Pro running is shit
I think Chris Perry, John Dinan, Steve Brimmacombe, Josh Ross would beg to differ. Not a bad bunch of runners from something that is shit.
Why the negativity towards Stawell and pro running, surely both forms of the sport can coexist without one putting the other down.
At the end of the day, athletics is getting good live, free to air coverage from Stawell and should be supported by all.
I didn’t say pro runners are shit. There’s a difference. I just think that the whole pro game is warped because its about beating the handicapper, getting under his/their guard - which happens every year at almost every large meet and the results are often “interesting” - remember when Linford Christie was beaten by some guy at the Botany Bay Gift but the first prize went to Christie because they promised him so much money that they needed to make most of it up from the prize pool. They never contemplated he could lose.
As to whether the guys you mentioned were fast because they ran pros, that’s equally in doubt since many “amateurs” have run even faster. Maybe the pros would have run faster had they been brought up on conventional training the likes of which Usain Bolt follows, rather than the speedball etc the likes of which Allan Wells is the pin-up boy for.
Having said all of that, Perry, JD, Brimmer, the Boss and many others of byegone eras in the pro ranks are all great guys, no doubt, and talented. Reg Austin, Ken Irvine, Steve Proudlock et al. Great blokes. But the game they played was dodgy and it still is. Publicity gives credibility it seems, but you can buy publicity if you have enough money and crazy ideas (pole vaulter to run Stawell etc). At the end of the day, another smokey ran off with the purse. What a larf it all is :rolleyes:
Pro runners or sprinters who wanted to make some $$?
Worthless.
why is it a laugh that a ‘smokey’ wins the gift. Its not as though he just turns up and is awarded 1st prize.
If publicity can be bought, then AA better buy some.
some real brain power in that group, 
how far is 120m??
KK and I are poles apart on our thoughts on this so I won’t bother trying to defend his assertion that pro-running is shit.
Bottom line is the Stawell Gift for all its issues and problems still attracts a crowd of 7000 plus who pump thousands into the local rural community. As do many running meets run in rural areas all over the country. Tomorrow night is the $15,000 Ararat Gift and on the weekend is the $40,000 Ballarat Gift.
It’s a game yes, but you still need to be running as fast as you can when it matters most. The ability to have your runner in the peak of condition on the day is no easy task.
Personally I have witnessed just as much unethical behaviour in the amateur arena as I have in the pro’s. At least in the pro’s I expect it but i don’t expect some of the rubbish I’ve seen from those protecting their own interest in the amateurs.
I find the pro game exciting and a wonderful opportunity for middle of the road sprinters to reap rewards from the sport.
If you don’t like it that’s OK; Stick to the amateurs, no-one’s forcing you to become involved.
By the way, the coach of the 2010 Stawell Gift winner, Matt Beckenham is featured in the latest AT&FCA magazine and suggests all sprinters should start off by participating in pro running because its such a fun initiation to athletics. All of his athletes support the pro-circuit as he is appreciative of the prizemoney available to help many of his athletes fund their athletic careers.
Better to run hard & often eaning p/money than to competing sparingly and relying on government handouts.
PS: My athlete Dale Woodhams ran 2nd in the Stawell Gift final. After a disappointing Stawell campaign in 2009, he came back 12 months later, ran superbly, finished a respectable 2nd (off a lesser mark) and won the 70m. He pocketed nearly 8 grand, 3 very nice trophies and a coveted sash from Stawell. As a state level sprinter that’s something he could never earn running in interclub and state titles.
The same can be said for the race that stops the race nation on the first Tues Nov- so many champion racehorses ( Octagonal, northerly etc) were handicapped out of the Cup. From memory when Northerly was handicapped at 60.5kg after winning the Caufield cup in 02- no modern horse can carry that weight and win.
The secret to the winning the cup is getting in with good weight hcp by staying under the radar.
Handicap horse racing is very similar to pro- running. Its part of Oz culture.
Well done to Youngy, I saw the race on YouTube and your man ran a stormer.
To the anti-pro brigade, I thought the days of irrational hostility to pro running were over, but obviously not.
Why can’t the two co-exist as in horse racing where the Group or Grade race pattern caters for top horses and handicaps exist for mid-range animals? That’s not to say an improving handicapper can’t go on to win a Group race!
As a young athlete some years ago I was banned from (amateur) school sports for accepting money at pro meets - virtual pocket money I may add.
Now, as a coach in this era of open athletics, I am happy for my athletes to run under both codes, trying to get the best of both worlds.
Handicap races may not be as pure as the conventional sport but they have a long and proud history and sure beat midweek open graded meets in front of two men and a dog.
(I am sure the rest of the athletic world is reading this thread and wondering what we’re on about)
I have often wondered if the pro circuit introduced a rule along the lines of some of the car racing codes where you submit a time and drop out if that time is bettered. It woud certainly slow down some of the crap PR they have been getting recently.
I think they do to a degree… Run dead as long as possible and when you think you have the best chance to run fast then chase the money (and have your coach place huge amounts with the bookie). I think they allow 8/10s turn around in performance. Thats stupid. thats close to 8m of performance change. O well for those who play the pro game good luck to them. I think they need to change the ruling to 3/10ths, If there is a drastic improvement a disq from that event. It will make it more challenging and athletes will know if they have a rela chance.
COuld be part of the reason the toughest sprint race is getting weaker. Once upon a time it was 36 hts (winner only) to 6 semi (winner only to final). No fastest losers, no repocharges.
There are rules already in place in regards to the parameters an athlete can improve/lose form - 0.55 (relatively speaking) is generally allowed before the stewards take action.
Anything outside that and one is vulnerable to a range of penalties.
The greater the rate of ‘change’ in one’s form the greater the penalty.
The sport lost a lot of credibility this year with the inaction of the stewards.
The sport desperately needs a clean up - someone with integrity and a willingness to come down hard on those who transgress.
Would have be interesting if someone like NRL’s David Gallup had of been in charge at Stawell.
The VAL officials simply don’t have the capacity nor the desire to fix what has become a massive problem. The small number of heats (20) compared to the halcyon days of the 1980’s when we regularly had 35 or more is indicative of the lack of credibility & integrity the sport has. It’s the inability of those involved to acknowledge the problem that attracts the ridicule & scorn from the media and the more narrow minded members of the amateur athletics fraternity.
Properly administered with common-sense stewarding & handicapping and the sport could flourish once again.
I don’t think there’s much wrong but letting athletes to get away with a 10m change in form in a 6 day time span is simply a case of extremely poor stewarding.
Won’t change while certain people within the walls of power keep their collective heads buried in the sand and choose to ignore it.
Nah, the perfect man for the job is not David Gallup but Brian Waldron!
He has both CEO’s experience and skills and he knows how to clean up all of the financial problems that may surface. Not to mention that his character and moral values perfectly fit within the VAL fraternity.