Elite Meet Promotion
Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 3:22 pm
One aspect of the sport of pole vaulting and track and field in general has been that athletes make no money. At one point there was talk about traveling street vaults that set up in parking lots and stuff. The one thing that has set track and field apart from other individual type sports is where the money comes from. Probably 75% of the meets an athlete runs at a year if they are not top 10 in the world, are just random college meets to get marks in. In other sports there are the top super stars who are on TV and stuff, but there are the other guys trying to make it who travel from event to event collecting prize money.
So I ask this. How much prize money would it take to get vaulters to travel to meets? If someone were to promote a down town street vault or something that was sponsored by the local retailers, what would it take to get the top vaulters to show up. And even if not the top, at least the 18' guys trying to make it big so they can get some pocket money. I do not think it would be too hard to get sponsors to chip in enough to get a pretty good size prize for the top three spots or so.
So after travel and hotel cost are added up, and the chance of not even getting any prize money. What would it take to get a good group of elites to show up?
So I ask this. How much prize money would it take to get vaulters to travel to meets? If someone were to promote a down town street vault or something that was sponsored by the local retailers, what would it take to get the top vaulters to show up. And even if not the top, at least the 18' guys trying to make it big so they can get some pocket money. I do not think it would be too hard to get sponsors to chip in enough to get a pretty good size prize for the top three spots or so.
So after travel and hotel cost are added up, and the chance of not even getting any prize money. What would it take to get a good group of elites to show up?