Robert Thomas updates info on bus trip to Kamloops meet
|
Robert Thomas, our new vice chairman, has sent along an update on his offer of transportation from Seattle to Kamloops for indoor worlds. Robert writes: “Right now I have about 15 people signed up for the bus. We are going to have to get closer to 50 to make it a reality. I have to about the second week of January to confirm the bus. The price is $130.00 instead of the $120.00 I originally told you because I miscalculated the price of putting up the driver while we are in Kamloops.” Meanwhile, I’m eagerly awaiting USATF’s posting of the results of its rule-change votes, which include changes in the association transfer process. Feel free to post what you know below.
Masters vault exhibition set at USATF open indoor nationals
The 2010 USATF masters invitational program hasn’t been unveiled yet, but the grapevine provides one tasty tidbit: an exhibition masters vault at the USATF open indoor nationals in Albuquerque in late February. Doug “Bubba” Sparks reports: “There is going to be an invitational masters vault at USATF Indoors in Albuquerque at 10 a.m. Sunday, 2/28. I was contacted by Brad Winter through Bob Crites and I accepted. . . . I got a call from Joe Johnston and he too plans on juggling his drive to Kamloops. The field will be limited to eight vaulters.” This is supercool — and a great precedent! No longer can USATF meet organizers say, “We don’t allow field events as exhibitions. Just sprints and distances.” Of course, Albuquerque is the site of the 2011 masters indoor nationals. So our vaulters will have a chance at previewing the venue.
Bruny Surin shatters Canadian sprint record in masters debut
Bruny delivered. As promised a few weeks ago, the Canadian sprint great today beat his country’s M40 record for 50 meters — clocking a remarkable 6.15 (corrected from my earlier 6.12 error) seconds at McGill University to beat the listed record of 6.20. “I was really nervous,” Bruny said. “The first competition, you never know how your body is going to react. Last week I got a bit of an injury in my abductor muscle, so in the blocks I didn’t want to be too explosive. But I knew that if I pushed at about 90 per cent I could get it. I just hope that I’ll be healthy for my next competition, and then I can really shatter it.” Bruny told reporters he’s aiming for Troy Douglas’ M40 record of 6.78 in the 60. But don’t look for him at Kamloops worlds. “Maybe I’ll be there as a spectator, but not as a competitor,” Bruny said. “Running a race like this is one thing, but going to the world masters requires qualifying and a lot more preparation, serious preparation, and I’m not interested.”
Robert Thomas named vice chairman of USATF Masters T&F
Janet McCarty-Smith, the USATF Masters T&F Executive Committee member known for not showing up, has made it official. She’s not showing up. My masters mole at the Indy annual meeting reports: “McCarty-Smith announced she is stepping down as vice chair because she has some changes in her life that require more of her time (evidently pursuing a graduate degree). Gary (Snyder) had been talking to potential replacements during the convention and announced the appointment of Robert Thomas from Indiana as vice chair effective Jan. 1.” Janet’s departure paves the way for a real shake-up in the Executive Committee, since Robert was part of the USAMA advocacy group founded in Lahti by Anselm LeBourne and fellow elites. Robert is a 400-meter world champ from Lahti who served as USAMA’s point person in Indy. Now that he’s seated at the table, pressure will build for him to deliver. Kudos to Robert — and to Gary for having the guts to appoint rabble-rouser Robert!
Here’s Robert Thomas anchoring the M40 4×4 at Lahti in August.
Baker’s dozen named to USATF Masters Hall of Fame in Indy
Thirteen masters track greats — 11 men and two women — have been named to the USATF Masters Hall of Fame. USATF hasn’t posted the names, but HoF Committee chair Norm Green announced the names yesterday, and a mole has passed them along to me. So this isn’t official quite yet. The Class of 2009 is made up of current stars Bill Daprano (joining his wife Jeanne in the Hall), George Cohen, Mary Harada, Bob Lida (my fellow Kansas Jayhawk), Bob Matteson, Bruce McBarnette, Charlie Miller (my hurdles hero at last!), marathon legend Bill Rodgers, Gerald Vaughn and “old-timers” Jerry Crockett, Tim Dyas, Bert Morrow and Algene Willliams. Curiously, the last four aren’t listed on the ballot I posted. And another source says Ray Feick was inducted as well. So don’t take this as gospel. We now have 14 classes of the Hall of Fame, begun in 1996. It’s a Who’s Who of our sport. Congrats to all!
Drug-testing around the corner for USATF masters nationals?
|
I hope this is a false alarm, but a pot of money is being dangled in front of U.S. masters track — and some of our leaders are reported to be thinking: Let’s look good to WMA and commence drug-testing at USATF masters nationals! I’m not kidding. For decades, leaders of American masters track have refused to waste precious money by drug-testing masters tracksters. For one, it’s expensive (between $100 and $400 a pop, depending on what you test for). And second, it’s merely a scare tactic, since no way could USATF test adult age-groupers the way they test elites and Olympic-class athletes. But the recent disclosure that the USATF Masters T&F Committee could get its hands on $50,000 through a grants process has led some to think we can use that money to catch all the geezer dopers in our ranks. This is wrong-headed and self-defeating.
Masters nationals heading to Illinois, Indiana and New Mexico
This morning in Indy, the USATF Masters T&F Committee — delegates from around the country — awarded the 2011 indoor and 2012 indoor and outdoor masters nationals to three new sites. As previously telegraphed, Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois, won 2012 outdoors, but was “accepted tentatively pending confirmation of facility availability and dates,” according to my mole at the USATF annual meeting. “Indoor 2011 is Albuquerque, March 4-6. The vote was 26 to 25 over Bloomington, Indiana” — which then won the 2012 indoor meet unanimously. “Votes were recounted twice by different people to verify correct count,” my mole says. Congrats to all! We dodged another bullet by having at least one bid for outdoor nationals. These sites are all virgin territory for masters — but have proved themselves up to major open and youth meets. Good for us.
Indy mole report: Masters may have access to extra $50,000
Our masters mole at the Indy annual meeting sent a summary of Thursday’s meetings, which includes discouraging word that the National Senior Games records won’t be submitted for ratification after all. But the happy news is that the USATF Masters T&F Committee budget could nearly double, thanks to Nike’s largesse. Mole writes: “The budget was adopted with some increases, especially for the regions, throws and media; there may also be an additional $50,000 for which we can apply via a grants process that is still a bit fuzzy in people’s minds. We did a brainstorming session to come up with ideas to be considered for inclusion in a proposal once the guidelines are available. Money may even be earmarked for us if we come up with a decent proposal that fits USATF priorities (such as anti-doping).”
Revelations galore in posted minutes of Exec Committee
|
While poking around usatf.org, I came across the minutes of two recent conference calls — meetings of the USATF Masters T&F Executive Committee. Check them out. Although Secretary Jeff Brower’s notes are brief, they speak volumes about what’s going on behind the scenes. One example: National Masters News publisher Randy Sturgeon on November 3 made a pitch to have his USATF stipend doubled from $5,000 a year to $10,000. (That’s still up in the air.) But the most telling revelation is national chairman Gary Snyder’s efforts to overhaul the records process. In his November chair report, he says: “I have identified the following areas as candidates for change: 1. Form is awkward and complicated. . . 2. Records set at certain meets such as Millrose Games; Penn Relays, etc., should be accepted via a different process. 3. An online status for individual applications should be developed. 4. An MTF appeal process (should be) put in place.” Yowza! Great ideas!
Special report: Dieter Massin double-dips, violates WMA rules
Dieter Massin
|
Dieter Massin, the German president of the Eurovets, is openly defying newly approved rules in World Masters Athletics while sitting on the WMA Council. Not good. Conflicts of interest have always been banned by WMA, but previous presidents have flouted the group’s Constitution by joining the board of the International Masters Games Association — which runs the World Masters Games. As founder and president of the European Masters Sports Association and organizer of the first European Masters Games (2008 in Malmo, Sweden), Dieter has been skating on thin ice for years. But now he’s gone whole-hog. In August, the General Assembly of WMA approved Motion 4 of the “bye-laws” — toughening anti-conflict laws with this provision: “Council members may not hold organizational positions with organizations that promote events not sanctioned by WMA.”
