Grassroots Development

Perhaps the biggest impact of DNA will be in the realm of grassroots athletics, where it promises benefits to young participants, schools, clubs and others while remaining true to the essence of our sport.

Key features of the concept include enhancement of the team dimension, which should help increase retention of young athletes, as well as shorter competition windows, which will be welcomed by parents in this age of ever-increasing time demands.

Also important will be the evolving digital dimension of DNA, which will assist competition organisers and help to build the athletics community through online sharing of results, personal experiences and friendships.

Leading the way so far has been the Royal Spanish Athletics Federation (RFEA), which with support from European Athletics secured a grant from the European Union for its 2022 “Jungle Athletics” project to bring DNA to the grassroots across Europe.

The project concluded with a two-day online Teams Athletics Conference, where the discussions included how DNA can strengthen national club systems and encourage young athletes to help promote the sport on their personal social media accounts.

Since then a growing number of European Athletics Member Federations have expressed their intentions to introduce DNA at the school or club level, with the strongest interest coming from the countries where athletes have had direct experience in a DNA showcase event or the European DNA U20 Clubs.

Excited by this? Have a look at the rest of the dna.run website, visit the FAQs and check back for updates as we continue to develop athletics for the 21st Century.