Make trials standard the same as olympic standard

Standards are fine for limiting full fields to maintain quality and depth as a well as allowing for development. Too many deters viewership as who wants to sit through endless heats/sections turning the "championship" meet into an all-comers meet for the sake of filling seats for tv. Empty lanes are bad for the sport but there gas to be a cutoff somewhere to maintain quality.

When it comes to the Olympics, there should be a more relaxed standard to create inclusion but not at the expense of eliminating quality. Olympic standards for 1st round and 2nd round of meet entry points. Maybe the first rounders can advance but the guy from Tonga coming out of the blocks barefoot doesnt but is still a member of the Olympic family and movement. Just run a schedule that allows for the spectators to not have to pay for and sit through 1st round sessions at full price.

Rigid standards are for the WC, not the Olympics.

Consequently, Im really curious as to how USA will do in break dancing 40 years after we showed off that part of our culture in the Opening or Closing ceremonies in LA84? Ballroom dancing, rhythmic gymnastics, synchronized swimming/diving, trampoline, skateboarding etc....c'mon man! Why is track and field taking the hit. Wrestling had to reinvent itself for crying outloud just to maintain their spot on the Olympic schedule.

Some people say the only thing more boring than track is field! A lot of those people dont respect tradition, want to erase history with their 15 second attention spans.

Here come the downvotes from most who couldnt read or process this post. Bring it!

They would both run 7 minute pace.

i am going to call out the "TV effect." i think this argument is baby fascism made by folks who don't realize how good most of USTF level is. example: 400H W. levrone beats the worst runner by like 50m or more. there is some elitist instinct to say like why are we even calling the rest. half informed people watching this are like why did you let these slowpokes in the race. last place is 55, which would podium in the UK, beat a lot of D3 men, and levrone is setting a freaking world record. the last place finisher is second in her conference -- the top notch Big 12 -- in NCAA. she won a lot of meets this year.

these are not out of shape scrubs you see finishing out of breath behind the people you recognize from TV. these are people who would make other teams, are college elite, and look tired because they just tried to keep up with a world record runner and failed by a few seconds.

in reality your idea would be more like a coronation than a meet or trials in many events. it would look like a D3 last chance meet. maybe 2 heats in some things. but maybe 1 heat of 2 people in something else. maybe even canceled events for no one being qualified. probably a lot more of 3-4 people running off than you'd think. like some HS relay runoff. congratulations you have turned an expo of high human talent into a punch line.

if there are fewer people than the allotment, or precisely the allotment, and i am going, why do i bother to really "race?" if people think "tactical heats" are bad as it stands, why compete hard if my place is assured? everyone would pull what the 100H lady did who jogged her heat.

Back in the day, that was the case for the sprint and jumping events. But back then the Olympic standard for bringing more than one participant per event per country wasn't as hard. The number of participants in the Olympics and World Championships is much smaller than it was decades ago.

Easiest way is to follow Hayduke's suggestion, then fill the field with the descending order list to get to your desired number of entries. Publish a weekly list with what the bubble time/distance to get under the descending order list. If you're going to use the World Athletics rankings as a tiebreaker, also publish the ranking points needed in that event. None of this minimum standard crap.

We always get on the NCAA's case when it comes to the West and East regional entries, but at least they get it right and there's no questions: top 48 in each event before scratches, then go down the descending order list.

No, people find a way. Theyll Microdose a little closer to the edge.

There would be the thrill of seeing if Izzo moves into lane 2 when she’s lapped .

YES! Cancel the Olympics! Cancel all international travel for athletics! Save the polar bears! Save the bees! Save the trees!

You explained the current system.