Eugene ‘08: a trial run

An emerald spin on 2008 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials

Story by Bob Albrecht
Photos by Mark McInnis

Mark McInnis / Photographer

Historic Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus will be the site of the 2008 Olympic Trials. Eugene last hosted the trials as a prelude to the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

As Eugene prepares to host the Olympic trials for the first time in 30 years, organizers have focused on “greening” the track and field event — making sure the trials are more sustainable.

But sustainability is not the focus just in Eugene. The International Olympic Committee announced a plan to ensure that not only the 2008 trials, but also the Olympic Games in China, are sustainable.

The IOC says it is establishing policy that emphasizes sustainable development through sport at the regional, national and international level.

Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy says it is important that the trials carry a focus on sustainability. She focused her election campaign on the issue and says she wants the city to lead the implementation of that concept.

“We will be a pilot to show that you can hold an event of that size with a sustainable focus,” Piercy said.

Olympic Green A committee has developed more than three dozen ideas for how to “green” the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene. Some of them are: Give preference to purchasing food that’s grown within 50 miles of Eugene. Ban foam fingers. Create a “green” visitors guide to Eugene. Offer shuttle buses from Portland International Airport, as well as from Salem, Corvallis and Springfield. Encourage hotels to offer bike rentals to guests. Offer athletes and spectators traveling to Eugene carbon “offset” opportunities. Provide durable water containers and offer city tap water instead of water in disposable plastic bottles (except athletes).

Eugene’s local organizing committee made sustainability part of its pitch for the trials, which are expected to generate $18 million for the Eugene economy after they begin in June 2008.

The committee has continued to make the concept a top priority, devoting an entire subcommittee to sustainability initiatives.

But instituting sustainability in an event as big as the trials — which will feature 1,200 athletes, 500 coaches, 1,100 members of the media and sellout crowds of 17,000 per day — is a daunting task.

Still, it's a challenge that Kari Westlund, a member of the sustainability committee, is not shying away from.

“We want to host the greenest trials ever,” she said. Many of the subcommittee’s 40 initiatives are focused on travel in an effort to cut down on emissions that lead to global warming.

The committee also plans to make economic and socially sustainable decisions when planning the trials by purchasing food grown within 50 miles of the city, providing valet bicycle parking and encouraging sponsors to donate to local organizations.

Mark McInnis / Photographer

A sign of anticipation for the 2008 track and field season at Hayward Field in Eugene.

The committee is also working with the Lane Transit District to set up frequent shuttles to get fans and athletes to the track.

Shuttles will run through the local areas of Eugene and Springfield, and will extend to Portland, Salem and Corvallis as well.

Sarah Grimm, a member of the sustainability subcommittee, proposed a ‘Rations for Runners’ day where trial spectators donate canned food items. Sponsors are encouraged to donate 1 percent of revenue to local non-profit groups like Boy Scout troops and youth church groups that will help clean up at the end of events.

The concept of sustainability wasn’t even on the radar when Eugene last hosted the trials in 1980.

Jim Putney, a member of the 1980 trials’ local organizing committee and the Oregon track club, said that Eugene’s goals for the trials centered on security and hospitality for the athletes.

Before the Olympic trials in 1980, President Jimmy Carter announced that the United States was boycotting the games because they were being held in the communist Soviet Union.

Despite the president’s insistence that the team would not compete, Eugene went ahead and held the U.S. Olympic trials with hopes that Carter would change his mind. The 1980 trials marked the first time both men and women competed at the same site. Putney said he believes one of the major advantages the current Olympic trials have over 1980 is the progression of Lane Transit District.

The 2008 shuttles will operate similarly to the ones that run during Duck basketball and football games.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” said Putney. “It’s just one we couldn’t take advantage of back then.”

The work that the committee is doing in Eugene reflects a large scale planning effort by organizers in China and London.

The 2008 Beijing games are being dubbed the “Green Olympics.”

Organizers in China have established a project called the “Future House,” which will illustrate one of the most advanced global energy building practices as part of the country’s efforts to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions.

The 2012 games in London will be the first Olympics to have an entirely sustainable Olympic village.

Organizers are also focused on fighting climate change and minimizing waste. At the end of the trials the sustainability committee will publish a report outlining the initiatives that were implemented and the impact they had.