Archive for December, 2008

Reno report: Cleary tells exhibition events: 400, 1500

Elite masters quarter-milers and milers, rejoice! Your events have been chosen as masters exhibitions at the USATF open nationals. The rest of you, especially field eventers, can go back to your cave. At yesterday’s Masters T&F Committee meeting at the USATF annual meeting, Mark Cleary (masters invitational program coordinator for life) announced his picks for […]

December 7, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

Louise Mead Tricard’s will: Why I posted the details

At your urging, I’ve decided to break my “silence” on that especially bothersome post a week ago. Ya know, about Louise Tricard’s last will and testament. My usual practice is to post a story and let it stand on its own merits, take the heat and move on. I figure that if I word a […]

December 7, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment

Reno report: Oops, nevermind! No masters drug-testing

Graeme Shirley of San Diego is a walking Wikipedia of track rules, an incredible resource with vast institutional knowledge of USATF. But this week in Reno, he jumped the gun. For many years, as the Masters T&F Committee’s rules coordinator, Graeme has been the guy who represented our niche on the USATF Rules Committee, the […]

December 6, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  3 Comments

Reno report: Skeptical masters heard out Hightower

A day before she was elected USATF president, former world-class hurdler Stephanie Hightower spoke to USATF Masters Track & Field delegates. She was introduced Thursday to about 70 of us a little before noon by former national masters chair George Mathews, who “encouraged everyone to support Stephanie” and said “good things will happen for masters […]

December 6, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments

Reno report: Ten elected to 2008 Masters Hall of Fame

Norm Green, chair of the Masters Hall of Fame Subcommittee, today announced the 10-member Class of 2008 — seven active athletes with at least 10 years in masters track and three old-timers who have been out of competition for at least five years. The new inductees bring the Masters Hall of Fame to 162 members. […]

December 5, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  3 Comments

Reno report: Cleveland wins 2011 masters nationals

The Harrison Dillard Track Complex at Baldwin-Wallace College in the Cleveland suburb of Berea will host the summer 2011 USATF Masters National T&F Outdoor Championships, master delegates decided this morning. Spokane was said to have expressed interest earlier, but Marla Emde of Spokane LOC, told me that reconstruction work at Spokane Falls Community College won’t […]

December 5, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  7 Comments

Reno report: Drug-testing mandate for masters records?

I kid you not. Under a rule change being considered by USATF, any American record application by a masters athlete would have to include evidence that the record-setter passed a drug test after the event. Item 73 of these proposals at the USATF annual meeting makes no exception for masters track. Yet it’s been a […]

December 4, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  19 Comments

Reno report: Masters elect officers, hear prez hopefuls

Gary Snyder was re-elected this morning as USATF Masters Track & Field Committee national chairman and Janet Smith as vice chair, both unopposed. Two new officers on the executive committee — Secretary Jeff Brower and Treasurer Caroll DeWeese — won their first terms unopposed as well. The lone race was avoided when Madeline Bost of […]

December 4, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

Reno report: USATF restructures, Raschker honored

Amid the pall created by Bob Fine’s death yesterday morning — only hours after the masters pioneer attended meetings of USATF in Reno — the governing body last night voice-voted approval of a major restructuring that rendered masters track even more cloutless than it was before. No guaranteed seat for MTF on the board. There’s […]

December 4, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

WAVA co-founder Bob Fine dies at USATF meeting

USATF reports a tragedy beyond measure: the death of Florida’s Bob Fine, a racewalker in recent years who wrote the original constitution of the World Association of Veteran Athletes and was an early officer of USA Masters. He also started an early masters newsletter and competed in just about every world masters championship. Jill Geer […]

December 3, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  15 Comments