former Oregon distance runner Rudy Chapa, who spoke of his own experience at Hayward Field, so movingly that when Erwin looked at some of the committee members he saw tears in their eyes.
At its heart, Erwin said, the Eugene proposal was that the Trials would be an "athlete-centric event" as never before. The hospitality for athletes will be better than ever; there will be prize money through eight places instead of five; there will be larger fields for the Pre Classic and a new "high-performance" meet the next three years so more athletes can experience Hayward Field.
Eugene's "closer," as Erwin put it, was Vin Lananna, Oregon's new director of track and field. In the lineup, Lananna went last, with an "impassioned" speech that emphasized the potential long-term partnership between Eugene and USATF and hammered home the point that, in regard to the Trials, Eugene could do it better.
Erwin wasn't the only bidder to react in "shock" to the verdict; so did Sacramento.
"USATF doesn't know what it's missing in Sacramento," wrote Sacramento Bee columnist Marcos Bretón. "It is trading a booming market for an Oregon hamlet; trading crowds of more than 20,000 for 15,000, maybe; trading larger prize money for even more valuable exposure outside the insular, passe sporting scene in Eugene.
"Meaning no disrespect to anyone, but USATF seems to think the late, iconic American runner Steve Prefontaine and the Oregon running scene of Nike mythology are still alive. They're not. ..."
advertisement
You can understand Sacramento's disappointment. As an economic development issue, as a kind of sweaty convention, Sacramento took on the Trials when nobody wanted the event, including Eugene, and set an attendance record in 2000 and drew 20,000 fans a day last year.
Eugene, however, convinced the committee that the Trials could be about more than the gate receipts - none of which go to USATF anyway.
In a way, the shift from favored Sacramento to underdog Eugene was reminiscent of 1992, when Eugene was the form-chart favorite, with a bid that rested on its ability to stage major track meets. Except, as it turned out, the USATF leadership then really didn't care about that; it gave the meet to New Orleans, which had no track record, in part because it thought the sport needed a major league, big-city dateline.
Now, USA Track & Field is saying the sport needs Eugene again.
That it's time to come home, not because of what this "hamlet" meant to the sport in the past, but what it can mean in the future, if it becomes the nation's Track Capital again.
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