Spikes magazine cover (© Getty Images)
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), in partnership with UK Athletics (UKA), today launched a major new drive to promote athletics globally with a cutting edge magazine and interactive global website – SPIKES. The UK, as host to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, is seen by the IAAF as the ideal partner and will become the first country to see SPIKES rolled out.
IAAF President Lamine Diack said: "The IAAF will use SPIKES as part of our ambitious strategy to make the sport of athletics as relevant as possible in the 21st century. Although starting in the UK with the support of our friends at UKA, our ambition for the future is to capture the imagination of those who follow the sport and to reach new groups of fans and participants in other countries as well."
Speaking at the SPIKES launch at the O2 arena in London, Sebastian Coe, IAAF Vice-President, said "There’s a lot of good happening in our sport, both here in the UK and globally, but we need to be much more creative and dynamic about how we reach out and promote the sport. SPIKES will help us meet this challenge by fusing traditional and online media to celebrate our heroes, create new ones and inspire a new breed of track and field fans.
"Spikesmag.com will be the heart of the new marketing drive containing a wealth of footage – including World records and inspiring clips of athlete heroes in action and at rest. I certainly would have loved to have had this type of material available when I started out. It’s a great way for young people to connect with our sport and access it in a way that makes sense to them.
Seb Coe, twice Olympic Champion and multiple World Record Breaker, was joined by a host of IAAF Ambassadors and UK athletes including Andy Baddeley, Martyn Rooney, Becky Lyne and Marylin Okoro.
Wilson Kipketer, World Record Holder and three times World 800m Champion (1995, 97, 99): "Young people need heroes to inspire them, no matter where they are, whether here in the UK, in Denmark where I live or in Kenya where I was born. SPIKES will help promote our sport at a time when there is so much competition for young people’s attention. What’s particularly exciting about SPIKES is that it can be tailored to appeal to different countries as well as promote the global stars of our sport, no matter where they come from."
Steve Ovett, 1980 Olympic 800m Champion and multiple World Record Breaker: "Athletics needs to move with the times and that is exactly what SPIKES is about. We know we face challenges. Like every sport, it’s harder than ever to bring young people and athletics together and addressing this challenge is crucial if we are to flourish. I’m sure SPIKES can reach out in an exciting and accessible way to reward and support our existing fans but also embrace new ones. It’s a great initiative."
Colin Jackson, 1993 & 1999 World 110m Hurdles Champion and multiple World Record Breaker: "You only need look at the huge interest and excitement that Liu Xiang is creating across China’s 1.3 billion population to see that athletics really does have the ability to dominate the pubic conscience on a massive scale. The sport needs innovations like SPIKES to take us to the next level and ensure our growth globally."
IAAF
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