Go to YouTube right now and search for women's pole vault or long jump. You won't find a clean feed of historic athletic achievements at the top of your search results. Instead, you'll be greeted by hundreds of slow-motion, highly zoomed-in clips focusing on buttocks, midriffs, and uniform adjustments. These videos, often set to suggestive music, rack up millions of views.
For decades, female track and field stars have had to perform while knowing that a camera operator might be aiming a lens directly at their crotch or rear end. It's a bizarre, invasive reality of modern sports media that treats elite competitors as eye candy first and athletes second.
But a major shift is underway. European Athletics and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) have teamed up to release a new 23-page playbook designed to stop this on-screen sexualisation. Titled "Raising the Bar," this guide gives TV crews clear, practical instructions on how to film women's track and field with dignity. It's a long-overdue move that confronts the lazy visual habits of sports broadcasting.
The cheap thrills of the live broadcast feed
Let's be clear about how we got here. Sports broadcasting relies on high-definition cameras, ultra-slow-motion replays, and extreme close-ups. When used correctly, these tools show us the incredible physical strain, the absolute precision, and the raw emotion of elite competition. When used poorly, they turn into tools of voyeurism.
For years, broadcast directors have relied on certain default shots. Low-angle cameras positioned behind a pole vaulter as she prepares to jump. Lingering, tight close-ups of an athlete's body while she stretches or waits for her turn. Endless slow-motion replays of a competitor landing in the sand pit during the long jump, where the camera stays glued to her hips.
These aren't accidents. They are deliberate editorial decisions made in control rooms. Glen Killane, the Executive Director of EBU Sport, didn't hold back when addressing the issue. He pointed out that these choices carry massive real-world consequences. They shift the audience's focus away from hard-earned skill and strength, feeding into cheap, tired stereotypes instead.
When the camera chooses to linger on an athlete's body rather than her performance, it tells the viewer exactly what to value. It says her appearance is more interesting than her record-breaking jump.
What the Raising the Bar rules actually demand
This new guide isn't just a vague statement of intent. It is a highly practical manual filled with illustrated examples of what camera operators should and shouldn't do. It targets the specific technical setups that cause the most trouble.
First, it tackles camera placement. The EBU wants crews to avoid low-angle shots that look up at athletes from behind or underneath, particularly in vertical jumps and sprints. If a camera is sitting on the ground right behind the high jump bar, the resulting footage is almost guaranteed to be exposing. The guide suggests moving those cameras to wider, side-angle positions. This simple shift captures the entire movement of the jump—the run-up, the arch, the clearing of the bar, and the landing—without capturing compromising angles.
Second, the guide takes aim at slow-motion replays. Under the new recommendations, slow-motion should only be used when it serves a genuine storytelling or technical purpose. If a replay helps explain why an athlete clipped the bar or how her foot hit the board, show it. If the slow-motion clip is just a lingering shot of her body with no technical value, cut it out.
Third, the guidelines ban lingering close-ups on specific body parts. No more zooming in on an athlete's midriff or buttocks while she prepares for a start. Instead, the broadcast should focus on the athlete's face, her expressions of concentration, and her full-body readiness.
By switching to wider angles and focusing on the mechanics of the sport, broadcasters can still deliver highly dramatic television. You don't lose the thrill of the race by zoom-clicking out a few degrees. In fact, you actually see more of the actual sport.
Why this is a fight for athletic focus
Some critics online have already started complaining about these guidelines, calling them a form of puritanical censorship. They argue that if athletes choose to wear revealing uniforms, they shouldn't complain about how they are filmed. This argument is incredibly lazy.
Track and field uniforms are designed for aerodynamic efficiency, cooling, and maximum freedom of movement. They are performance gear, not fashion statements. Wearing a crop top and briefs to run a sub-11-second 100-meter sprint is a technical choice. It is not an invitation for a television director to broadcast close-ups of your pelvis to millions of homes.
More importantly, the athletes themselves are the ones pushing for this change. British Olympic pole vaulter Holly Bradshaw, along with horizontal jump star Ivana Španović and high jump legend Blanka Vlašić, helped develop these new guidelines.
Bradshaw has spoken openly about how invasive camera work directly impacts her performance. When you're standing at the end of a runway, about to launch yourself five meters into the air on a flexible stick, you need absolute concentration. You shouldn't have to worry about whether a camera positioned on the ground behind you is getting an inappropriate angle.
"Athletes want to enjoy themselves doing the sport they love without feeling uncomfortable or anxious about the footage being shown live," Bradshaw explained.
When athletes are forced to police their own bodies, adjust their clothing constantly, or worry about how they look on screen, they aren't fully focusing on their sport. That anxiety is a direct tax on their performance.
The toxic pipeline from live television to social media
The problem doesn't end when the live broadcast cut is over. In the age of social media, live footage has a permanent, ugly second life.
A single compromising frame or an unnecessary slow-motion replay from a major championship can be clipped instantly. Within minutes, these clips find their way onto TikTok, Reddit, and YouTube. They are packaged into compilations that have absolutely nothing to do with athletic excellence.
Bradshaw has experienced the fallout of this firsthand. She noted that she and her colleagues have faced immense social media abuse and inappropriate comments because of slow-motion footage captured during events.
Once this footage is out there, it is impossible to claw back. It shapes how people talk to and about these women online. By cleaning up the initial broadcast feed, European Athletics and the EBU are cutting off the source material for these online creeps. It won't solve online harassment entirely, but it makes it much harder for bad actors to weaponize official sports footage.
Making the change work in the control room
Publishing a 23-page PDF is the easy part. Actually changing how sports are broadcast live is much harder. Live sports television is chaotic. Directors have to make split-second decisions, jumping between dozens of camera feeds to capture the action as it happens.
To make these guidelines work, broadcast directors and camera operators need to change their default instincts. Here are the immediate steps production crews must take to align with the new standard:
- Re-map camera placements before the event. Do not place static cameras directly behind landing pits, starting blocks, or high jump bars at ground level. Elevate them or move them to the side.
- Train operators on the "wide-first" approach. When tracking an athlete's movement, prioritize shots that capture the full motion rather than tight zooms on midsections.
- Establish a strict replay policy. Control room directors must vet slow-motion replays instantly. If a clip doesn't clarify a technical element of the jump, throw, or run, do not put it on the air.
- Treat male and female athletes exactly the same. Film women with the same focus on power, speed, and technique that has always been granted to men.
This isn't about ruining the visual quality of sports. It is about raising the standard of how we appreciate athletic feats. The best sports photographs and broadcasts of all time focus on the grit, the muscle tension, and the sheer joy of winning. We don't need cheap angles to appreciate greatness. It is time the television cameras caught up to the caliber of the athletes they are filming.
