Archive for December, 2009

USATF COO tells why Dave Clingan didn’t get full payment

A major reason for Dave Clingan’s resignation from all USATF committees was a holy hassle over getting paid for his work on a stand-alone, independent USATF Masters T&F Web site. USATF budgeted $4,500 for this project and Mike McNees, the “masters advocate” within the national office, signed off on this. But when time came to […]

December 8, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  20 Comments

New rules, deadlines for therapeutic use exemptions in WMA

TUEs, or therapeutic use exemptions, are fig leafs under which World Masters Athletics allows athletes to compete at certain meets if they take banned drugs under a doctor’s care. Even though very few folks ever get dope-tested at world masters championships, some athletes submit TUEs to be on the “safe side.” Now there are new […]

December 8, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  7 Comments

Masters indoor exhibition events: men’s 1000, women’s 1500

Mark Cleary, coordinator of the Masters T&F Invitational Program, reports on the exhibition events he’ll organize for the USATF national indoor open championships February 27-28 in Albuquerque, New Mexico: “The indoor events are 1000 meters for men and 1500 meters for women. The outdoor events will be finalized shortly.” He says he’s off to club […]

December 8, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  6 Comments

Dave Clingan resigns from USATF Masters T&F committees

Several years ago, my friend and co-webmaster Dave Clingan announced his retirement from running, citing severe knee issues. Turns out that was premature. He eventually returned to world-class middle-distancing and made the M55 finals in the 800 at Lahti last summer. But his latest retirement announcement is irrevocable, he tells me. And it’s a huge […]

December 7, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  22 Comments

USATF posts Final Approved Rule Package; bylaws await

The traditional scorecard of rules changes (or rules rejections) is now posted on USATF’s Web site. See the PDF file here.  Still to come is the final wording of the bylaws changes, which were approved by voice vote yesterday at the Indy annual meeting. It’s possible that some of the bylaws were modified before the […]

December 7, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  3 Comments

New German/Dutch social networking site targets throwers

Masters are a big part of the mix of lampis.net — yet another social network for trackfolk. Actually, this site is all about the throws. It includes some instructional videos and several dozen members already. Its members are mainly Dutch and German, including M60 champion Axel Hermanns of Germany, who apparently is the founder as […]

December 7, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  4 Comments

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 […]

December 7, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  4 Comments

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 […]

December 6, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment

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 […]

December 5, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment

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 […]

December 5, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  5 Comments