Nine days ago, I posted details of Sacramento’s bid to host the 2011 World Masters Athletics Championships. The same day, August 24, I sent email (with a Portuguese translation) to a dozen Brazilian masters track federations: Adilson_oses@hotmail.com; abrambrasil@abrambrasil.com; walter@marista-mcz.com.br; atletismoamapa@uol.com.br; feama@argo.com.bR; atletismomg@ig.com.br; fpat@zipmail.com.br; fap@atletismofap.org.br; fepat@elogica.com.br; figueiredo_jose@uol.com.br; fargrs@terra.com.br; feraatletismo@yahoo.com.br. I kind of thought I’d get a response. Silly me.

Here’s the note I sent to the Brazilians:

Greetings, ladies and gentlemen
I have posted the WMA bid presentation from Sacramento, a candidate to host the World Masters Athletic Championships in 2011.
Please see:
http://masterstrack.com/blog/001691.html
I would be happy to post Porto Alegre’s presentation as well.
Thanks for your attention and cooperation.
Ken Stone
http://www.masterstrack.com
GOOGLE TRANSLATION:
Cumprimentos, senhoras e gentlemen
Eu afixei a apresentação da oferta de WMA de Sacramento, um candidato para hospedar os Championships do Athletics dos mestres do mundo em 2011.
Ver por favor:
http://masterstrack.com/blog/001691.html
Eu seria feliz afixar também a apresentação de Porto Alegre.
Agradecimentos para suas atenção e cooperação.
Ken Stone
http://www.masterstrack.com

Yet no reply. (And yes, I did confirm that my email went out. I also checked my spam mail.)
So what can I conclude from this?
I’m writing the wrong people? Nobody in Brazil cares about the Porto Alegre bid? I’m easy to ignore?
Who knows?
So tonight I broke down and Googled “2011 Porto Alegre WMA” and found several accounts, including a Brazilian report on WMA’s visit to Porto Alegre. This was posted on the Porto Alegre muncipal site (and translated from the Portuguese):

Porto Alegre will be able to host World-wide of Atletismo
A managing committee of the City hall will go to work in candidacy of Porto Alegre as headquarters of 19th World-wide championship of Atletismo Master of 2011. The announcement was made today by mayor Jose Fogaça during hearing with the president of World Master Athletics (WMA), Cesare Beccalli, in the Municipal Paço. Together with the president of Brazilian association of Atletismo Master (They open), Francisco Hypólito of the Silveira, Beccalli e other integrant ones of the WMA are in the Capital since the last Saturday for visits techniques esportivos centers and clubs, parks and hotels, among others equipment and services.
With duration of 10 the 12 days, in the first one January fortnight, the 2011 event will be able to count on more than six a thousand athlete, totalizing a public of about 20 a thousand people. “Porto Glad it has tradition in the accomplishment of events international and the City hall is pledged in to all make the possible one next to the institutions promoters of the event”, said Fogaça to to confirm the support of the City to the competition.
Carried through to each two years, the 2007 edition it happens in September, the city of Riccioni, in Italy. In 2009, the competition will be in Lahti, in Finlândia. For 2011, Porto Alegre concurs with the city of Sacrament, in California (U.S.A.). If confirmed for Brazil, this will be the first one edition of the event in a South-american country.
In accordance with Beccalli, this particularitity also Porto Alegre favors, since the advice of the WMA, integrated for more than 200 athletes to master with right the vote circa, representing of 120 countries, he must make a recommendation so that the championship occurs in the south continent American. “We visit tracks in Porto Alegre e everything what we saw so far was satisfactory”, Beccalli declared.
During the championship of Riccioni, in September, the world-wide assembly of the WMA will be carried through that it will define the headquarters of the 2011 event. For Municipal office of Tourism, the City hall will go to participate of the assembly with one estande e presentation of the city in day 9. The election stops the headquarters of the championship will be in day 11.
Candidacy of Porto Alegre already was officialized for Abram next to the WMA, lacking now recommendation technique that the comitiva will conclude in the end of this week.
It enters the places visited so far are esportivos centers of the PUC and the Sogipa, the Center State of Treinamento (CEF) and the School Superior of Physical Education (Esef). The 27 modalities that involve the championship, in categories feminine and masculine, take care of to rules of the International Federacy of Atletismo.
They had folloied the meeting the municipal secretary of the Tourism, Ângela Baldino, the vice-president executive of the WMA, Monty Haker, representatives of the WMA in the United States, Rex Harvey, and in Canada, Brian Keaveney, the director of the LRSport, Rodrigo La Rosa, and the president of Porto Alegre Convention & Visitors Bureau, Ricardo Ritter.

I also found a Brazilian masters track site that trumpeted the 2011 bid (as well as Riccione hopes):

31/março the 06/abril, Porto Alegre received representatives of the WMA for inspection of esportivas installations, hoteleira net, restaurants and tourist points of POA, thus as, for official commitments with Mrs. Governor of the State of the RGS, Mrs. Yeda Crusius and with Mr. Mayor of Porto Alegre, Mr. Jose Fogaça. They had folloied this visit, beyond THEY OPEN, LR Sport company partner stops captation to world-wide the 2011, State Sec. e Municipal theatre of Turismo and Porto Alegre Convention & Visitors Bureau.
In day 11 of April of 2007 the WMA – World Master Athletics, delivered document credenciando Porto Alegre, as apt and capable city of to participate of the candidacy process the World-wide one of Atletismo Master for 2011.
Now he is pra to be valid! We will be disputing, in September, in the city of Riccione/Italy, the coming of World-wide 2011, for Porto Alegre, Great River of South, Brazil and South America!

So I guess someone Down Under is serious about the Porto Alegre candidacy. But the lack of response to my inquiry is mystifying.
You might think that someone might want to counter the promotion I gave Sacramento.
I’m still hoping for a reply (I’ve made another attempt to reach the Porto Alegre folks). Stay tuned.
If nothing comes of this, I’d have to conclude that Brazil’s bid is pretty much a publicity stunt for local consumption.