U.K.Championships, Birmingham 2012

Dear Blog,

             Do you ever shout at the radio at some of the banal rubbish that is broadcast?? Does repetition of items irritate you Blog? This morning the radio has been banging on again again again about goal line technology in football matches, specifically the European Cup. Athletics is sometimes technology obsessed often going over the top. Sorry Blog, it is 2012, that should read OTT. Absolutely. Even at young athletes’ level, I sometimes thing we, as a sport, lose the point of what we are doing because the ‘rule book says’, because of technology and ‘the computer says’, we are slaves to pseudo accuracy because ‘the measurement says’. On Sunday another Young Athletes League was held in Coventry at the track on the University of Warwick campus. A couple of days earlier, athletics was broadcast on the television. Now to illustrate what I am rattling on about about the pseudo accuracy of the sport just consider ………

      EDM [electronic distance measuring] is used to measure in events such as the javelin, meaning distances thrown can be accurate to within a centimetre; no problem there in the interests of uniformity and accuracy of measurement or equality of fairness of competition. Just consider…….

        In the long jump, the rules dictate that you leave the pit further down the sand than your jump if you wish to record a valid jump; no problem there in the interests of uniformity and accuracy of measurement or equality of fairness of competition. Just consider ……

       In the shot and hammer the rules dictate that you exit from the rear of the circle; no problem there in the interests of uniformity and accuracy of measurement or equality of fairness of competition. Just consider …….

      Track events up to and including the 10,000 metres are timed by electronic clocks to one hundredth of a second, the thickness of a vest (!); no problem there in the interests of uniformity and accuracy of measurement or equality of fairness of competition. Just consider ……

         A great deal of care is taken to record the reaction time in the 100 metres and the 200 metres when the gun is fired and a great deal of care is determined by electronic photographic recording instruments to determine the winner, again times recorded to one hundredth of a second; no problem there in the interests of uniformity and accuracy of measurement or equality of fairness of competition. All in the interests of uniformity and accuracy of measurement or equality of fairness of competition.

THEN.

And I have whittled on to you before about it Blog,

THEN we have the steeple chase.

Where shall we put the water jump??? Inside the track (e.g. many tracks)??? Outside the track (e.g. Birmingham where the UK Trials will be held this weekend)??? End of the back straight (e.g. Eugene)??? Inside the track but with a straight run up (e.g. Oslo)??? And of course with each different placement of the water, the barrier arrangement changes. If the sport is so pedantic about other events in the interests of uniformity and accuracy of measurement or equality of fairness of competition, why turn a blind eye to the interests of uniformity and accuracy of measurement or equality of fairness of competition when it comes to the steeplechase??? Gottobe having some effect on the interests of uniformity and accuracy of measurement or equality of fairness of competition.

AND DON’T START ME ON THE MARATHON in the interests of uniformity and accuracy of measurement or equality of fairness of competition. I am not going down that road.

Trudging information and a few marathon training tips tomorrow, Blog. One of the tips you will not see in any manual on marathon training. I will try to be as delicate as I can with this tip, so if you are easily embarrassed Blog, I suggest you tell the postman to return to sender when he tries to deliver my message from his sack.

                                     Colin