Several months ago, I began a fight for athletes’ rights with the creation of the Facebook group “Im tired of USATF and IAAF crippling our sport”—now more than six thousand members strong.  Many of you have joined that group, and many more have read my inaugural blog, which was first posted here on Flotrack and then reported on widely in the media.  While I may be among the first to have given voice to our discontent, I’m really just part of a larger movement—one comprised of athletes, fans, coaches, meet directors, sponsors, and potential sponsors.  It is a movement that is changing our sport—I truly believe for the better—and that may well throw it the lifeline that it so desperately needs.  Much has happened since that blog post back in October; now is a good time to recap how far our movement has come in just a few short months.

Our first big success came at the 2011 United States Track and Field (USATF) annual meeting, which took place in St. Louis the first week of December.  Through concerted efforts with the Track and Field Athletes Association (TFAA) and the Athletes Advisory Committee (AAC) and with expert legal counsel provided by attorney David Greifinger, we were able to prove that the USATF had been enforcing IAAF rules regarding logos, which did not appear anywhere in the USATF rule book and were actually merely guidelines.  Prior to this victory, if any athlete turned up at a USATF-sanctioned event with a logo on their jersey or body that did not conform to the guidlines, USATF personnel would demand that it be covered with duct tape.  Athletes were threatened with disqualification if they did not comply.  Going into the 2012 season, we’ve been assured by the USATF that this policy will no longer be enforced.

This is a huge WIN for the athletes.  As soon as I heard about it, I thought, “Fantastic—now I can start looking for new sponsors who I can represent at USATF-governed events.”  My agent, Chris Layne of Total Sports Management, began making calls, but I decided to take a more radical approach.  On January 4, I created the “Your Name on an Olympic Athlete in 2012” eBay auction.  The 10-day auction—for a guarantee that I will wear the winner’s Twitter handle on my left deltoid in all of my 2012 competitions—was a success on every level: it had over 22,000 views and 25 unique bidders.  Word of the auction was picked up by national and international news outlets.  It gave both fans and corporations a chance to become part of an athlete’s Olympic dream.  Ultimately, the winning bid of $11,100 came from America’s leading active-lifestyle agency, Hanson Dodge Creative.  This Milwaukee-based company specializes in helping brands reach new markets, and it does so by enlisting the aid of inspired Brand Champions who can share their affinity to influence a wider audience.  Given my passion for the outdoors (Eagle Scout, hunter, fisherman, skier, surfer, and climber) as well as my obvious love of running, my partnership with Hanson Dodge Creative is a perfect fit.  Not only did this headline-making auction give me an incredible new sponsor; it demonstrated that there are many companies out there eager to invest in track and field athletes if given the chance.

Nike remains my primary sponsor.  One question I’ve been asked a lot in the last few weeks is, “How does Nike feel about you auctioning off ad space this way?”  All I can say is that they have yet to contact me about it.  I have a feeling that they’re not at all upset to see one of their athletes getting major media coverage.  The eBay auction was reported on by local papers and TV, HLN news, Wired.com, ESPN.com, the Wall Street Journal, and in a host of other places. Nearly all of the coverage included a photo of me in my Nike USA singlet.  This illustrates a point I’ve been making all along: the more eyeballs are on track and field athletes, the better it is for every vested interest.  Nike is too shrewd not to appreciate this.

There’s a common misconception that I have a problem with shoe companies having exclusive deals regarding advertising on an athlete’s body.  Not true: I think that if a shoe company and an athlete both want to enter into an exclusive contract, they should have the right to do that.  I also think that the shoe company should pay the athlete fair market price for that exclusivity.  The USATF and the IAAF have a responsibility to protect athletes; there’s no reason for them to insist on an exclusivity that can work against athletes’ interests.  It is reasonable for the IAAF to impose some limitations on what goes on bibs and, to some extent, athletes’ jerseys, but to tell me what I can and cannot do with my own body is an intrusion on my rights.  While the IAAF may claim otherwise, I own my skin.

Moving forward after the auction, many people may be wondering what’s next for the movement.  The answer: PLENTY.

The auction was just one of seven types of smoke I’ll be throwing this year.  (Rent You, Me, and Dupree if you missed the reference.)  Track and field’s waning popularity is due in large part to the logo restrictions put in place by the IAAF, but it’s also due to the laziness of athletes.  I’m calling myself out here.  I was as lazy as anyone.  For the last six years, I was content to train hard, hide in my house and rest between workouts, and do little to nothing to engage our fans and grow our fan base.  I figured that I was doing enough by just training hard and running fast.  I no longer feel that way.  As athletes, if we want to see this sport grow, we’re going to have to be willing to get ourselves out there a little more.  This can take the form of volunteering in the community, becoming more visible and connected through social media, or reaching out to a new sponsor.  As soon as I announced that I was partnering with Hanson Dodge Creative, I received dozens of messages from the company’s seventy-plus employees wishing me good luck and telling me that they’ll be watching my season closely.

As an entrepreneur, I like this way of growing the sport best: the adoption of an athlete by a whole company.  It produces symbiotic relationships in which an athlete gains new fans and some financial support, and a business grows and reaches new parts of the market.  I have many more plans to foster this movement throughout the 2012 season and will be announcing them from my favorite social media platform, Twitter.  If you’d like to follow me, you can do so @nicksymmonds.

In the meantime, here are three things that I have found to be helpful and/or amusing.

1. At the 2011 USATF annual meeting, Ian Stewart (meet director for the UK Diamond League and husband of USATF President Stephanie Hightower) argued that if athletes were permitted to wear corporate logos for companies that are direct competitors of the event sponsors, those sponsors would yank their support.  This doesn’t seem to be the case in tennis.  Take a look at Li Na of China, currently ranked #5 in the world.  She’s competing in a beautiful Nike outfit complete with the iconic swoosh.  You’ll also notice that on her right shoulder, she has a Mercedes-Benz logo.  Behind her you can see that the event she’s playing in is sponsored by Hyundai.  If tennis, golf, triathlon, ping-pong, bull riding, NASCAR, and many other sports can not only survive but THRIVE with multiple sponsors, I truly believe that track and field can as well.  As I was taught in kindergarten, everyone wins when you share!



2. I am not alone in this belief.  Our neighbors to the north, who have brought us such world-changing exports as Justin Bieber and poutine (I’m not ashamed to admit that I very much enjoy both of these things),  are about to do it again.  Canada’s National Track League (NTL) is partnering with Flotrack to deliver a series of media-covered events in which a predetermined portion of the bib will be available for athletes to use to recognize sponsors, support charities, raise money, or promote their websites.  This is the future of track and field.  You can try to fight it, or you can embrace it and be a pioneer, as the Canadians have chosen to be.  I encourage every athlete to check out the NTL’s 2012 calendar and see if they can fit one or more of these meets into their schedule; I am currently working with my coach and agent to find a way to attend at least one:

Vancouver: June 10
Victoria: June 13
Edmonton: June 16
Moncton: July 15
Halifax: July 8
Toronto: July 11
  
Athletes interested in taking part in the 2012 NTL series, and companies wishing to get involved should contact Mathieu Gentès at mgentes@athletics.ca.

3. Finally, just to emphasize the point I’m trying to make, please take a look at this photo that one of the members of the Facebook group “Im tired of USATF and IAAF crippling our sport” posted in that forum.  This is what an IAAF-compliant NASCAR would look like.  Comical indeed.  Can we please bring track and field into the 21st century?



I wish everyone a healthy, successful, and prosperous year.  #London2012

—Nick Symmonds