Track Observation Essay

Jump, throw, and run. These are movements shown throughout a track meet, but if you pay attention closely there is much more that goes on. I observed this event because I am a track athlete and wanted to see how others view the sport I like to play. I viewed the track meet with two different perspectives as a spectator and a competitor. As a spectator, I watched the whole arena versus when I was a competitor, I paid attention to individuals more. I also viewed the actions of coaches, fans, and the event staff within the arena and how they may or may not have an affect on the athletes.
Once you enter through the doors of the Birmingham Crossplex, you see the lobby. You see the stairs leading to the second floor where the Olympic size pool is located and a line of three concession stands. Once you turn left to enter the track you are amazed at the size of the arena. On both sides there are bleachers starting from the track to almost the top of the building. The whole track arena is filled with a two-hundred-meter track containing a sixty-meter dash area, two pole vault pits, two long jump pits, a shot put area, and a weight

throw area. What spectators can not see is the warm up room with a one-hundred-meter runway and three locker rooms. Overall, the track arena, which lowers and raises, is the size of nine volleyball courts and can fit up to four thousand spectators. Once twenty or more schools arrive to the crossplex, the events begin.
As a spectator, you only see the athletes on the track doing their events, but as a competitor, there are other things prior to the events time. The first thing before any athlete is allowed on the track is that they must have a colored bracelet on to enter the track and get their shoes checked by the clerk. If an athlete does not get their shoes checked, it could result in a disqualification. Athletes then enter the warm up area where other athletes may already be working up a sweat, so the feeling the room is really hot and the smell of sweat just hits you in the face. People are doing static stretches like toe touches and dynamic stretches like leg swings to warm up their legs before a race. Once an athlete is warm, they begin to walk towards the track to get loose one more time before the competition. The athletes then stand still and wait for a gunshot to signal that they can begin the race. The competitors then race for a certain distance from sixty meters to ten thousand meters to receive first place with the fastest time. As the athletes run fans or parents cheer for their child or school to encourage them to go faster. Being a competitor, during a race, athletes do not worry about their surroundings, but more about the competitors. They watch the people in front of them and see when is the best time to make a move. As they breathe heavily, the last few meters arrive and athletes try to give all their effort to win and the cheering of the spectators get louder until a clear winner is declared. Along with the runners, the other events going on are long and triple jump, high jump, pole vault, shot put and the weight throw. These competitors also go through the pressure of the audience watching them and cheering to perform the best they can. However, runners can continuously focus on the track, but jumpers and throwers have the constant stare of others watching and commenting on their performance. Being a competitor in jumping as well I observed that others have movements or rituals that they do before every jump. They believe that doing this helps them clear heights and could have an effect on how they perform.
Fans may have positive or negative feedback to give to an athlete, but the one that affects the athletes the most is their coaches.

The coaches try to watch all their athletes as best as they can by moving back and forth on both sides of the track. They make notes about their athletes and keep a timer on them to see the individuals time before others find out. When an athlete completes their event, the coach pulls them over and talks about the positives that happened in the race. Once the athlete is rested the coach elaborates on the overall performance and helps the athlete by pointing out what they could have better to improve for the next race. Competitors and coaches have a closer bond than some may not understand. The coaches help their athletes the best was they can because they like to see their athletes achieve and aim for higher

goals.