The history of the Olympic Trials at Hayward Field has always been about innovation in the hosting of the event.
In 1972 the trials were run in an eight-day, Olympic-style format for the first time in trials history. It made perfect sense, and served to better judge the athletes in the same exact format they would face in the Olympics.
In 1976, the trials at Hayward brought together men’s and women’s events for the first time in trials history. Some had feared that the women would be overshadowed by the men, but this was not at all the case, as the women proved a vibrant and vital addition to the trials.
This year, in perfect Eugene style, the trials will go “green,” and work toward being a zero waste event through several innovations in the hosting of the event.
First, the event will be run completely on renewable energy resources. Back in November the Local Organizing Committee committed to using EWEB’s Greenpower program, meaning all electric energy purchased to run the meet and the festival will be from wind or solar power generating facilities. EWEB’s Greenpower program was reviewed and approved as “green” by the independent Center for Resource Solutions and has attained their “Green-e” certification.
Next was the installation of more efficient lighting at Hayward Field. The University of Oregon, in partnership with EWEB, has installed Musco’s Light Structure Green fixtures. The system is 40 percent more efficient than any other sports lighting fixture available today. The system also is designed to cut down on “light pollution”, the spillage of light from the venue into the surrounding neighborhoods.
Then there’s the festival that will be going on next to the actual trials, which features the “Solar Stage”. The stage will be solar powered and will also use the EWEB solar station for any additional power. The Safeway Human Powered Energy tent will also be part of the festival, and will have bikes for people to pedal, producing energy to send back to the power grid.
And don’t think for a minute that Nike isn’t getting in on the action – June 30 is Sports and the Environment Day of the trials, and Nike will be collecting shoes to be reused in the Nike Grind product that is used for track surfaces.
Sounds like a pretty innovative way to stage an event to me. The list goes on, obviously, but I just wanted to highlight some of the efforts and applaud the spirit of sustainable trials.
As a community we should be proud of the history of Hayward Field and all the great athletes that have performed there, and we should also be proud that we live in a community that supports the development of the kind of green efforts that are coming to fruition at the trials.
And if a top-level sporting event can be held with the minimum of negative effects on our environment, what else could be done? Think about how much of an impact could be made if every sporting event across the country paid such close attention to environmental impacts. Eugene 08 has raised the bar for events like these, and will prove that they can be held in an environmentally responsible way without sacrificing quality of experience for everyone involved.
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