Glasgow Wants To Host Super 8
Despite a row over sponsorship at the inaugural event, Glasgow is set to be the first city to sign up to next year’s Super 8, the new series devised by UK Athletics which launched this week.
The first of the two-hour, inter-city contests held in Cardiff attracted a crowd of 2,500.
The format had 22 events crammed into two hours, a longest race distance of 1,500m and no false starts allowed in the sprint events.
Prize money started at £1,000 for the winner of each event and teams were able to play a ‘joker’ in one event in an attempt to earn double points.
UK Athletics wants cities to bid for franchises in order to host similar events nationwide in 2010 – at a cost of £100,000 per year.
And the parent body was pleased with the response in Cardiff, despite the late withdrawal of Kelly Sotherton due to a sponsorship dispute with Nike.
UK Athletics chief executive Niels de Vos said of 2014 Commonwealth Games hosts Glasgow: ‘They want to be first. They are keen to sign up. It has been a successful experiment and we will sit down now and have a long look at it for next year.
‘It was great to get a good crowd in, but it wasn’t just about that, it was about showing it worked. We’ve given people a blank template. Each city will have to have the capacity to host an event.
‘How they host it is up to them. Some might want to host it indoors under spotlights. It’s not just about your team winning, it’s about putting on the best event. If Glasgow can’t win, they can still put on the best event.’
