Rex Harvey, our world-traveled national chair, used to be WMA vice president for stadia, meaning he was in charge of world meet quality control. When the makeup of the new Competitions Committee came to my attention, I asked Rex for his thoughts. He graciously shared a note praising the panel as highly qualified “and a working committee, not political appointees.” He went on: “I know 10 of the 11 very well and they all are proven hard-working volunteers each with general technical expertise as well as specialized knowledge in various areas. [Chairman Brian Keaveney] has wisely chosen a mix of veteran people and some younger members to carry on. Four of his committee are on the WMA Council, so they should be able to influence council approval for whatever needs to be done to improve the competition.”

Rex continued:

Brian Keaveney himself is the most qualified person in the world that I know of for the new WMA position of vice-president of competition. I think most everyone else felt the same way as he was unopposed for the position. His world nonstadia credentials are well known, and, maybe not so well known, are his Stadia credentials. He has planned, organized and conducted many, many stadia meets in Canada and in NCCWMA Region for the past 30 years or so.

Lynne and Bob Schickert, in my opinion, are the reason that Perth bid and got the WMA Championships and were a very large part of making it as successful as it was. Lynne is also the Oceania Area Delegate to the WMA Council. And Bob has been active in nonstadia competition and other matters for a long time and served as the Perth committee member on the Non-Stadia Committee.

Kalle [Glomsaker]is from Norway and serves more or less as the Norwegian team manager and general secretary although I don’t know if he has that title. And that not just for the masters, but all of the Norwegian national teams. He is very pleasant and very well known and respected around the World ( which he travels a lot). I’ve spent sauna time with him in Finland and really appreciate his personality. He was a member of the former Stadia Committee. Kalle is also one of the younger members of the Committee.

Sandy [Pashkin], as you know is the NCCWMA President and is on the WMA Council as the NCCWMA Area Delegate. Her general knowledge is broad and her specialized skills in scheduling and Hy-Tek Meet Manager program specialty skills will be invaluable.

Wilma [Perkins] is another that was on the old Stadia Committees, both mine and Serge Beckers’. She has served many years as the president of Australian Masters, helps with WMA scheduling, and most likely has the ear of the WMA president [her husband, Stan].

I don’t know Pasi Oksanen, maybe by sight, but not by name so I can’t comment but I know the Finns are very practical and hard working and dedicated to Masters athletics. I understand that he is a “young” meet organizer in Finland with broad knowledge.

I have worked many years with Richard Amigo of Paraguay at various meets in South America. He was a former member of the Nonstadia Committee and is the president of the WMA South America Region, and is on the WMA Council by virtue of being the WMA Area Delegate for South America. He has served in nonstadia roles in WMA but also is an active competitor and organizer in the stadia. Richard is one of the younger members of the committee.

Carroll DeWeese is another that has been on the Nonstadia Committee in the past. His specialized knowledge and experience as WMA safety judge, race walking judge and technical manager make him a useful member for the committee.

Bill Purves from Hong Kong is Mr. Masters Track & Field in Hong Kong. He has been the central figure in that organization for many years and runs a website that keeps everything together and functioning in that area. He has been a delegate to the WMA General Assemblies for many years. He will be a good addition to the committee and can lend an Asian viewpoint. His specialties are probably nonstadia including the Race Walk.

Bill Murray is probably the youngest on the committee and is gaining good general knowledge serving on the USATF Master Track & Field Games Committee. He is one of the co-chairs of the MTF Combined Events Subcommittee and also serves as the Southeastern Regional Coordinator for MTF.

Recently he successfully worked in Perth as one of the two combined events managers. He is a former world champion in the decathlon and, following retirement for physical reasons, has been very active supporting the masters sport in general and has specific knowledge in the combined events. Which means he has, not only knowledge, but also deep appreciation for most the event.