Cleary’s query: Want a Mt. SAC nationals in 2011?
Posting elsewhere on this blog, Southern California coach Mark Cleary writes: “I’m curious what everyone thinks about Los Angeles, specifically Mt. San Antonio College, as the site for a bid for the 2011 Masters Nationals approx. two weeks before the WMA meet in Sacramento? The idea is that some of the Europeans would come in early and stay for both meets . . . Please chime in with your thoughts. If there is strong support I will attempt to move forward with a bid for the 2011 Outdoor champs.” Actually, Cleary and the SoCal Fleet Feet club bid for the 2009 masters nationals — and lost to Clermont, Florida, partly due to internal conflicts in the Southern California USATF association. Athletes favor an L.A. nationals, but USATF officials are the ones who really need to be persuaded.
One wrinkle in a potential 2011 California bid: The 2010 masters nationals are set for Sacramento, and the USATF Masters T&F Committee usually likes to spread the meet around, rather than siting it back-to-back in the same region.
Another issue is time frame, since the 2011 worlds are in mid-July. Would you be willing to have masters nationals in mid- or late June?
(BTW, the vote on 2011 venue will take place in December 2008 at the USATF annual meeting, which happens to be in Reno, Nevada. That might be an advantage for Western delegates.)
The rest of Mark’s note:
The other new Idea is to offer a new meet format starting the meet at around 3:30 or 4:00 pm and going until 10:30pm. The Track at Cal Poly Pomona about a half a mile away could be used for some of the preliminary heats.
There are plenty of in expensive hotels close by, some even provide shuttle service to and from Ontario International Airport. Please chime in with your thoughts. If there is strong support I will attempt to move forward with a bid for the 2011 Outdoor champs.
Anyway, take our poll:
14 Responses
I believe the participation from outside of the western states would be limited if those participants are also coming for worlds, that’s alot of time for most of us to spend in Calf.
I agree with Doug – too much time to spend in Calif – it would really runs up the hotel and rental car bills for those of us who do not live in or near the area. Personally I would not want to go to Calif two weeks before the WMA meet and then hang around waiting to spend another 2 weeks plus in Sacramento.
Most folks work for a living – and do not have a month plus for vacation/track meets. Flying back and forth is expensive, hanging out in motels and paying rental car fees, paying for meals for a month – who has that kind of money?
Perhaps some wealthy masters from Europe, Australia, or New Zealand will make a big trip out of it, but I doubt that there will be a significant number. Should these two meets take place in Calif and the hoped for thousands of non-US masters turn up – is Mt Sac prepared to host a USATF Masters Meet of several thousand, with multiple heats of 100, 200, 400 meters in the younger age groups and dozens wanting to pole vault, high jump, triple jump, and throw various and sundry implements?
Be careful what you wish for Mark!
In addition – a National Masters Track meet in late June – too too early in the season – around where I live it is not easy to find enough meets to get in shape by the middle or end of June, then the WMA is in early July – and the summer track season is finished! Not my idea of good planning.
Makes more sense to me to have the Nationals in Eugene a week or two after Sacramento. They need to be in the rotation. It’s time and they could handle in the extra international athletes.
They are the real deal.
I think it’s a great idea. The facility is nice and the meet would be a great tune-up for the world championships
Mark’s idea for a West Coast Master Natls in 2011 is great..it makes everything an “even steven” because the east coasters always get the indoor natls so a couple of years in a row with master outdoor natls on the west coast is not asking too much..since I started master natls in 2000 I can only recall indoor natls being on west coast once..Idaho 2005 so we deserve masters outdoor natls on the west coast twice in a row..my 2 cents
I agree with Doug and Mary. Most of the people who plan to go to WMA would not go to nationals two weeks before and stay. Why not a year later?
Either venue mentioned above would be great (Mt. SAC or Eugene). For us working stiffs, it would be nice to have more than 1-2 weeks between meets. If the World’s are in mid July, then the USATF meet should be either mid June or mid August.
I am enjoying the feedback, but would like to hear from more people. Just to clarify a point for Ken when we bid for 2009, I had on my bid team the President of my Association, Vice President of my Association,Vice President of the Open Division( who has been the Meet Director for the Open Division West Region meet for the last 3 years and was slated to be our meet director) and the Southern California Association Chairman of Officials all on my bid team-so yes we had support for our bid by all but two individuals in our Association.
Eugene would be another excellent location, but who knows if they are even interested in hosting another Masters Nationals.All I know is that I would like to see meets in places that are not as dangerous for the older athletes with the high heat and humidity combination. I just thought the LA Area would be a nice alternative–it has plenty to attract families for vacation as well.I hope the feedback will continue.Thanks
I found out at the Annual convention that Don Denoon is not working for the Olympic training center in Clermont Florida–so I hope whom ever the Masters Games Committee works with there will honor the committment that Don gave to the voting delegates at the 2006 convention. He said it would be cheap to bring in lights if we wanted a evening meet and had an accomodating reply to every possible problem issue that was raised. We shall see what actually happens when they put the meet on in summer of 2009–I hope it’s good, but I fear the worst.There is absolutely no shade there (but Don said they would bring in canopies–lets see if they actually follow through).
That is really not good news about Clermont Fl for 2009. I am not crazy about going to hot humid venues for track meets. The one in Charlotte was very difficult due to the extreme heat and lack of shade as well as the scheduling of events. Personally I will think long and hard before spending money to go to Clermont in 2009 unless there is good evidence of a schedule that does not run events during the heat of the day and provision of shade. I may pass on that one.
I think it’s time that outdoor nationals come to So.Cal. We have the most available facilities anywhere. You could fly from anywhere direct to LAX, and it would be great to have a national champ meet, then get ready for the Worlds.
For those complaining about the travel, how many times have us from So. Cal. travel to the east coast for all the nationals? I believe many times more than you can count. It’s only fair for a change that the west coast is the capital of masters track for a year or two.
Besides, going to Worlds in Sacramento won’t cost that much as compared to going to Europe, and if you’re a smart traveler, you will have saved airline miles and use those saved miles for a free ticket.
Also since Worlds 2011 are in Sacramento, there are no customs for us to deal with, and most of us Americans would probably stay for our events and then get right back home, instead of using it as a full blown vacation if they were overseas, which would make those trips far more expensive.
It’s time for So.Cal to be a host of the Master’s Nationals.
Now that Eugene is hosting the US Nationals in 2009, 2011 and the 2012 Olympic Trials, I doubt Eugene would be in the running of Master’s Nationals anytime soon. We need to work out the kinks to have Mt.Sac host the nationals. Can Sacramento 2011 be in August instead of July.
Mt. SAC would be great. I unfortunately can’t compete at Worlds in Sacto since I’ll be 3 months shy of 35 but would definitely make it down to the LA area for the national meet, instead.
Eugene would be great for this Oregonian. However, I agree with others on here that with the Trials in 2008, USATF nat’s in 2009 and 2011, and Trials again in 2012, there is little or no chance of a 2011 meet in Eugene with all the preparation for the other meets. I believe that Hayward also is hosting an NCAA national meet in there as well (2009?).
If we were talking about 2010 (already in Sacto) then I could maybe see it- and you know that Hayward will be in GREAT shape at that point. But I would think 2011 is out of the question…could be wrong though and hope I am.
Best case scenario in my opinion (yes, a biased one) would be for Claremont to quickly fall through here soon due to facility/meet director issues along with the heat and humidity concerns and for Mt. SAC to pick up the 2009 meet.
Claremont ’09 is already out of the question for me and it sounds like others are debating it as well for a variety of reasons.
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