Site of USATF masters nationals in Jacksonville.
The folks who make it possible for us to run, jump and throw need help themselves sometimes. USATF is calling for helpers at our Jacksonville nationals, and Texas meet director
Seth Brower needs a hand at the dec-hep masters nationals. Seth writes that he’s hosting the USATF Masters
Combined Event Nationals at
UTSA on June 27-28. And since it’s in competition with local AAU meets, bodies are short. “But hoping officials will see it’s a good thing to have a national meet on your resume, albeit just the Dec and Hep. Also need regular volunteers to help on the crews.” Officials can
sign up here. Volunteers can
sign up here. Meanwhile, USATF sent this note to the officials’ email list: “The L.O.C. for the USATF 2015 Masters Outdoor Championships and the USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships at the University of North Florida are in a need of officials for both meets.”
The USATF email blast continued:
The Masters Outdoor Championships will be July 23 thru 26 at Hodges Stadium at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida. The National Junior Olympic Championships will follow starting July 27 and concluding on August 2.
If you are interested and available to work either or both of these very important championships please contact James Williams by email at mrappletreeman@aol.com or by phone at 305-796-7439. Here’s the USATF 2015 Masters Outdoor Championship Officials Application
3 Responses
Well, this post has been up since Thursday without a comment, so I guess I’m allowed to expand things a bit. Jacksonville has one of the nicest stadiums that masters will ever see, as described elsewhere.
It might even be better than Oshkosh (outdoor nationals, 2009), which I consider one of the very best around. Then why have the entries not been better? What’s that you say, Lyon is making a huge difference?
Originally, I thought that would be the case, but as the men’s 100 suggests, that seems overstated. Only 50 or 51 American men have chose to cross the ocean to compete at worlds in the 100; the great bulk of our sprinters are staying home. Moreover, I didn’t recognize 11 of the names in the 100.
Will our sprinters go to Jacksonville? I do not know. Originally the entries were pretty decent, and on June 4 at 10:00 AM there were 25 entrants in the 100 there (men and women combined). But entries since then have been pitiful, with just 27 people entered in the 100 as of noon today (Saturday).
Anyone have any idea of whether Jacksonville will eventually have a reasonable turnout, or will St. Paul be the knockout punch? St. Paul is the site for the track and field events in the Senior Games.
for what it is worth – I am going to the National Senior Games in early July and Lyon the first 2 weeks of August. Between those trips I will have family visiting at home. Jacksonville is just not on my radar – and I think that could be the case for some others. Add to that – I run middle distance events – 5k, 1500, and sometimes the 800 as well. The 800 and 5k are on Thursday and the 1500 is on Friday.the schedule is not friendly to those who run those event. I know some can do that – I do not wish to even try to do it – I need time to recover. IF I had decided to go – I would come home on Saturday as there are no events that I run on Saturday and Sunday. Add to that the heat – and Jacksonville is just not for me.
If this continues to be the schedule for the National Masters Outdoor meet – I am likely to not participate in the future. It may be great for for some but for those of us who want to run the 5k, 1500, and perhaps the 800, it is a disaster.
Very interesting and informative, Mary. Thanks for your contribution. Would be nice to hear from some other middle distance runners, as scheduling is always particularly important at nationals, especially at meets held in Florida or Louisiana (we have never had outdoor nationals in Georgia, Alabama, or Mississippi).
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