1,817 Americans — a third of worlds entries — on sked for Sacto
The latest Sacramento worlds newsletter says the meet is still on track to exceed 5,000 entrants. Total in hand now is 4,510, which includes 1,817 Americans and a goodly number from the People’s Republic of China. Bob Burns of the LOC also writes: “After May 6 until a to-be-determined date in mid-May, athletes who register directly online will be charged a $100 (USD) late fee per person. This late fee will be combined with the Registration Fee, so athletes will see the Registration Fee increase to $166.25 during this period.” So the effective deadline for entry is mid-May. See the latest newsletter here.
22 Responses
This arrangement will suit American athletes, of course. Those from elsewhere will be additionally penalised by the increasing cost of long haul flights that were not booked early. My view is that holding the books open this late is not a good way to guarantee a broader representation from the rest of the world. What was the magic in the number 5,000?
Well, my original estimate was 5400, which I raised to 5700 and then to 5950. I don’t know whether anyone else entered “the contest” to get the exact number, but it is nice to have precise numbers to this point.
Big questions are the obvious:
1. How many people will pay a $50 late fee to register?
2. How many athletes will pay a $100 late fee to register after they can no longer get in for a $50 penalty?
3. How big are the entries from the so-called affiliates? That’s the one that’s hardest to figure — will they be big or small?
Oh, well, because there is no penalty for changing one’s mind I am now going back to my original prediction of 5400.
PT
Well, Carl Lewis has some time on his hands this summer:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42769154/ns/politics-more_politics/
Run, Carl, run (in Sacramento, not New Jersey)!
From my country only 29 participants.
The registration via the website is a good idea, but the format for the past marks could be better. In the high jump I see most in meters as it should be, some in centimeters and even some that are not able to convert imperial to meters. The number of NM’s seems to be low, very nice.
Looking at airfare from the East Coast of the US to SAC – wow – significant increase over last summer’s fare. I would hate to think what the fare is from across the pond or from Australia/New Zealand, India, South America etc. Having recently flown to and from South America – the fares were a bit higher than I had remembered from my last trip there – but that was before the latest run up in oil prices thanks to the speculators.
The airfare is so much higher now for me that I am going to pay a few $ more to fly a reasonable route on an airline that has comfortable seats and decent amenities rather than shave a few $ off the price to be tossed onboard like a piece of baggage on a plane that looks like something out of Indiana Jones. With one free checked bag I can bring along some peanut butter and jam from home and make my own lunch to save a few $ over the overpriced food at the track concessions.
Why cant the closing date just be the closing date, and if you havnt got your entry in by then, TOUGH!!
I do like the online entry system though and being able to see who has entered what.
I agree Mary air fares are very high now although I did pay a few dollars more myself to travel in relative comfort bearing in mind I will be stuck in a seat for 10-11 hours each way.
To Mary H…..the run up in oil prices isn’t from speculators alone. Oil is priced in dollars. With the value of the dollar lowered by the federal reserve( look at our interest rates); it takes MORE dollars to buy a barrel of oil.
How many (U.S. athletes)will also be at the USATF Meet in Cleveland? I think that is the big question!
If you live in California it is actually cheaper to attend the World’s than fly to Ohio.
Yikes, the entries for Sacramento seem to have slowed remarkably (the W50 100 dash, for example, has stayed at 53 competitors forever). I change my prediction to 5025. Can’t wait for “the affiliates” to come in, however; they may be able to do some damage.
Bill, I just checked, we have 27 signed up for Berea (just south of Cleveland), the site of our nationals. Not too bad. If we can just get 40 by May 1 and 100 by June 1 I think we can get 1000 by July 1 (deadline for regular entry). Am now predicting only 945 for Berea, however.
Oh, almost forgot. For the first time in memory there is a 19-29 age category for nationals, but for just one event, the weight throw. That should help the numbers a bit. Maybe they should add a run-swim biathlon.
I hope that the economy,the National Senior Games, and the Worlds do not hurt the USATF meet in Cleveland. I have a bad feeling that it will…..
It might help the Berea meet if they would put up information about transportation and housing. I would like to know before I sign up just how much the meet is going to cost me. Do I have to rent a car because there is no on-campus housing and no meet provided shuttle from hotels that are – miles away, nearby etc.
And some folks may not know that they need to fly into Cleveland etc. The transportation link goes to the United 5% discount – with no mention of where Berea is located. Don’t you know that we are all illiterate about geography? (just kidding about that).
Why the delay in posting this information?
Very much with Lesley Richardson on this. Closing date should mean exactly that. Not as if there hasn’t been long enough. Presume there are now lots of Americans scanning who else has entered amd deciding whether to go, albeit at a higher entry fee. Not the same option for the rest of the world.
Mary:
See this link for Berea, Ohio from the airport the airport is about 3.5 miles away from the university.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=berea+oh&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&safe=active&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Berea,+OH&gl=us&ei=cqy6TbOlO9CjtgfGjpTDBQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CBoQ8gEwAA
I am guessing that the hotels will be about two and a half miles away from the university down Bagley Road. I am also guessing that they will be reasonably priced.
See this link:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=berea+oh&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&safe=active&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Berea,+OH&gl=us&ei=cqy6TbOlO9CjtgfGjpTDBQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CBoQ8gEwAA
Cleveland airport is probably best if you do not want to rent a car, but you can also check Akron- Canton Airport as they have some discount airlines flying into there, but that is nearly 50 miles away, but an easy drive if you rent a car.
Hope this helps………..
Interesting, Mary (comment no. 12). Regular entry for Berea CLOSES 2 months from tomorrow, and yet the Web site has no information on the host hotel, the availability (or unavailability) of dormitories, shuttles from the Cleveland airport to the host hotel or dorms, transportation from the hotels/dorms to the meet on the four days of competition, the party for athletes, etc., etc.
Will be interesting how this plays out, as Berea is apparently a terrific site.
Economy got me…AND broken foot…no Worlds or Nationals…I hate to miss it this year!! Just turned 45 too…
Today – May 4th – finally information on the LOC website re housing (no dorms) and transportation.
One hotel mentioned – must be expecting few out-of -towners or the local business is so good they do not care about giving a discount to the meet. Hotel is near the airport – shuttle to track. Schedule is TBD – at this point.
It is a fairly expensive hotel – web surfers can probably find less expensive hotels but will be on their own about transportation.
Given the run up in airfare over the last month – this will be one pretty expensive track meet if you have to add a car rental to the mix – unless you plan to cram many bodies into Motel 6 and the car you rent.
Given the expense for WMA SAC – my bet is that more than a few will say – love to go to Baldwin-Wallace but too much money flying out of the wallet.
just add a note – there is a google map for transportation – click on that and the hotel – search for nearby hotels – several in the near area – of the meet hotel. Some are less expensive – but did not see a Motel 6 – but for Red Roof Inn fans – there is one around that area too. Real question is – can you safely walk to the meet hotel to get the shuttle?
Mary, we need our own posting for Berea. Assume that by “safely” you are referring to crime and not vehicular traffic. Don’t think crime will be a problem, and there are hotels in abundance.
Entries are coming in nicely, the average high in July is 81, it’s a beautiful track and a nice stadium, what’s not to like?
I tried to make something happen with the dorms through the Summer Conference Director of BW. Came up short. 🙁 There is a little good news. If there are not enough leaves left your money tree after Sacramento for car rental, stay at a hotel that has shuttle service to the CLE airport and to BW College. You can catch plenty of action downtown Cleveland just by jumping on the Redline train from inside the airport to Tower City. It takes 25 minutes and costs $2.25. The train leaves the airport every 15 minutes. (The last train leaves Tower City around 12 midnight, so don’t be late!)
There are some very nice hotels connected to Tower City also. Stores, shops, bars, Hard Rock Cafe, etc. If you take the trip downtown, don’t forget to walk or take the Loop to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Oh, back to the ‘important’ info. BW has a very nice track. Plenty of seating…concession stand…large restrooms… There is a 200m indoor track directly across the street from the stadium. Don’t know if usage has been arranged by the LOC yet.
Berea area is fairly quiet, so walking around should be pretty safe. See y’all at the finish line in C-Town!!!
Linda 🙂
Mary:
You can safely walk form any hotel around the Crowne Plaza to where the shuttle is. You can easily and safely run/walk from the hotels near the Crowne Plaza to the track just a little over a mile away straight west on Bagley Road. There are sidewalks. NO need to rent a car! Just take a taxi or shuttle from the airport to the hotels about 3 miles away! Food is all around the hotels! This is the best possible logistics for a meet ever, in my opinion!
See this link: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=7230+Engle+Road+Middleburg+Heights,+OH+44130&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&safe=active&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=7230+Engle+Rd,+Middleburg+Heights,+OH+44130&gl=us&ei=NPbDTbSkO-PZ0QGhqrmeCA&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CBcQ8gEwAA
Bill, I concur that this is a good setup. Am trying to remember an outdoors in which the airport was this close to the main competition. Let’s see:
2010 Sacramento: no
2009 Oshkosh: definitely not
2008 Spokane: no
2007 Orono: no
2006 Charlotte: no
2005 Honolulu: definitely not
2004 Decatur: not terribly far, but small airport
2003 Eugene: not terribly far, but moderately sized airport
2002 Orono: no
2001 Baton Rouge: no
2000 Eugene: see 2003
1999 Orlando: no
1998 Orono: see above
1997 San Jose: don’t know, doubt it
1996 Spokane: see above
Yes, I guess this is a very well situated meet. Airport is extremely close, hotels are abundant.
As of 10 PM, May 6, 38 entries. Good but needs to pick up a bit. Would like to see 105 by May 31, then 1050 by June 30, final total of 1175 (much higher than previously forecast).
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