Lightning strikes in Charlotte, sparks schedule crisis
Organizers of the Charlotte master’s nationals, who on Thursday cancelled afternoon events due to a heat emergency, were forced to cancel evening events today because of lightning strikes in the local region. Around 8:20 p.m. today, all athletes and officials in the stadium were ordered across the street into the safety of a parking garage. At 9:10 p.m., everyone was told that all of the uncompleted Friday night events would be moved to Saturday. Organizers said that local laws about weather hazards prevented them from resuming the meet.
According to one observer who spoke with officials, 40 athletes and officials were treated at the track as temperatures soared into the high 90s with high humidity. At least three meet officials were taken by ambulance to a local hospital with heat-related problems. All were treated and released, and at least one woman returned to officiate at the meet. Police and fire officials, who had been monitoring ambulance calls, told meet organizers to suspend the events of the afternoon. As a result, the meet resumed at 7 p.m. and finished after 11 Thursday night.
Today the meet started at 7 a.m. and with temperatures again eventually reaching the high 90s. Officials again stopped the competition around 1 p.m. Events resumed at 7 p.m. today with the steep chase, pole vault, older men’s high jump, and some younger men’s long jump and javelin events, but minutes after Emil Pawlik won the M65 high jump, organizers ordered everyone into the parking garage.
Among the finals that were cancelled today were the men’s short hurdles, and the men’s and women’s 400-meter dash.
Athletes interviewed tonight were understanding but still determined to run their events. All said that they were disappointed at not being able to compete tonight. The squeezing of Friday’s events into Saturday’s sechdule could jeopardize the athlete’s banquet Saturday night. Many athletes with decades of experience said they have never seen such adverse conditions.
Meet organizers were expected to work late into the night finding a way to shoehorn the cancelled events into Saturday’s schedule.
Forecasts for Saturday and Sunday call for cooler weather but greater chance of thunderstorms. One athlete told me that the master’s nationals should never return to Charlotte or Hawaii, also beset by weather problems. Instead, he said, give it to Eugene every year.
Charlotte was selected to host the master’s nationals around 2003 in a break from tradition. The same USATF annual convention that chose Honolulu for the 2005 meet also chose Charlotte for the 2006 nationals. The Charlotte bid was considered an excellent one, but no other candidates for the 2006 nationals had a chance to bid. Thus Charlotte was given the meet with any competition.
On the positive side, a half dozen local TV stations sent camera crews to cover the beginning of the meet and later returned to report on the weather problems. The Associated Press even moved a story nationwide about the suspension of the Thursday events. Bob Weiner of the USATF master’s media committee was thrilled at the exposure this gave the master’s track movement.
(dictated from Charlotte to loving wife, Chris)
4 Responses
The Saturday throws competitions were unacceptable for a National Championships. We were given only 4 throws instead of the usual 6. The 50-54 year old age group had two flights of throwers with no finals. Throwers had no chance to compete head to head in a final. In the 55-59 year old age group, several throwers were interupted during their throws so that the 200 meter runners could start their races. Tim Muller was interrupted during a critical throw that may have cost him the championship.
I am thankful for the win. However, I want to win when my competition is at its best. Tim was treated unfairly.
I was told that Official fatigue and the meet barbeque were the reasons we were not given six throws. I appreciate the hard work of the officials. They did an excellent job and the heat was terrible. However, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that it’s going to be hot in North Carolina in August. They shouldn’t have hosted the meet if they couldn’t get enough officials to staff the events.
I would gladly pay an entry fee of $100 or more if that’s what it takes to run the meet properly. My wife and I spent nearly $2000 coming to Charlotte. This was a long trip for an abreviated competition.
I agree with Tom Fahey. Living in NC myself, I got home around midnight on Thursday, got up Friday morning at 4:30 AM to be on the field at 7:00 AM. It was a tough preparation for the M 55 javelin throw. It was a huge disappointment to be allowed only four throws. Still, the cream rose to the top: 1 Kouvolo, Robert 51.46m (168-10) 2 Gagne, Buzz 51.44m (168-09). Can’t have more fun than that! USATF runs the open championships in June, the masters are asked to sweat it out in August. Duh, it is hot anywhere in August, not just in Charlotte. If you want to make the US Nationals a West Coast Championships, stage it in Eugene every year. Otherwise, move it around but the month of June sounds mighty fine to me after surviving four days in Charlotte. And, by the way, as a member of the Carolina Track & Field Club, I’m proud of my club’s handling of very difficult and adverse conditions. If you could have done a better job, I’d like to hire you for my business. One final question: Did you bent down just once to pick up a piece of trash? Well, I did not think so.
Stefan is right about holding the meet in June. Every year in June, I attend John Powell’s discus camp at Dennison University in Ohio. The weather is usually wonderful. In Charlotte, the temperature reached a high of 85 degrees during the week of June 25— perfect for a track and field competition.
Most countries in Europe hold their championships earlier. Great Britain’s championship is in late June.
I would have loved to watch more of the competition, but stayed in my hotel room for several days to avoid getting overheated (recovering from pneumonia). I was told that 40 people reported to the medical facilities with heat problems and that one spectator died (woman who was 9 months pregnant).
I enjoy visiting different parts of the country for the Nationals. Let’s hold the competition in June so that the athletes and officials can enjoy the experience. That way we can schedule the meet anywhere in the US with less chance of dangerous, oppressive heat.
I would like to thank the officials for a job well done. Most of us were out in the sun for only short periods; they were out there all day.
any chance of holding the championships in September? (As you might guess, I am NOT a schoolteacher.)
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