http://espn.go.com/oly/columns/hollobaugh/1576656.html
Internet Helping High School Track Grow
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rainbowgirl28
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Internet Helping High School Track Grow
This is a good article on ESPN.com. Nice to see Dyestat getting so much attention. I used to work for them
http://espn.go.com/oly/columns/hollobaugh/1576656.html
http://espn.go.com/oly/columns/hollobaugh/1576656.html
-
rainbowgirl28
- I'm in Charge
- Posts: 30435
- Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2002 1:59 pm
- Expertise: Former College Vaulter, I coach and officiate as life allows
- Lifetime Best: 11'6"
- Gender: Female
- World Record Holder?: Renaud Lavillenie
- Favorite Vaulter: Casey Carrigan
- Location: A Temperate Island
- Contact:
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... 004/SPORTS
July 26, 2005
USA track and field junior olympics
Internet coverage a boon for sport
With nation's best times available on Web sites, high school runners can compare, gain motivation.
For track junkies: Internet coverage of track and field at all levels has enabled fans and athletes to stay abreast of the sport across the nation and the world.
Internet track sites
• Dyestat.com -- National high school rankings and results
• Eliteyouth.com -- National age-group rankings
• Iaaf.org -- World governing body's site
• Indianarunner.com -- Indiana high school rankings and results
• Letsrun.com -- Links to stories and results worldwide
• Prettysporty.com -- Photos from national and international meets
• Runnersworld.com -- Runner's World magazine site
• Tilastopaja.net -- Finnish site posts world rankings
• Trackandfieldnews.com -- Track & Field News magazine site
• Trackshark.com -- College track rankings and results
• Trackwire.com -- Photographs and college team rankings
• Usatf.org -- USA Track & Field site. Will post Junior Olympics results
By David Woods
david.woods@indystar.com
It was only a few years ago that athletes and fans had to wait for monthly mail delivery of Track & Field News magazine to learn results of meets across the country or around the world.
There was almost no way for a high school runner in Indiana to know what times were being recorded in California or Texas until weeks later.
"Now, at the click of a mouse, they can see what the best kids their age are doing on the track every single weekend," said Jill Geer, director of communications for USA Track & Field.
The world's oldest sport has been profoundly influenced by Internet technology.
Athletes in town for the Junior Olympics this week have as much access to news as the statistician, track nut or college recruiter. The Junior Olympics, which open today at IUPUI's Carroll Stadium, attract 6,000 boys and girls of ages up to 18.
"The Internet has done a lot to unify the track and field community in a broad sense, from high school to elite to road runners," Geer said.
There is anecdotal evidence that a surge in performances by American teenagers can be partially attributed to the Internet. Athletes' vistas are not confined to their own state.
Brian Martin, 16, a Ben Davis High School sprinter who represents Indy's Racing Cheetahs, said he checks rankings in the 400 meters.
"I thought I was doing real good, and a kid in Houston was doing 46 (seconds)," he said. "It really does motivate me."
The Internet home of high school track is dyestat.com. The site was not started by a news outlet, statistician, coach or athlete. It was started by a father, John Dye, whose son and daughter were high school athletes in Maryland. In 1997, Derek Dye (high jump) and sister Natalie (pole vault) both won state titles.
The Web site became so popular that it acquired corporate sponsors and advertisers. It was eventually sold to Student Sports, a company that promotes high school sports. In June, dyestat recorded 4 million page views and 400,000 unique visitors.
Dye, 68, retired in 2001 from his job as a government auditor. He continues to manage dyestat after moving to Albuquerque, N.M.
"I sometimes call dyestat a hobby gone berserk," he said.
He formerly worked for newspapers, beginning with his hometown Plymouth (Ind.) Pilot. While in high school, he had a media credential three rows from the floor for Milan's celebrated state basketball victory over Muncie Central in 1954.
Dye said he is filling a void because newspapers devote little coverage to the sport. Athletes approach him at meets and tell him they get more publicity on dyestat than in their hometown papers.
"High school-level track is the best, I think," Dye said. "There's a tremendous amount of passion and following of track at the local level. This is when they come of age, and they're just finding out they can do something.
"There's a tremendous amount of discovery there. The parents, the same way. 'My kid can do something. My kid is good.' "
State site
The state's Internet home for high school track is indianarunner.com. The Web site was introduced in 1999 by Derek Leininger, who was then a high school runner and is now a coach at Fort Wayne Concordia.
The Webmaster is Brandon Jones, 23, a former runner at Warren Central and now an assistant coach there. He said the site will register 10,000 hits a day after sectionals and regionals.
"People just eat it up," he said.
The posting of results on indianarunner.com and ihsaa.org has saved on gas mileage for Jones' former coach, Dennis McNulty.
McNulty, who led Warren Central to state championships in 1995 and 1996, used to crisscross the state by car to purchase newspapers on the day after regionals. He collected results of every regional in Indiana and knew how the state meet might shape up before anyone else.
He started as early as 5:30 a.m. and returned home by 7 p.m. Distance traveled: 464 miles.
"A lot of coaches knew I did that, so my phone would ring all weekend," McNulty said.
He said top athletes are keenly aware of what is happening in their events, but the coach has team rules for the message boards: No trash talking.
"You don't need to give a guy a reason to go out and beat your butt," he said.
Now, most major meets have Web sites or links so results are available as they happen.
Moreover, USA Track & Field has announced that the World Championships, which run Aug. 6-14 at Helsinki, Finland, will have an unprecedented 58 hours of live Web cast coverage. Cost is $4.95 at wcsn.com.
Track & Field News still calls itself "The Bible of the Sport" but no longer has the near-monopoly on news that it once enjoyed. But the magazine's Web site, trackandfieldnews.com, provides breaking news as well as message boards devoted to history and doping. It's a forum where fans can debate just how fast Bob Hayes' anchor leg was in the 400-meter relay at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, for instance.
Garry Hill, editor of Track & Field News, acknowledged that circulation has fallen but that the magazine tries to be a publication of record appealing to the mature track fan.
"We can't be all things to all people," he said. "We're sort of finding where our niche is."
July 26, 2005
USA track and field junior olympics
Internet coverage a boon for sport
With nation's best times available on Web sites, high school runners can compare, gain motivation.
For track junkies: Internet coverage of track and field at all levels has enabled fans and athletes to stay abreast of the sport across the nation and the world.
Internet track sites
• Dyestat.com -- National high school rankings and results
• Eliteyouth.com -- National age-group rankings
• Iaaf.org -- World governing body's site
• Indianarunner.com -- Indiana high school rankings and results
• Letsrun.com -- Links to stories and results worldwide
• Prettysporty.com -- Photos from national and international meets
• Runnersworld.com -- Runner's World magazine site
• Tilastopaja.net -- Finnish site posts world rankings
• Trackandfieldnews.com -- Track & Field News magazine site
• Trackshark.com -- College track rankings and results
• Trackwire.com -- Photographs and college team rankings
• Usatf.org -- USA Track & Field site. Will post Junior Olympics results
By David Woods
david.woods@indystar.com
It was only a few years ago that athletes and fans had to wait for monthly mail delivery of Track & Field News magazine to learn results of meets across the country or around the world.
There was almost no way for a high school runner in Indiana to know what times were being recorded in California or Texas until weeks later.
"Now, at the click of a mouse, they can see what the best kids their age are doing on the track every single weekend," said Jill Geer, director of communications for USA Track & Field.
The world's oldest sport has been profoundly influenced by Internet technology.
Athletes in town for the Junior Olympics this week have as much access to news as the statistician, track nut or college recruiter. The Junior Olympics, which open today at IUPUI's Carroll Stadium, attract 6,000 boys and girls of ages up to 18.
"The Internet has done a lot to unify the track and field community in a broad sense, from high school to elite to road runners," Geer said.
There is anecdotal evidence that a surge in performances by American teenagers can be partially attributed to the Internet. Athletes' vistas are not confined to their own state.
Brian Martin, 16, a Ben Davis High School sprinter who represents Indy's Racing Cheetahs, said he checks rankings in the 400 meters.
"I thought I was doing real good, and a kid in Houston was doing 46 (seconds)," he said. "It really does motivate me."
The Internet home of high school track is dyestat.com. The site was not started by a news outlet, statistician, coach or athlete. It was started by a father, John Dye, whose son and daughter were high school athletes in Maryland. In 1997, Derek Dye (high jump) and sister Natalie (pole vault) both won state titles.
The Web site became so popular that it acquired corporate sponsors and advertisers. It was eventually sold to Student Sports, a company that promotes high school sports. In June, dyestat recorded 4 million page views and 400,000 unique visitors.
Dye, 68, retired in 2001 from his job as a government auditor. He continues to manage dyestat after moving to Albuquerque, N.M.
"I sometimes call dyestat a hobby gone berserk," he said.
He formerly worked for newspapers, beginning with his hometown Plymouth (Ind.) Pilot. While in high school, he had a media credential three rows from the floor for Milan's celebrated state basketball victory over Muncie Central in 1954.
Dye said he is filling a void because newspapers devote little coverage to the sport. Athletes approach him at meets and tell him they get more publicity on dyestat than in their hometown papers.
"High school-level track is the best, I think," Dye said. "There's a tremendous amount of passion and following of track at the local level. This is when they come of age, and they're just finding out they can do something.
"There's a tremendous amount of discovery there. The parents, the same way. 'My kid can do something. My kid is good.' "
State site
The state's Internet home for high school track is indianarunner.com. The Web site was introduced in 1999 by Derek Leininger, who was then a high school runner and is now a coach at Fort Wayne Concordia.
The Webmaster is Brandon Jones, 23, a former runner at Warren Central and now an assistant coach there. He said the site will register 10,000 hits a day after sectionals and regionals.
"People just eat it up," he said.
The posting of results on indianarunner.com and ihsaa.org has saved on gas mileage for Jones' former coach, Dennis McNulty.
McNulty, who led Warren Central to state championships in 1995 and 1996, used to crisscross the state by car to purchase newspapers on the day after regionals. He collected results of every regional in Indiana and knew how the state meet might shape up before anyone else.
He started as early as 5:30 a.m. and returned home by 7 p.m. Distance traveled: 464 miles.
"A lot of coaches knew I did that, so my phone would ring all weekend," McNulty said.
He said top athletes are keenly aware of what is happening in their events, but the coach has team rules for the message boards: No trash talking.
"You don't need to give a guy a reason to go out and beat your butt," he said.
Now, most major meets have Web sites or links so results are available as they happen.
Moreover, USA Track & Field has announced that the World Championships, which run Aug. 6-14 at Helsinki, Finland, will have an unprecedented 58 hours of live Web cast coverage. Cost is $4.95 at wcsn.com.
Track & Field News still calls itself "The Bible of the Sport" but no longer has the near-monopoly on news that it once enjoyed. But the magazine's Web site, trackandfieldnews.com, provides breaking news as well as message boards devoted to history and doping. It's a forum where fans can debate just how fast Bob Hayes' anchor leg was in the 400-meter relay at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, for instance.
Garry Hill, editor of Track & Field News, acknowledged that circulation has fallen but that the magazine tries to be a publication of record appealing to the mature track fan.
"We can't be all things to all people," he said. "We're sort of finding where our niche is."
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