Archive for September, 2006

Masterstrack.com greets mastersathletics.net

Today in the IAAF Lounge I discovered a European-based stats site that has the potential to advance the masters movement as much as, uh, us. It’s called mastersathletics.net and it features records and seasonal rankings not seen anywhere since, uh, us. But enough snarkiness. This page is a player, with sharp design and serious content. […]

September 10, 2006   Posted in: Uncategorized  10 Comments

What does Montana State have over masters track?

This AP report chaps my hide: “BOZEMAN — Anonymous donors have set up a $1 million endowment for the Montana State track and field program, the university says.’This generation gift will help sustain our track and field program in the future,’ MSU athletic director Peter Fields said Wednesday. ‘It is a tremendous gift by a […]

September 9, 2006   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments

Masters sprinter Willie Venable dies after attack

Tragic news out of Seattle: M55 sprinter Willie Venable has died of injuries from an attack in late August. Seattle Times writer Jennifer Sullivan even quotes masters decathlon star Dave Ortman: “Though Venable was a regular competitor in local decathlons in the mid-1970s, fellow racer David Ortman said he disappeared from the track-and-field scene until […]

September 8, 2006   Posted in: Uncategorized  10 Comments

Introducing the brand-new masterstrack.com Forum!

Since February 1999, I’ve been an active member of the masterstf mailing list (or listserve) on Yahoo Groups. (It started out as egroups but was bought by Yahoo!) Starting today, I will no longer post messages to that group. I have a better place to go — my own message board! The new forum is […]

September 7, 2006   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment

Sacramento sports czar speaks on 2011 masters bid

Sacramento Bee track writer John Schumacher wrote a little piece on Sacto’s bid for the 2011 World Masters Athletic Championships, and quotes the city’s sports czar as saying: “That was kind of the appeal, the international attraction. They tend to have a little more disposable income. This one just kind of became available.” This and […]

September 6, 2006   Posted in: Uncategorized  Comments Closed

NMN: “We’ve loved it and it was a tough decision”

National Masters News is in good shape, says Publisher Suzy Hess, but her decision to sell the Eugene-based monthly is simple: “We just want to do something else with our lives at this point,” Suzy wrote me today. She cited her 15 years at NMN and the 25 years logged by Editor Jerry Wojcik,, who […]

September 6, 2006   Posted in: Uncategorized  Comments Closed

O’Connor gets American record in W60 long jump

Nadine O’Connor can run fast and jump high (in the vault). Now we know she can put those two velocities together. At last weekend’s USATF-sanctioned Rocky Mountain Masters Games, Nadine long-jumped 4.55 meters (14-11) to smash Barbara Cleveland’s listed W60 American record of 4.22 by just over a foot. The handsome and debonair Jim Weed […]

September 6, 2006   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment

Countdown Down Under too — for another big Games

It’s almost springtime in Aussieland. But folks in Adelaide, South Australia, are already talking up a meet more than a year from now. It’s called the Australasian Masters Games. Paula Stankiewicz, marketing coordinator for the Confederation of Australian Sport Events, writes: “From 5-14 October 2007… the Games will attract over 10,000 participants from Australia and […]

September 6, 2006   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments

End of an era? National Masters News up for sale

This just in! “Page 3 of the September 2006 NMN has a small ad in the top left corner titled, National Masters News Seeks Buyer. It states in the second of two paragraphs, “Individuals or groups seriously interested in purchasing the National Masters News can contact us at P.O. Box 50098, Eugene, Or 97405, or […]

September 5, 2006   Posted in: Uncategorized  5 Comments

Countdown begins for Sacramento: Vote is Sept. 2007

Sometime in September 2007, delegates to the WMA General Assembly attending the world masters championships in Riccione will hear presentations from two Western Hemisphere cities. Porto Alegre, Brazil, will have the backing of powerful WMA President Cesare Beccalli. Sacramento, California, will be represented by the savvy Sacramento Sports Commission. Dunno what Brazil will say on […]

September 5, 2006   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment