The American Track League, set for its first of 5 meets—in Bloomington, Indiana, on May 2—will give some creative format innovations a try.Agent Paul Doyle—founder of the ATL, which intends to present the sport in a relatively short, fan-friendly window—speaking from Indiana’s track explained some of the plans.
“For this first meet (men’s 100, 400, 1500, steeple, pole vault and high jump; and women’s 400, 800, 100 hurdles and 400 hurdles), we’ll be doing something really cool in the 100. For the qualifying round, we’re having them all run the 40-yard dash.”
Football 40 times are, of course, well known to general sports fans. “We’re also opening up that 40-yard dash to spectators and the fastest among the public participants will get to join the athletes in the final. We’re hoping to get some IU football players involved.”
ATL field events will be formatted for completion in 30–40 minutes before track competition begins, with two run simultaneously, “with alternating attempts,” Doyle says. “No attempt will be missed and fans will be allowed to come down and gather around the competition area.” To speed things up and make events “more cutthroat,” vertical jumpers won’t be allowed to pass any height and as soon as 3 have cleared a height, the bar will be raised.
In horizontal jumps and throws, one or two competitors will be eliminated after each round, and long and triple jumpers will get just 15 seconds, not a full minute, to jump after they are called up.
Universal Sports will televise the first meet on a delayed basis. Says Doyle, who has yet to attract a major sponsor, “The goal for the first year is to get as much exposure as possible and fill the stands as much as possible.” /Sieg Lindstrom/
