Super-experienced athletics administrator faces multiple challenges as she attempts to get British major events back on track

The news that Cherry Alexander is re-joining UK Athletics as major events and international relations lead has been met with near-universal applause from within the sport. It is a popular decision by the new UKA chair and CEO combo of Ian Beattie and Mark Munro and shows they mean business as they attempt to resurrect the fortunes of the national governing body and the health of the sport generally.

Despite her rich experience and wealth of contacts, Alexander was deemed unnecessary during Jo Coates’ 20-month period as chief executive at UKA. Her return now is a clear admission that it was a bad idea to let her go in the first place and, during a unique period of lockdowns and coronavirus-related inactivity, the sport has squandered the chance to quietly restructure itself so that it could emerge stronger than ever in the post-pandemic period.

Alexander is unlikely to dwell on the past, though. She will be too focused in getting the sport’s major events back on their feet.

This year UKA did well to leap to the rescue of the Diamond League by volunteering to replace the pandemic-hit Rabat meeting in May with what turned out to be an enjoyable but rain-soaked event in Gateshead. In July, Gateshead staged a second Diamond League event, but there was an awkward stand-off with the BBC which led to the British Championships and Olympic trials in Manchester being merely streamed by the governing body itself. As we head into 2022 there is only one Diamond League in Britain, too, which is likely to be in Birmingham on May 21.

Hopefully Alexander can use her abilities to resurrect the ailing fortunes of British televised events. She cut her teeth years ago under the infamous British Athletic Federation promoter Andy Norman and, among many other things, later oversaw the staging of the 2017 World Championships in London. So now she needs to draw on all her tact and knowledge to boost the status of major events in this country.

Three areas clearly need attention.

Athletics needs to get back into the London Stadium or, as many athletics fans still call it, the Olympic Stadium. The legacy of London 2012 was supposed to be a brilliant stadium which could be the home of athletics in the British capital for big track and field meetings for years to come.

Secondly, the sport needs to return to terrestrial television. The streaming of events has become increasingly popular and definitely has its place, but any big sport worth its salt needs to be on a platform where it will command the biggest possible audience.

To illustrate how the sport has gradually vanished from our TV screens, back in 1985 there were 32 athletics meetings broadcast on ITV (and a further three on BBC during the indoor season). At this time of year alone they included the McVitie’s Challenge Cross Country International where Dave Lewis enjoyed a runaway victory at Gateshead Bowl. That particular event was on the same weekend in the calendar as Saturday’s Liverpool Cross Challenge and Euro Trials, for example, but the latter is not even streamed let alone on telly.

Finally, British athletics is crying out for more top-level athletics meetings for international athletes who cannot get into Diamond League meetings or athletes on the cusp of an international breakthrough. An increasing trend has seen British athletes make a pilgrimage to various venues in France, Italy, Spain and beyond in the quest for good competitive opportunities and conditions, but this has led to the competition calendar in Britain withering.

Thankfully, Beattie and Munro recognise this and have already stated it is one of their goals to create more decent-standard competitions in the UK. During her exile from UKA incidentally, Alexander has already been busy working behind the scenes on the creation of some of these events too.

The final word goes to Alexander, who said on her re-appointment: “It’s a real honour to be asked to return to UKA, I am always motivated working with people who are genuinely passionate about our beautiful sport and who will strive to make it a success. Mark and Ian have shared their ambitions for the sport and events and there is no doubt the next few years will be busy!

“I’m thrilled to be linking up again with friends and colleagues who love this sport and who want to be part of this new but challenging era. Let’s get started!”