An update on the vision for track and field

Following last month’s announcement that an independent group of leading experts in sport are working to develop a vision for the future of track and field in the UK, to address the decline in youth track and field participation, we can now share the following progress update.

In December, the group invited you to help further develop this vision, which was presented with qualitative and quantitative research and insight into the barriers to participation.

The group’s purpose was:

• To start to develop a vision for the future of track and field competition in the UK that excites, engages, develops and retains young people in the sport.
• To utilise previous and recent research alongside group members' experience and knowledge, to set out the key principles behind an informed and ambitious vision for the future of track and field competition in the UK.
• To consider the impact of the findings on competition, focusing on athlete experience, formats of competition and its underlying structure.
• To provide a series of recommendations that require implementation to deliver on that vision for competition.

The group’s chair, Steve Cram, outlined the aims and objectives of the Vision Group in this short video:

Play Video

A successful first webinar

Earlier this month, the group held its first webinar for all who had signed up so far, hosted by Steve Cram, and featuring talks from members of the Vision Group including former Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu, and CEO of Coach Core Foundation, Gary Laybourne.

Those who had signed up to support the vision were given the opportunity to ask initial questions around the group’s plans and how they can support.

You can watch the webinar recording once you have signed up to supporting the vision, and you can still sign up now via the button below.

Next steps

Now, the group is inviting those who have signed up to support the vision to select the specific area of the vision they are interested in further developing, so that they can create smaller working groups for each area and start to discuss actions for those areas.

The areas for the sub-groups are as follows:

• Local and regional collaboration: new Athletics Hubs
• Competition culture: prioritisation of flexible, inclusive, and progressive competition formats that reflect young people’s lives and motivations
• Blended and digital pathways: harnessing technology to complement in-person participation, track progress, and increase accessibility.
• Wellbeing and belonging at the core: repositioning the wider perception of athletics as being grounded in belonging, identity, supporting good mental health and long-term engagement - not just performance.
• Athletics as the foundation of all sports: embedding run, jump, and throw skills into the wider sporting ecosystem as the entry point for every young athlete and recognising that athletes can and should be participating in other sports.

You can register to join one or more sub-groups based on the areas you are interested in contributing. If you are joining more than one group, please note that groups are action-oriented.

Please only complete the form below if you have already signed up to support the vision and given your consent for communications regarding the group.