Bengay evaporates as USATF masters award sponsor
You can stop buying Bengay now. Eighteen months after a big flourish, in which USATF trumpeted a sponsorship by the makers of Bengay as a balm to USATF Masters Track & Field, Bengay has pulled the plug. Quit as USATF sponsor. (In one year, out the other.)
In July 2004, USATF Masters T&F Chair George Mathews thanked Bengay in a column:
“Also, the ‘Bengay Travel Grant Program’ really gives our Masters Invitation Program a shot in the arm. We will truly have our best athletes representing us at the Olympic Trials. . . . Bengay is also going to participate in the sponsorship of our National Indoor Championships in Boise. Thank you again, Bengay. I hope this is the start of something big for our National Championships.”
In November 2004, Bengay honoree Kathryn Martin said:
“I am truly humbled at being selected as the inaugural BENGAY Masters Athlete of the year considering the caliber of masters athletes in this country. At the ripe age of 53, I honestly believe that we have no idea what masters athletes are capable of, and I love to push the envelope. As masters athletes we are fortunate to have the tremendous support in our local and national USATF organization and from BENGAY.”
But yesterday, in response to an email query, USATF Director of Communications Jill Geer wrote me: “Bengay is no longer a USATF sponsor and the (Masters Athlete of the Year) award no longer bears the company name.”
I had written Jill because a USATF news release on Emil Pawlik winning the award omitted “Bengay” (and also omitted “hurdles” from one of his M65 American records.)
I had assumed that Bengay was still the sponsor of the Masters Athlete of the Year Award because the December issue of National Masters News told me so.
I guess the Bengay-spiked-as-sponsor news wasn’t shared with NMN.
So this raises some questions:
1. What prompted Bengay to quit its USATF gig?
2. When did USATF learn about this?
3. What is USATF Masters doing about it?
4. If USATF Masters can’t keep a minor-league sponsor like Bengay, what does that mean for its ambitious goals for the rest of its 2005 Strategic Plan?
Under the old deal, Bengay paid travel expenses of the Athlete of the Year to the USATF annual meeting. So who’s paying for Pawlik’s trip to Jacksonville this week?
At the very least, someone should apologize to National Masters News for passing along bum information.
Bengay, we hardly knew ye.
One Response
That stinks. Well, I understand Viagra is no longer a NASCAR sponsor. Maybe we could get them to step up for master’s track & field? 🙂
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