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Blog - On the Run by Lauryn Williams
Diamonds… a girl’s best friend???
Well it is official. If you have been in denial up to this point there is concrete evidence to prove the recession has hit track and field.
Potentially, a new Diamond League will replace the current Golden League meetings beginning next year, and though it is clear that change is necessary to revive the sport some are not sure whether the pros outweigh the cons.
I recently attended an information session to see for myself what all the fuss is about. The conclusion I reached is, change isn’t easy and there are definitely some kinks that still need to be ironed out, but we should give it a try.
The proposed Diamond League has leveled the playing field in the area of prize money earned, creating better opportunities for a larger number of athletes, who traditionally had to take what they were given no matter how good they were because their event wasn’t a focal point.
However, if you were an athlete in a premiere event you will take a drastic pay cut. Where you could previously earn $16,000 for winning your event, you will now earn only $8,000, cutting your profit right in half. And don’t forget the 15% that belongs to your agent and then, of course, taxes.
I’d be remiss not to mention the 4-carat diamond that will replace the million-dollar jackpot. The point system allows more possibilities to win, and you don’t have to dominate as you did previously.
Unfortunately, I don’t know of a mortgage company that is accepting diamonds as payment.
From a presentation standpoint, the Diamond League aims to create an opportunity to treat events more fairly by bringing equal attention to each of them. There are also some great ideas for television presentation that should make it more interesting for viewers and easier for them to identify with athletes.
We now know the meet schedule for the next 2 years. This can aid both athletes and the fan base in planning ahead. Though some will have to plan waayy ahead if they are a part of the select group contracted for
seven of the 14 Diamond races in advance. The idea is to allow the meeting to market them and give the fans someone to identify with.
The problem with this is an athlete never knows for sure what the best schedule is for them until maybe six weeks before the season, at best.
And what do you do when you market an athlete that doesn’t show up?
One thing I am excited about is at least the appearance of an effort to serve the athlete instead of continuing to exploit them. Small things are in place such as an evaluation sheet at each meet where an athlete has a chance to voice what the meeting did right or wrong in creating the best situation for us to compete to the best of our abilities.
Meetings found to be lacking in some area will have to make the necessary adjustments or be fined, and repeated failure to comply can result in removal from the Diamond League.
This should serve to make some of the meets that have been considered Golden League for years but seldom lived up to the label step it up a notch in the area of staff politeness, food quality, training accommodations, and hotel location/convenience.
Still, there are a lot of gray areas, and it is important to educate the athletes so we can have a voice.
For instance, there will now be two finals, one in Zurich and one in Brussels, and it is unclear to me how that will work. Also, I did not hear anything addressing whether any improvements have been made to accommodate the heptathlon and decathlon athletes. There have also been questions raised about how the new system will affect world rankings, which will also impact bonuses and possible reductions in an athlete’s shoe contract.
The thing I continue to be most concerned about is the power of the shoe companies. The choice is theirs on how they will choose to honor current contracts that have bonuses written based on the Golden League system we have right now. Also, if they continue control the way we can expose other sponsors’ logos, both on and off the field, they will be denying us the opportunity to maximize our potential income off the track.
As I said, I am all for a change and though I am not thrilled to be among those who will be taking a major pay cut and expected to produce the same performances, or better, I am willing to accept this initiative.
Especially if the alternative is no job in track and field at all.
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