Event Discrimination

I want to start this post by saying that I love my event/job and I don't do it for money ext but if I did I certainly wouldn't be in the event I do. 

Some people may expect that I have a lot of money and live a lavish lifestyle but that is defiantly not the case. I am not going to go into specifics of what I earn but I live and train fully on the Annual Personal Award (APA/Funding) I get from UK Sport/British Athletics each year, I don't get any extra money from any sponsors, only from the few competitions and appearances, which is not a significant amount also this year I was dropped a level and moved from C to D which also means a drop in my funding, so I am living on a tight budget but I can train full time which is a privilege and all that matters to me. 

The first issue is that the hammer is not in the Diamond League which I feel is where most of the problems stem from. The event have reasons why the hammer is not included but don't make sense to me and a lot of people, even when the UK have Grand Prix we still are not included. The hammer and throws in general have a lack of coverage on TV so makes the event less desirable for sponsors as their brand won't be televised. Like I said in my "About Me" post I get kit off Nike but not all of the yearly sponsored kit, I came 24th in the world after a shakey year but some athletes a lot lower down the list get the full kit and a contract just because they have a few appearances in the Diamond League. People have been campaigning for the hammer to be included but to no avail. 

If you were to compare an athlete in another event who had the same accomplishments as me its highly likely they would be in a completely different place commercially than me. After I won the World Junior Championships in 2010 I thought that maybe I would get some interest but that didn't happen. Going back to my first comment of I DONT do it for commercial/money, I do it because I want to win, like most people in throws. It sometimes feels like people think throwers are second rate athletes but I feel like there is more involved than another event which is why the peek age is higher in throwers as there is so much more to perfect. 

I know that not all events are going to be the same and it is very hard to compare but I feel there is a big separation between some events and I feel like this is discrimination especially to hammer and also throws in general, do you agree? This is partly why I started my blog to get myself and throws more into the public. 

Again I am hugely thankful for the people that make it possible for me to train full time and I do it to be the best I can be not for the amount of money.

Sophie 

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