Pombal ready for the DNA party
27 August 2024

With just 25 days to go, the Portuguese city of Pombal is rolling out the red carpet for the third edition of the Dynamic New Athletics (DNA) U20 Clubs event, dubbed the Clash of the Clubs III and, if the first two editions are anything to go by, it should be an unforgettable experience.

Pombal, an important centre of Portuguese athletics, has invested heavily in the sport over the years, including this summer’s resurfacing of the track at the Zona Deportiva complex, a project completed just in time for the event taking place on 21 and 22 September.

To test out the new surface, teams from ten countries will join the host country’s two representatives – Sporting Club de Portugal and Club Pedro Pessoas Escola de Athletismo – for a four-match tournament using the DNA mixed-gender team format created by European Athletics in what is likely to be their last track and field competition of the year.

A unique atmosphere

According to Paulo Bernardo, the Vice President and General Secretary of the Portuguese athletic federation who helped stage the first domestic DNA competition in his country and has observed previous international DNA events, the Clash of the Clubs offers a unique atmosphere and is especially popular with the U20 age group.

“These athletes really enjoy mixing with those from other nations and they appreciate being encouraged by the organisers to bring their smartphones and promote themselves and their clubs on social media during the event,” he says.

“The competition is serious because they are representing their teams and their countries, so of course they are all motivated to perform their best and succeed, but it’s also an end-of-season party.”

After the finish of last year’s Clash in Rome, won by the Playas de Castellon club from Spain, which hosted the first edition in 2022, the scenes were more reminiscent of a major football tournament than a traditional athletics meeting, with teammates from several clubs hoisting their top performers into the air, dancing, singing and congratulating each other on their collective efforts.

The event also proved a big hit online. Many participants did share their experiences digitally – the DNA Instagram account alone delivered 574,000 impressions of content – and the live stream had nearly 20,000 views over the weekend, with several thousand more on a parallel Facebook feed.

The hosts

Located close to the Atlantic coast approximately midway between Portugal’s capital Lisbon to the south and Porto to the north, Pombal’s late summer weather in can be expected to provide excellent conditions for the event.

However, with the athletics season in Portugal normally ending in late July, staging an international event in September presents a number of organisational challenges. But, as Bernardo explains, both his federation and the city were keen to seize the opportunity to host the event offered by European Athletics.

“First of all, club competitions are very important in our country and highlighting two of our clubs on an international stage will help to generate support from their partners,” he says.

“For Pombal the Clash will be a great chance to promote the city and its facilities as a warm-weather training destination to the participating clubs and to others around Europe who will be following on the live stream and social media.”

The format

As in the previous editions, the programme for the two preliminary matches of six teams each on Day 1 as well as the A and B finals on Day 2 will comprise a mixed 4x400m relay followed by 10 individual disciplines (five for men, five for women).

Points are collected for the places in each competition with the totals after 11 events deciding the start order and time gaps for the final mixed-gender medley relay, known as the Hunt, which determines the overall match winner.

Demonstrating the flexibility of the DNA format, this year’s Clash will feature the women competing in the two field events done by the men in the first two editions (shot put and high jump) while the men will take on the two events previously performed by the women (long jump and javelin).

Throughout each of the 2.5-hour matches attention will be focused on just one event at a time, making it easy for audiences in the stadium and online to follow the action and understand the match scoring, thereby opening the sport to new fans, especially among younger, tech-savvy age groups.