International Association of Athletics Federations
Association Internationale des Fédérations d'Athlétisme

IAAF & UK Athletics Launch New Global Athletics Marketing Initiative

3 July 2008

London, UK - The International Association of Athletics Federations
(IAAF), in partnership with UK Athletics (UKA), today launched a major
new drive to promote athletics globally with a cutting edge magazine and
interactive global website - SPIKES. ÊÊThe UK, as host to the 2012
Olympic and Paralympic Games, is seen by the IAAF as the ideal partner
and will become the first country to see SPIKES rolled out.



IAAF President Lamine Diack said: "The IAAF will use SPIKES as part of
our ambitious strategy to make the sport of athletics as relevant as
possible in the 21st century. Although starting in the UK with the
support of our friends at UKA, our ambition for the future is to capture
the imagination of those who follow the sport and to reach new groups of
fans and participants in other countries as well."



Speaking at the SPIKES launch at the O2 arena in London, Sebastian Coe,
IAAF Vice-President, said "There's a lot of good happening in our sport,
both here in the UK and globally, but we need to be much more creative
and dynamic about how we reach out and promote the sport. ÊSPIKES will
help us meet this challenge by fusing traditional and online media to
celebrate our heroes, create new ones and inspire a new breed of track
and field fans.



"Spikesmag.com will be the heart of the new marketing drive containing a
wealth of footage - including World records and inspiring clips of
athlete heroes in action and at rest. ÊI certainly would have loved to
have had this type of material available when I started out. It's a great
way for young people to connect with our sport and access it in a way
that makes sense to them.

Seb Coe, twice Olympic Champion and multiple World Record Breaker, was
joined by a host of IAAF Ambassadors and UK athletes including Andy
Baddeley, Martyn Rooney, Becky Lyne and Marylin Okoro.



Wilson Kipketer, World Record Holder and three times World 800m Champion
(1995, 97, 99): "Young people need heroes to inspire them, no matter
where they are, whether here in the UK, in Denmark where I live or in
Kenya where I was born. ÊSPIKES will help promote our sport at a time
when there is so much competition for young people's attention. ÊWhat's
particularly exciting about SPIKES is that it can be tailored to appeal
to different countries as well as promote the global stars of our sport,
no matter where they come from."



Steve Ovett, 1980 Olympic 800m Champion and multiple World Record
Breaker: "Athletics needs to move with the times and that is exactly what
SPIKES is about. ÊWe know we face challenges. ÊLike every sport, it's
harder than ever to bring young people and athletics together and
addressing this challenge is crucial if we are to flourish. ÊI'm sure
SPIKES can reach out in an exciting and accessible way to reward and
support our existing fans but also embrace new ones. ÊIt's a great
initiative."



Colin Jackson, 1993 & 1999 World 110m Hurdles Champion and multiple World
Record Breaker: "You only need look at the huge interest and excitement
that Liu Xiang is creating across China's 1.3 billion population to see
that athletics really does have the ability to dominate the pubic
conscience on a massive scale. ÊThe sport needs innovations like SPIKES
to take us to the next level and ensure our growth globally."


Click on the following link to read more about SPIKES:
http://www.spikesmag.com/


Official IAAF Partners - Partenaires Officiels de l'IAAF

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