Blogger's Thoughts on Golden League

Conway Hill at HellenicAthletes.com has some insight and ideas about the Golden League...

Major Championships...seem to have to schedule around the Golden League events. The "Majors" look to schedule around dates that the Golden League hasn't already taken - which, I'm sorry, seems backwards to me.

Then there are the National Championships, which should be one of two focused periods for the athletes. But each year, the Golden League starts right before the Championships period. Which forces athletes to decide which is more important - being ready for their Nationals, or taking time out to compete for the money.

That had some harsh effects for some athletes this year, as Sanya Richards took time out to go to Oslo and win, only to come back to the US and run sub par in her pet event, missing making the US squad by one place as a result. Similarly Asafa Powell took time to go to Oslo, only to go back to Jamaica and re-aggravate his groin injury. Our top athletes should not be put in the position to have to make these kinds of decisions.

As a result we're looking at a Golden League this year that lacks the hype and names of previous seasons.

Conway's suggestions include upping the jackpot and devising a points system. Personally, I agree the Golden League needs a revamping, although I'm not exactly sure how to do it.