AAI in Croke Park

emerald007

Article in the indo from friday, with a proposal for some athletic event to be held in croker for 125 birthday bash. what do people think?

http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/athletics-athletics-body-still-silent-on-offer-to-use-croke-park-1596489.html

RoyMcC

Sad that AAI has not responded to this offer. Ireland doesn't get too many opportunities to showcase track & field. The sport of athletics was an integral part of the old Jones Road ground and it would be appropriate for it to join in the celebrations.

Peterx

Great idea

ChickenTikka

I don't like particularly like the idea of a sprint/jump event in the half hour between 2 matches. I think its squeezing those events too much.

But the idea of a large mass participation run ending in Croke Park isn't bad.

Or what about an Irish milers race at half-time?

Correct me if I am wrong but I think in Ronnie Delaney's autobiography he refers to some famous grass based 800m or miles that were run in his day. Maybe one of those could be resurrected?

It might appeal to our top middle distance athletes to star in Croke Park. It would also be a better spectacle in my opinion for an audience unused to track and field. A sprint would be over too quickly. And a jumps event wouldn't have a chance of attracting much interest unless seated reasonably near that part of the pitch.

The fact that AAI hasn't gotten back to the GAA on it is more of the disorganisation at board level in AAI. Too busy with lawsuits I guess.

emerald007

If they want a half time show, i reckon ChickenTikka is right about a middle distance race. Maybe a provincial based 4*800 meter relay would be an idea, fast exciting race. (i know this is bad if the back door in GAA works and its a single province final). To throw the cat amougst the pigeons, how about a mixed team event?. I couldn't see any mass participation event working, since the it would just destroy the pitch.

DaveH

Micheal Heery who was president of the AAI before Liam Hennessy said before at the AAI congress he had accepted an inviation from the GAA to use croke park due to their 125 anniversay.

thirtyfoot

I think a mass participation event would be best. Hold in October after the GAA season is over to protect the picth if needs be. Make it an inter-pro or inter-county (along the lines of the Great Run). Start somewhere and finish in Croke Park. You could have 5-10,000 in it and a real buzz to enter. Get a few high profile GAA players to enter too. Some kiddie events too, county relay with county and provincial champs held to qualify. Get our top distance runners to enter, have as a preview of the Dublin '09 and create some publicity about that at the event which would only be a few months later. Thinking of that maybe get Lebid, Farah and a few others over.

A middle distance race or relay wouldn't create much excitement really especially at half-time in a game, it would be like one of the rounders exhibitions that was there last year. Nobody would give a toss if you weren't into athletics and unless you had Eamonn Coghlan, Frank O' Mara, Marcus O' Sullivan, Ray Flynn, John Treacy et al in '80's GOAL Mile shape then I'd imagine it wouldn't excite the athletics community too much easier.