Is USATF standing in its own way?
Less than a week before the opening day of USA Track and Field Championships, USATF released information that it would not be allowing athletes to bring their personal media teams to Hayward Field, not even the warm up areas.
By further limiting access to one of the biggest meetings this season, is USATF creating its own issues? Asking fans to come by the thousands to Eugene to see the meet but making it more difficult for them to see content is a perfect example of why the sport’s popularity struggles to grow in the United States.
Track and field has historically been inaccessible to fans. Coverage, both written and broadcast, is frequently stuck behind paywalls or on streaming platforms so that many people don’t have access to the meets.
Personally, as a member of the press, I am lucky in regards to the amount of access I have to the sport. However, I am in the minority in this regard and can truly empathize with the frustrations being voiced by both creators and athletes.
Tara Davis-Woodhall – long jumper, Olympic athlete, and wife of paralympic athlete Hunter Woodhall – shared a screenshot of the message that was sent regarding this decision:
“Due to our broadcast restrictions we are not able to allow third party filming at the venue. This includes athletes’ personal filming crews, videographers, and social media teams. We will be unable to provide accreditation for any of these individuals with access to Hayward Field, any of our warm up areas or practice venues. Anyone wanting to license competition footage is invited to complete this form. You are free to capture content outside of these venues and we appreciate your understanding in this matter,” the text read.
On Friday it was announced that, for the first time in 17 years, the US Champs will not be aired on NBC. Instead, the meet will exclusively be aired on CNBC and streamed on USATF.TV+.
Stars such as the Woodhalls and American sprinter Noah Lyles, as well as many more, have brought increased attention with their use of social media, fashion and personal content creation in recent years.
In response to the media restrictions, Teahna Daniels – American sprinter and Olympic silver medalist – took to Twitter to share her thoughts on the matter:
“I want to know what logic is behind USATF not allowing us to have our own media at Nationals… It’s like they want to cut all exposure to the athlete’s and how we create our own narratives of ourselves in this sport.”
This tweet has been retweeted and quote-tweeted by many athletes such as Sha’Carri Richardson, Fred Kerley, TeeTee Terry and more. Michael Johnson – four-time Olympic champ and previous world record holder for the 200-meter and 400-meter – was quick to add his opinion:
“The logic is even worse Teahna. USATF believe restricting coverage increases the value of their broadcast rights. But the broadcast fees are tiny anyway. Why? Because of lack of promotion of the sport. Who’s willing to promote the sport for free? Athletes and @CitiusMag!!!”
I reached out to Joshua Potts, @MrPottsible, a fellow media member to get his take on USATF’s announcement:
“By USATF and NBC not allowing an abundance of citizen journalism at their events really hurts making the sport grow,” Potts said. “The biggest part of citizen journalism they’re missing is all the iPhone footage we could have from these meets just like any NBA game that we see now.”
Potts also commented on how the athletes are becoming household names through their own content creation.
“These superstars in the sport have the ability to bring in numerous fans of them through IG posts, TikTok videos, Youtube videos, podcasts and so much more. In the process they’ve been able to create lifetime fans of the sport who are invested in the sport no matter what,” Potts added.
The USATF Championships are July 6th through 9th in Eugene, Oregon. Press and media members were able to apply for credentials through June 20th. Athletes were allowed to register themselves as entrants through June 27th.