© Copyright – 2020 – Athletics Illustrated
World Athletics (WA) and its president Sebastian Coe appear to be making all the right moves.
Formerly the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) new brand and approach is timely and should benefit the sport in the long haul.
In 2019, the re-brand from the IAAF to WA – was a smart move. The former was a mouthful of a name that didn’t lend itself to good marketing. While national governing bodies held more marketing-friendly names like Athletics Australia, Athletics Canada, and British Athletics, it made sense that the IAAF make the change.
Now, WA has launched a series that is designed to help people of all abilities and ages stay fit during the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown.
The Athletics@Home already appears on the World Athletics website homepage and throughout all of the social media applications that they use.
The themes are: kids, active, rewind and unwind.
World Athletics will bring in special guests. Past competitions will be replayed.
A silver lining to the pandemic may be the opportunity to grow athletics. With all team sports cancelled for the season, the simple solution is to get out and run, walk or exercise with family or solo. Running, cycling and other individual endurance sports may benefit from the pandemic.
Additionally, for those not involved in the sport and its various events, will not be aware of the global governing body World Athletics. This is an opportunity for World Athletics to familiarize itself with the average person and take a leadership role.
Last week, Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics penned a letter to the global athletics community. It was a smart and genuine move, hit all the right notes and was timed perfectly.
“I am comforted in these intolerable circumstances, which are affecting every continent on the planet, of the creativity and resilience of people.
From my teams in Monaco who are completing their second week in isolation but still running the business, and our Member Federations in 214 countries who are trying, day by day and hour by hour, to figure out how to keep everything afloat, to our amazing athletes who are doing whatever they can to train in bedrooms and backyards while also finding time to produce inspirational and motivational videos and tutorials for adults and children who, like them are confined to their homes across the world…”
World Athletics is in a good place to grow the sport when the global pandemic subsides.
