The good, the bad and the hindmost

After months of debate and controversy, the new rule changes which have marked the transition from the old European Cup format into the new European Team Championships made their debut in Leiria, Portugal. Some of them were quite effective, one was a complete disaster, others need fine tuning. The stated aim is to make the event more attractive - well, British athletics enthusiasts have regarded this weekend as one of the most attractive on the calendar for several years and supporters have traditionally attended it in large numbers. The appeal of one of the few genuine team events in the schedule and visiting some of the most attractive venues in Europe has consistently proved a winning combination.

The choice of such a large stadium in Leiria unfortunately proved for me something of an own goal for the organisers, as the sight of an entire empty stand on the back straight with painted seats giving a distant illusion of a crowd gave the impression of a poorly attended event, whereas a smaller venue would have housed those present and given a better TV impact. Also the 200m bend had a wall that looked as if it had been built out of "Sesame Street" building blocks.

Not for the first time in this event the British team mixed triumph and disappointment but will draw positives from the performances of several individuals. Kate Dennison's outstanding pole vault form saw a new British record. Tim Benjamin's welcome return to the form, whilst clouded by slight controversy on the day, will have impressed all those who admire this talented athlete's obvious passion to pull on a British vest.

The "devil takes the hindmost" rule clearly hasn't worked. All it does is (a) causes chaos amongst official, athletes and spectators alike and (b) leads to artificial "sprints" within a distance race. Not one of the administrators' better ideas.

Emily Freeman, Hannah England, the outstanding Mo Farah and the imperious David Greene all had reasons to look back on day one with considerable satisfaction. Still too many of the field events lack quality in depth and come the major championships we may again be struggling to enter any competitors in some field events if we can't make the grades.

Day two was expected to see the British team move downwards from the heady heights of leaders at the end of day one, but victory in the men's 4x400m and further maximums from Andy Turner, Dwain again in the 200m and a second place for Philips Idowu in a closely-fought triple jump meant an overall highly creditable third place.

Not bad considering a number of absentees through injury, as seems sadly to be a common recurrence. The merging of men's and women's teams and the four failures overall in vaulting and jumping both seemed to be reasonably successful. Let's see what changes are made for 2010.

Will 2009 mark the changing of the guard?

After all the excitement that was Beijing, the post-Olympic year can often seem somewhat low key by comparison, yet this summer's World Championships in Berlin offer a definite opportunity for those who so nearly made it in Beijing or are the rising stars of British athletics to put down a marker ahead of 2012.

2009 could well be the year when some of the established stars finally call time on their successful track and field careers and the new tyros stake their claim. After having to miss this month's Flora London Marathon through injury, Paula Radcliffe will be determined to bounce back in an attempt to regain the world marathon title she won in Helsinki in 2005.

If only (how often do we say that?) Kelly Sotherton can stay fit then the likely absence of Carolina Kluft from the heptathlon will surely give her the best chance of gold she's likely to have, although a resurgent Jessica Ennis may have something to say about that!

It was a case of so near yet so far for Lisa Dobriskey in China when apparently misguided tactics left her with too much to do on the home straight and she narrowly missed out on a medal. Hopefully it will be a case of a lesson learned for Lisa. Long-jumper Greg Rutherford may have flattered to deceive on the big occasion but, like Phillips Idowu, on his day he is capable of producing the big winning jump. For Jade Johnson and Mark Lewis-Francis it may be a case of the "last chance saloon" but it would be foolish and premature to write either of them off.

Perri Shakes-Drayton missed out on selection for the Olympic team in favour of the more experienced eventual medallist Tasha Danvers (so a selection certainly vindicated), yet the youngster, coached by BASC Ron Pickering Coaching Award winner Chris Zah, was still present with the squad to savour the experience and 2009 could well see her overtake her rival in the pecking order.

Tom Parsons and Martyn Bernard joined medallist Germaine Mason in making up a trio of British men in the Olympic High Jump Final (now when did that last happen? I'm sure some of our members will know when, if ever, it did). Could two high-jump medallists either this summer in Berlin or in 2010 in Barcelona be a genuine possibility?

Let's hope Mo Farah can carry his outstanding indoor form onto the outdoor track too. If his GB team mates run as a team to support him, as they did in Turin, it will be something we haven't seen in British distance running since the "golden age". Steph Twell will surely be looking to put her recent World Cross-Country disappointment down as an isolated blip and further develop her extremely promising track career.

So the more you think about it this summer should be a fascinating one and not just be about Usain Bolt, incredible athlete that he is. In three summers' time some of the British rising stars could well be at their peak and I for one have surprised myself about how optimistic I am about some of their chances of 2012 success. You only have to watch a football match to know how often the passionate support of the home crowd effectively acts as a "twelfth man" for the home team. I think Stratford might end up with 80,000 twelfth men (and women)!

Team GB set for an Italian job

Next weekend sees the 30th staging of the European Indoor Athletics Championships, this year held in the Italian city of Turin.

Turin is famous as the headquarters of motor giants Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo and will forever be linked with Michael Caine's 60s classic movie "The Italian Job", as well as being home to, surprisingly (!), the Turin Shroud and Juventus FC. In 2006 it hosted the Winter Olympics and, in 1997, the late Primo Nebiolo, then president of the IAAF, brought the World Cross Country Championships to his home city of Turin, even though there was no suitable existing course in the city and a ready-made one had to be constructed by bringing in sand and turf to one of the city's parks. Amazingly it was a success (I was there).

In her blog on the BBC Sport website, BASC Patron Athlete Katharine Merry states the case for the value of indoor athletics. Some athletes choose to ignore indoor competition and to continue with their winter training, whilst for others who do take part indoors it's a useful break from a rigorous training regime and a chance to test fitness and form in a competitive environment.

So which British athletes can we look out for in Turin? Mo Farah is in the form of his life, having broken the British 3000m indoor record twice within the last month in Glasgow and then in Birmingham. Marilyn Okoro and Jenny Meadows will be in the frame in the 800m and the evergreen Donna Fraser continues to defy the passing of time in race after race.

Injury has robbed us of defending triple jump champion Phillips Idowu and Kelly Sotherton's participation in the pentathlon is far from certain.

Whatever your opinion is on the inclusion of Dwain Chambers (and let's face it, everyone has an opinion on it), there's no denying that he has looked in mightily impressive form throughout the indoor season and, after his victory in Birmingham, fellow 60m sprinter Simeon Williamson's confidence of getting onto the medal podium will also be high.

As always, a large party of members of the British Athletics Supporters Club will be travelling out to cheer the British team on. If you're one of them then let us know your first-hand thoughts from trackside.

Arrivederci!