Athletics: Pascoe hits out at BBC over event loss

Britain's athletes will be in the dark when they launch their build-up to the world championships this summer. The Loughborough International meeting, the traditional curtain-raiser to the top-level outdoor season in Britain, has been dropped from the BBC television schedule for Saturday 8 June. The event will still go ahead at Loughborough University – but away from the Grandstand spotlight, which will instead be trained on motor cycling from Italy, the British amateur golf championship and the men's final at the French Open tennis championships.

The decision, which reduces the number of domestic televised meetings from five to four, has been greeted with dismay by British athletics officials. Alan Pascoe, who has responsibility for televised events for UK Athletics, the governing body of the sport, said yesterday: "It's extremely disappointing. The BBC is turning its back on the top showcase for young stars, following on from the huge, huge success of the last summer, when the BBC did so well with viewing figures for athletics. The Loughborough meet is traditionally the season's opener and the real value of it is that it has helped new talent to emerge, such as Mark Lewis-Francis a couple of years ago.

"It's particularly disappointing when you look at what's replacing it: motor cycling from Italy and amateur golf. Athletics is a sport that's socially inclusive – every event for men is duplicated by an event for women – and that's a strong part of the BBC audience."

The BBC's contract with UK Athletics ends in December and, when asked whether renegotiations could be affected, Pascoe replied: "Well, certainly, if this is the thin end of the wedge." However, Rob Cory, spokesman for BBC Sport, maintained: "We have a huge commitment to athletics. We are screening events of varying levels throughout the year from different parts of the UK. We can understand that people would be disappointed but the Loughborough event never has been part of our core athletics coverage and unfortunately this year there isn't space in the calendar."