MB championships and selection trials explained
It all started at 11:40 a.m. Saturday and ended just before 7:30 p.m. As Genesis chapter 1 says, “evening and morning were the first day.” Previously, it was three days long, including Friday night. But it seemed like a lot of effort for a 2-hour Friday program; only events such as the 400m required three rounds on consecutive days. Now the entry standard for the 400 is higher and only two rounds are played. What other sport gives you 8 hours of action for $60 and there were cheaper seats?
The event operates on 3 levels.
At the simplest level it is the British Championship. The winner of each category can describe himself as next year’s British Champion.
Then there is the selection for the upcoming championship. This year that European Championship which is a house event in Birmingham, is a more attractive option than usual. The first two finishers in each event, provided they have a qualifying time/distance, are selected automatically. Third place is up to the voters.
It is appropriate to separate these two categories. as not all event winners will be of the standard required for the championship. For example, Britain has not had a male pole vaulter in the championship for several years.
The championships also represent the highlight of club athletes’ careers. Instead of competing in front of the proverbial man and dog, they find themselves in front of 10,000 people at the National Athletics Stadium.
Don’t think about the American model of sports scholarships, intercollegiate competitions and sponsorships.
The lifeblood of British athletics is the local club, which athletes pay to join, and where they train as a group two evenings a week and compete against other clubs in a completely amateur environment.
Take it Hannah Cameron 28-year-old club 800-meter runner with a 2:03 PR that meets the criteria to qualify for the national championships. He then discovers that he is running for the same premium as Georgia Hunter-Bell, Olympic and world medalist. In what other sport could that happen?
With each discipline involved, there is a wide range of abilities. GB always runs harder than throws, for example. Take women’s running as an example. winner, Elise Turner, would not be out of place in any race on the world stage. But his victory was mostly a march. Only nine women met the criteria required to enter the race, and three of them were teenagers.
Another aspect of the National Championships is that it gives fans a chance to see world-class track and field.with Jake Whiteman, Amy Hunt, Dina Usher-Smith, Matt Hudson-Smith, Amber Anning, and others compete. It was fun to see these stars sign autographs, pose for selfies, and generally go out of their way to make someone’s day.
There were a number para-athletics events which gave athletes the chance to compete on a big stage in front of a crowd. While there was one in the new heptathlon (or decathlon) program, there was an elite multi-eventer who got his money’s worth by entering the 100-meter hurdles, the long jump and the shot put in short order.
Saturday is a long day but it does succeed in bridging the gap between the commoners and the elite and showing the way from one to the other.
The Sunday program is more elite, just five hours long with over 20 finals.
