Masters News and Muse

With no fanfare, except a brief note on the WMA Web site, WMA Records Committee chair Sandy Pashkin has updated the official world indoor and outdoor age-group records. They are now all updated as of "May 19, 2006." Yeah, right. While the list includes marks from Linz and Boston, many legitimate world records are still unrecognized by WMA. I won't count records set in the past few months, which haven't been through the paperwork mill yet.

Just some examples at random:

I count five world indoor records from 2006 Boston listed on the WMA site:

60: W 65 1.31 Kathy Bergen USA 66 26.03.06 Boston
HJ: W 65 1.31 Kathy Bergen USA 66 26.03.06 Boston
TJ: W 80 5.57 Johnnye Valien USA 80 25.03.06 Boston
Indoor weight: W 90 5.23 Betty Jarvis USA 90 24.03.06 Boston
Indoor weight: M 75 13.23 William Garrahan USA 76 24.03.06 Boston

But where's the M70 world indoor record set by Bobby Whilden at Boston? Bobby's 27.11 bettered the 27.40 by Britain's Allan Meddings in 1998.

And where's the M45 short hurdles world indoor record by Karl Smith at Boston? Karl clocked 8.18 -- as even USATF acknowledged. There's no question about his citizenship, either (He ran in the Olympics for Jamaica), since he's listed as the U.S. indoor record holder in the M40 indoor hurdles.

WMA? It lists the M45 record in the 60 hurdles as:
M 45 8.22 Dexter McCloud USA 46 19.03.06 Linz

And for crying out loud, where's the W70 world indoor mile record by Mary Harada, who ran 7:12.59 at Boston. You can see the USATF press note on this.

WMA still lists the W70 indoor mile record as:
W 70 7:19.44 Toshiko D'Elia USA 71 24.03.01

And on we go.

WMA lists the M35 outdoor vault record as:
5.30 K. Papanikolaou GRE 36 09.09.77

But M35s Jeff Hartwig, Pat Manson and perhaps others have gone way higher, including a 5.86 (19-2 3/4) by Jeff in 2004.

WMA lists the M35 indoor vault record as:
5.70 Rodion Gataulain RUS 35 23.02.01 Lievin

But Hartwig tops the 2006 American indoor list at 5.85 (19-2 1/4).

WMA lists the M35 indoor world record in the high jump as:
2.27 Cristian Popescu ROM 35 22.02.98 Piraeus

But Olympic champ Charles Austin of the United States (and perhaps others) have gone higher indoors. Charles was 35 for the entire 2003 season (since he turned 35 in December 2002). He jumped 2.30 (7-6 1/2) to win the national indoor championship in 2003.

And WMA lists the M35 outdoor high jump record as:
2.16 Viktor Bolshov URS 35 20.06.74

Oh, come on! Bolshov's mark dates back to 1974. Austin topped 2.16 (7-1) in his sleep in 2003, highlighted by a 2.27 (7-5 1/4). And if that mark was unacceptable, how about a mark made in the U.S. Olympic Trials? Charles jumped 2.24 (7-4 1/4) in Sacramento. And what about the 2.25 by Germany's Carlo Thränhardt in 1993?

WMA lists the W35 outdoor record in the 400 as:
50.56 Aurelia Penton CUB 35 15.07.78

But American Jearl Miles-Clark, who turned 35 in September 2001, ran 50.27 in 2002 and 50.53 in 2003.

Curiosly, WMA lists an M35 world outdoor record for the 200 but not an M35 world outdoor record for the 100. But even there, they screw up.

The WMA lists the M35 record for 200 outdoors as:
20.40 Linford Christie GBR 36 03.07.96

But Linford also ran 20.11 in 1995, when he was 35. And if that mark is questionable, how about the 20.23 by Frank Fredericks of Namibia in 2003, when he was 35 or the 20.14 in 2004 when he was 36? Frank's 20.14 came in Athens. You may have heard of the meet. The Olympic Games.

And Frank is robbed of the indoor 200 record as well!

WMA lists the M35 indoor world record at 200 as:
20.59 Doug Turner GBR 35 17.07.02 Birmingham

But in February 2003, Frank ran 20.45 at Liévin. Frank turned 35 in October 2002.

An old Swedish site devoted to M35 records hasn't been updated in several years, but it offers much fodder for questioning the WMA M35 records:

WMA lists the M35 outdoor 1500 record as:
3:33.91 Mike Boit KEN 36 21.08.85

But the Swedish site lists:
3.32.45 William Tanui KEN 640222 3 Athína

WMA lists the M35 decathlon world record as:
7778 Werner Von Moltke GER 35 12.05.72

But what about Kip Janvrin? Born in July 1965, he recorded these best seasonal marks since turning 35 on July 8, 2000:

8057 at the Olympic Trials on July 21, 2000.
8241 on June 22, 2001.
7847 on July 28, 2002.
7918 on June 22, 2003.
7730 on June 16, 2004 (below the listed WMA record, sadly)

In the W50 outdoor high jump, WMA lists:
1.57 Weia Reinboud NED 50 06.08.00 Krommenie

But Weia, the No. 1 world authority on the women's high jump, herself lists the best W50 outdoor leap as:
1,60 Debbie Brill CAN 10 03 1953 Langley 19 06 2004.

WMA lists the W35 world outdoor record in the 5000 as:
15:11.28 Lynn Jennings USA 35 10.07.95

But one of the foremost track statisticians in the world, Peter Matthews of Britain, editor of International Athletics Annual, lists this W35 record:
5000m 14:42.64 Edith Masai (4/4/67) KEN Brussels 9/3/04 And American Regina Jacobs ran 14.45.35 at the 2000 Olympic Trials.

WMA lists the W35 world outdoor record for the 100 hurdles as:
12.47 Ludmila Engquist SWE 35 21.08.99

But American Gail Devers, who turned 35 in November 2001, has these marks in succeeding seasons:

12.40 on July 2, 2002, in Lausanne.
12.45 on Sept. 14, 2003, in Monaco.
12.50 on May 7, 2004, in Kingston (OK, she slipped.)

I'm tired. Been searching the web for better-than-WMA records for a couple hours, But I'm even more tired of WMA's outrageous excuse for a record book.

Check out the events you know about, and add your own howlers.

Botom line on WMA records: It's time for a change.

Posted by Ken Stone at 2:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Yes, they have masters track Down Under. And I'm talking about South America, where their track season is topsy-turvy like the Aussies' and Kiwis'. Phil Raschker sent me this link to the South American Masters Athletics Championships set for November 3-11 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Although the site doesn't explicitly say non-South Americans are invited, I'm assuming they are if Phil sends me info. That's been an issue with the European masters championships -- which are closed to Americans.

Housing options also are listed. And the site says: "The Organizing Commission has blocked 1,204 beds at the following establishments." The prices apparently are listed in the real, the Brazilian currency. According to one currency converter, $25 Brazilian is worth $10.90 USA, so the rates look great!

Posted by Ken Stone at 7:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

One of the kicks we get as masters is competing on tracks (and fields) used in major open meets. Like the Olympic Trials and NCAAs. Two meets coming up in California offer such thrills. First is the Pacific Association USATF Masters Championships July 1 at Sacramento State's Hornet Stadium, site of the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Trials with its superfast Mondo track. Second is the Trojan masters meet July 9 at USC's Cromwell Track & Field, site of the Big Meet between UCLA and USC over the years. Trojan horse (and I mean that in a nice way) Eugene Driver sent me this entry form for the Trojan masters meet.

Posted by Ken Stone at 9:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Nadine O'Connor and Bud Held generally take turns setting records. Yesterday at the San Diego-Imperial USATF Open Championships at San Diego State University, the couple from Del Mar, California, both set world age-group records -- improving their own marks in the pole vault. M75 Bud went 3.00 (9-10) and W60 Nadine cleared 3.11 (10-2 1/2) to break their previous records by an inch or so. Bud writes: "Nadine's 3.11 is 116.48% on the new 2006 Age-Graded Tables. We think it might be the best percentage mark of any age group so far for this year. Mine is a measly 103.79%."

A day earlier -- Saturday -- M70 Gerald O. Vaughn broke his own world age-group record in the shot with a toss of 15.27 (50-1 1/4) at the Florida Classic meet in Clermont, Florida. In March, Gerald threw 15.39 (50-6) indoors. So the outdoor record with the 6.6-pound shot was not unexpected.

In 2005, Gerald threw the listed M70 record of 14.91 (48-11) at Charlotte, North Carolina. The shot in the M70 group is 4 kilograms -- or about 8.8 pounds.

Posted by Ken Stone at 1:13 AM | Permalink

Had to leave the San Clemente masters meet before the javelin was done, but I saw folks on a grass field north of the track chucking spears. One was Linda Cohn, who a week earlier at Long Beach State set an American Record in the W50 age group. A masters mole sent me this note (and oficially confirmed a day later): "Linda Cohen does it again: San Clemente: 39.78M -surpassing last week." This translates as: Linda hurled a spear 130 feet, 6 inches. Now she's in spittin' distance of Regina Stange's listed W50 world record of 41.50 (136-2). Go, Linda!

On Sunday, Doug Smith sent meet results compiled by

100m
M30 1 Prime, Coach 32 11.82
2 Elder, Dave 31 16.10
M40 1 Berry, Kettrell 43 11.26
2 Wardle, TC 41 11.87
M45 1 Krulee, Marty 49 11.29
2 Sullivan, Michael 45 11.39
3 Muehlbacher, ED 47 12.37
4 Dimassa, David 46 12.73
5 Niroumano, Mahmoud 49 12.87
6 Johnson, Rodney 47 13.78
W45 1 Amarasekara, Veroni 45 13.37
2 Selby, Debbie 49 16.48
3 Quintana, Susan 47 18.57
M50 1 Duncanson, Rob 50 13.58
2 Del Bosque, Paul 51 15.06
- Herzberg, Lyndon 52 DNF
- Stone, Ken 51 DNF
W50 1 Baar, Cathy 54 19.85
2 Stone, Christine 51 20.24
M55 1 Stucki, Ernie 56 12.87
2 Lyons, Patrick 56 13.01
M60 1 Whitley, Stan 60 12.57
2 Loftis, Charlie 63 14.47
3 Muranaha, Ron 62 14.89
M65 1 Smith, Doug 66 12.90
2 Gillespie, Lee 65 14.16
W65 1 Bergen, Kathy 66 14.78
M70 1 Cota, Carlos 70 15.23
M75 1 Selby, Jim 77 16.52
W75 1 Styles, Frances 78 19.91
M80 1 Davidson, Robert 83 29.91

200m
M40 1 Berry, Kettrell 43 22.89
2 McDuffrie, Allen 44 23.93
W40 1 Black, Jai 43 26.68
2 Ware, Caren 43 29.92
M45 1 Sullivan, Michael 45 23.39
2 Chinn, James 47 23.64
3 Krulee, Marty 49 24.37
4 Muehlbacher, ED 47 24.60
5 Dimassa, David 46 26.19
W45 1 Selby, Debbie 49 37.39
W50 1 Bowman, Jeanne 53 32.47
2 Baar, Cathy 54 43.91
M55 1 Fitzpatrick, Bill 55 27.09
2 Muth, Rick 57 31.16
M60 1 Whitley, Stan 60 25.66
2 Loftis, Charlie 63 31.59
W60 1 O'Connor, Nadine 64 29.90
M65 1 Smith, Doug 66 27.23
2 Gillespie, Lee 65 29.09
M70 1 Cota, Carlos 70 32.14
M75 1 Selby, Jim 77 35.33
W75 1 Styles, Frances 78 48.75
M80 1 Davidson, Robert 83 1:12.89

400m
M30 1 Elder, Dave 31 1:18.96
M40 1 McDuffrie, Allen 44 53.42
2 Hickok, Tim 40 59.28
W40 1 Black, Jai 43 1:00.75
M45 1 Sullivan, Michael 45 51.79
2 Chinn, James 47 52.69
3 Hicks, Robert 46 53.82
4 Dimassa, David 46 58.49
5 Reid, Glen 48 1:03.44
W45 1 Selby, Debbie 49 1:30.73
W50 1 Bowman, Jeanne 53 1:18.40
M55 1 Fitzpatrick, Bill 55 1:01.82
2 Muth, Rick 57 1:09.84
M60 1 Parke, David 60 1:02.05
M70 1 Leis, Donald 74 1:37.69
M75 1 Selby, Jim 77 1:22.92
M80 1 Davidson, Robert 83 3:18.35

800m M30 1 Proodian, Dave 34 2:42.35
M35 1 Weaver, Rayfer 37 2:00.38
2 Warner, Nick 38 2:12.75
M40 1 Hickok, Tim 40 2:16.35
M45 1 Decollibus, Angelo 49 2:20.71
2 Ward, William 49 2:26.65
3 Gilboy, Joe 46 2:35.11
M50 1 Goldman, Danny 51 2:17.99
W50 1 Janneck, Denise 52 2:41.65
M60 1 Parke, David 60 2:28.23
2 Salupo, Ron 62 2:29.37
M75 1 Selby, Jim 77 3:31.92

1500m
M30 1 Proodian, Dave 34 5:49.58
2 Elder, Dave 31 6:21.74
M35 1 Weaver, Rayfer 37 4:33.10
2 Goodall, Aaron 36 4:36.97
M40 1 Hickok, Tim 40 4:43.43
M45 1 Decollibus, Angelo 49 4:41.76
2 Cupp, Tom 45 5:03.70
3 Ward, William 49 5:07.37
W45 1 Yayoi, Liz 49 5:37.26

5000m
M30 1 Proodian, Dave 34 22:20.71
2 Elder, Dave 31 22:59.49
80m Hurdles
W40 1 Ware, Caren 43 14.31
W45 1 Amarasekara, Veroni 45 13.22
W50 1 Janneck, Denise 52 18.19
W60 - O'Connor, Nadine 64 DNF

100m Hurdles
M55 1 Wilson, Thaddeus 55 16.09
110m Hurdles
M30 1 Roderick, Matthew 33 16.36
M35 1 Holmes, Richard 39 14.73
M45 1 Anton, Eugene 48 16.56

300m Hurdles
M40 - Greene, Vincent 44 DNF
W40 1 Ware, Caren 43 52.88
M50 1 Hecker, Andrew 51 51.02
W50 - Janneck, Denise 52 DNF

HJ A - 3'00"
M45 1 Niroumand, Mahmoud 49 1.54m
M50 1 Stone, Ken 51 1.34m
W50 1 Hanscom, Rita 52 1.39m
M55 1 Wilson, Thaddeus 55 1.39m
W55 1 Steekelenburg, Anne 58 1.34m
M65 1 Dobroth, John 65 1.59m
2 Perry, Dave 67 1.39m
3 Bergen, Bert 68 J1.39m
W65 1 Bergen, Kathy 66 1.29m
M70 1 Leis, Donald 74 1.09m
W75 1 Styles, Frances 78 0.89m

d HJ B - 5'00"
Mix 1 Lee, Ron 42 1.78m
1 Nelson, Keith 51 1.78m
3 Rader, Charlie 58 1.62m

PV
M45 1 Arbogast, John 48 2.28m
W50 1 Hanscom, Rita 52 2.59m
M55 1 Morris, Steve 56 3.66m
2 Lambert, Wayne 59 J3.66m
- McNeal, Billy 55 NH
W60 1 O'Connor, Nadine 64 3.00m
M75 1 Held, Bud 78 2.74m

LJ
M30 1 Roderick, Matthew 33 5.74m
M40 1 Davenport, Lavell 44 5.25m
W40 1 Ware, Caren 43 4.52m
M45 1 Niroumand, Mahmoud 49 5.24m
W45 1 Amarasekara, Veroni 45 5.26m
M50 1 Duncanson, Rob 50 3.96m
W50 1 Baar, Cathy 54 2.52m
W55 1 Mathews, Brenda 56 3.86m
M60 1 Muranaha, Ron 62 4.26m
2 Greek, Doug 60 4.00m
M70 1 Leis, Donald 74 3.04m
W75 1 Styles, Frances 78 2.19m

TJ
M30 1 Roderick, Matthew 33 11.21m
M40 1 Davenport, Lavell 44 11.90m
M45 1 Niroumand, Mahmoud 49 10.97m
W55 1 Steekelenburg, Anne 58 8.19m
W75 1 Styles, Frances 78 4.64m

SP
W40 1 Ware, Caren 43 7.62m
W45 1 Amarasekara, Veroni 45 9.78m
2 Underdown, Mary 45 8.61m
M50 1 Stines, Greg 51 12.95m
W50 1 Cohn, Linda 53 9.90m
2 Stone, Christine 51 5.79m
M55 1 Wilson, Thaddeus 55 8.07m
W55 1 Mathews, Brenda 56 8.51m
M60 1 Schneider, John 60 12.60m
2 Greek, Doug 60 9.60m
3 Baker, Ken 62 9.12m
M70 1 Ward, Bob 72 11.50m
2 Tomlinson, Doug 74 10.82m
3 Smith, Ernie 72 9.50m
M75 1 Gaynor, Arnie 78 12.88m
2 Richardson, Doug 76 9.37m
M85 1 Hackett, Hugh 86 5.43m

DT
M50 1 Fruguglietti, Ralph 51 49.68m
2 Stines, Greg 51 42.67m
3 Fraser, James 53 35.36m
4 Tipping, Mike 53 31.09m
W50 1 Cohn, Linda 53 27.34m
2 Hanscom, Rita 52 22.36m
3 Baar, Cathy 54 14.92m
4 Stone, Christine 51 12.00m
M55 1 McEvoy, Jim 57 31.70m
W55 1 Steekelenburg, Anne 58 20.74m
M60 1 Grant, Robert 62 39.32m
....DT
2 Schneider, John 60 39.02m
3 Greek, Doug 60 30.48m
4 Baker, Ken 62 29.87m
5 Stock, Ron 63 25.60m
W65 1 Bergen, Kathy 66 16.08m
M70 1 Humphreys, Bob 70 44.20m
2 Tomlinson, Doug 74 37.49m
3 Ward, Bob 72 J37.49m
M75 1 Gaynor, Arnie 78 38.71m
2 Richardson, Doug 76 26.52m
M85 1 Hackett, Hugh 86 15.21m

JT
M40 1 Gonzales, Robert 44 22.74m
W40 1 Ware, Caren 43 21.04m
M50 1 Tipping, Mike 53 44.11m
2 Duncanson, Rob 50 41.19m
W50 1 Cohn, Linda 53 39.78m
2 Bowman, Tina 53 26.18m
3 Hanscom, Rita 52 25.51m
M55 1 Rook, Ron 57 38.54m
2 McEvoy, Jim 57 38.11m
W55 1 Mathews, Brenda 56 21.58m
M60 1 Schneider, John 60 38.07m
2 Baker, Ken 62 28.10m
W65 1 Bergen, Kathy 66 18.42m
M70 1 Quist, Buster 70 35.07m
2 Tomlinson, Doug 74 27.77m
M75 1 Gaynor, Arnie 78 26.34m
2 Richardson, Doug 76 23.51m
M85 1 Hackett, Hugh 86 14.61m

Posted by Ken Stone at 3:43 AM | Permalink

I saw Valeri Brumel jump today in San Clemente, California. Yeah, I know he's been dead for three years. But the form of the Russian high jump god was being channeled by a 65-year-old Superior Court judge from Ojai. When newly minted M65 straddler John Dobroth did his straight-legged power jump this morning, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was Brumel's clone! I took pictures to prove it

And John didn't just capture the beauty of Brumel's technique, he used it for two failed tries at tying Phil Fehlen's world age-group record of 1.66 (5-5 1/4).

When I first saw John jump today, I didn't know who he was. I asked Davie Perry, a national-class M65 jumper, what John's last name was. He said Dobroth, and I took three steps back in astonishment. I recalled John from his world-class days in the 1960s and early 1970s.

A Track & Field News story in April 1971 noted how John had cleared 2.20 (7-2 1/2) just days away from his 30th birthday. Today, a little over 35 years later, he cleared 1.59 (5-2 1/2). On the 2006 WMA Age-Graded Tables, his 1.59 is equivalent to an open jump of 2.32 (7-7 1.4).

In May 1971, T&FN ran a photo essay by my old Valencia High School coach friend Don Chadez on facial expressions at takeoff of five jumpers at the Mt SAC Relays -- Rey Brown, Jerry Culp, Lorenzo Allen, Ray Lisby and John Dobroth.

Here's how John looked at age 29 vs himself at age 65:

Posted by Ken Stone at 11:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

My friend Gerry Davidson of Fallbrook -- an hour north of San Diego -- doesn't look fast when she's chugging around the track. But the clock doesn't lie. At 85, she may be the best female distance runner in the world over 80. As I noted last Saturday, she claimed the 3,000-meter world age-group record of Canada's Ivy Granstrom by coming close to dipping under 24 minutes. Her official time is now posted. Gerry ran 24:00.33. And L.A.-based photographer Bob Elliott of The Athletic Connection graciously sent me two shots he took of Gerry during her WR. Just as notable -- for courage -- is Gerry's husband, Bob, who several years after suffering a stroke still runs sprints.

Above, Gerry has the homestretch to herself. Below, she passes the wind gauge, which registered mostly legal breezes at the Southern California Striders' Meet of Champions.

In June 2001, after she turned 80, Gerry set the W80 mile world record the same day Alan Webb broke Jim Ryun's high school mile record.

Here's the story I wrote for The San Diego Union-Tribune:

Mile markers | World record fell to Fallbrook runner minutes before prep

Alan Webb, 18, took two victory laps of a howling Hayward Field after shattering Jim Ryun's legendary prep mile record Sunday.

Eight hundred miles to the south, Gerry Davidson, 80, took some hugs from friends and quietly drove home with her husband to Fallbrook after smashing
the world record for her age group in the same event.

A half-hour before Webb took fifth at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore., Davidson took 11th -- and last -- in the women's mile at Sunday's Dan Aldrich Memorial Meet at UC Irvine.

But her four-lap time of 9 minutes, 0.52 seconds, is the fastest ever run by a woman 80 or older. The old record: 9:49.40 by Ivy Granstrom of Canada
in 1992.

"I was thinking (I could get the record) if I could do 2:15 quarters," Davidson said Monday. "I hit my first lap in 2:15-plus, then the second in 4:34. They didn't call out the third lap (split)."

But Davidson soon learned that she'd sped up to run her second half-mile in
4:26, thus adding to her record collection.

Already the holder of U.S. age-group bests in road events ranging from 5,000 meters to the marathon, Davidson has been training of late for shorter distances.

At the 14th World Veterans Athletic Championships this July in Brisbane,
Australia, she'll compete in the 400, 800, 1,500 and 5,000.

"I'm trying to do speed work once a week -- 400s, 800s and a few 1,200s, and finishing with a few 100s," Davidson says.

Jim Selby, 72, a world-record holding masters runner himself, coaches Davidson at MiraCosta College in Oceanside and says she runs her 100s in 23
seconds. That's not anyone's idea of blinding speed, unless you consider that the women's world record for her age group is 18.42 for 100 meters.

"She can break 20 (seconds)," Selby says. "She has the speed but just hasn't taken (up) the challenge yet."

Selby, also of Fallbrook, takes a little credit for Davidson's mile record, having modified her arm swing by encouraging her to "rotate them . . . like a locomotive."

"She thanked me (after the race) and said the movement really helped: `It helped me get the record,' " Selby said Monday.

Davidson and her husband, Bob, moved to a small Fallbrook avocado farm from
the Westchester area of Los Angeles in 1977 and soon became a fixture of local road runs.

She chalks up her running talent partly to genetics.

"I happened to have had the right grandparents," she says. Her mother lived
to be 104, her grandmother to 95 and her great-grandmother to 105.

She good-naturedly admits that her pool of potential rivals is smaller than
Webb's.

"I take that (masters mile record) very modestly," she says. "I know a lot of my competitors are no longer around. One got killed by a bear."

Masters athletes such as Davidson set records in anonymity. But even if USA
Track & Field, American track's governing body, did more to publicize its older record-breakers, it's hard for the public to appreciate the accomplishments of older athletes.

"Everybody knows what a sub-4 means," says Al Sheahen of Sherman Oaks,
editor and publisher of National Masters News, "but nobody knows if an 80-year-old should be running a 9-minute mile or a 30-minute mile."

For her part, Davidson takes the record business in stride -- and doesn't feel cheated of the attention flooding Webb's feat.

"I was thinking about it today," said Davidson, who turned 80 in March. "I felt good about (the record). You can look forward to entering new age groups. Anybody can."

Davidson vs. Webb

Alan Webb and Gerry Davidson are 62 years and a little over 5 minutes apart
in their mile records (3:53.43 vs. 9:00.52). But they share an ethic of
hard work -- and love of the four-lap challenge.

DAVIDSON...........................WEBB

3/12/21........Birthdate........1/13/83

5-5, 112.....Height/Weight.....5-9, 140

1938...........H.S. Class..........2001

2:11............Last Lap...........55.0

.............Favorite Song..............

"Begin the Beguine"....."One Hit Wonder"

-Glen Miller Orchestra........-Everclear

.............Favorite Movie.............

"Gone with the Wind"........."Gladiator"

...............Witnesses................

Couple dozen......................11,221 at Irvine......................at
Eugene (No PA)....................(National TV)

Posted by Ken Stone at 8:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

USATF Masters Invitational Chairman Mark Cleary reports the bulk of the field for the men's masters field in the 100-meter dash at the Indianapolis USATF open nationals in late June: "The exhibition 100m race for Indy is shaping up nicely -- Willie Gault, Ken Travis 11.17, David Ashford 11.21, Don Fields 11.23, Rawle Crichlow 11.27 and Courtney Muhammad 11.30. Aaron Thigpen is trying to figure out how he can possibly make it -- he has a wedding to attend that weekend--but he's working on it." In this group, only Thigpen has a good chance of beating M45 Gault, who has run about 10.80 twice in the past month.

This race is shaping up as better than last year's M40 finals at the USATF masters nationals in Hawaii:

1 Thigpen, Aaron M40 Unattached 10.73 2.4
2 Berry, Kettrell M42 Speedwest Tr 11.04 2.4
3 Fields, Don M40 Unattached 11.26 2.4
4 Strong, Frank M43 Unattached 11.46 2.4
5 Marshall, William M41 Synergy Trac 11.57 2.4
6 Shute, Dr. Marcus M42 Atlanta Trac 11.95 2.4
7 Merriweather, Eric M41 Unattached 12.09 2.4
8 Sims, Alan M41 Houston Elit 12.17 2.4

Kettrell Berry, BTW, won't be able to make the Indy exhibition race, since he's the masters chairman of San Diego-Imperial USATF and that association is putting on its masters championships the same day -- June 24. Here's info on the San Diego USATF masters meet, also called the Chuck McMahon Memorial.

At Indy, masters women will run the 4 -- and Mark is still looking for some sub-65 sprinters. Official info on these exhibition races is posted here. Here's my original post on the potential men's and women's fields.

Posted by Ken Stone at 6:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

With Marion Jones in sprint purgatory -- and not long jumping much anymore -- the title of best American female horizontal leaper is a tug-of-war involving Grace Upshaw and a few others. Grace won't turn masters age until September 2010, but a newspaper story about her gives welcome credit to her biggest fan and supporter -- sister Joy. Competing as Joy Upshaw Margerum, big sis is a world champ and record-holder in her own right. And as masters chair of the USATF Pacific Association, she brings her incredible energy and enthusisasm to all her roles.

On Sunday, Grace will compete in the big-time Prefontaine Classic in Eugene.

Here's the Eugene Register-Guard's story on Grace -- and how Joy made her latest success possible:

Upshaw makes leap of faith

By Bob Rodman
Published: Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Slow start. Late bloomer. Call it what you will.

But before Grace Upshaw could label herself an Olympian and women's national long jump champion, she had to endure a lot of obscurity and eventually quit the sport.

"After college," she said, "I thought I was done."

And that was after two colleges - Oregon and California.

At the age of 30, however, Upshaw is ranked third in the world. She is a two-time USA Track & Field Outdoor gold medalist, a national indoor champion and has a personal record of 22 feet, 5 1/4 inches.

Not bad for someone who had no titles before she turned 26.

"I never made it to nationals when I was in college," said Upshaw, among the headliners in the women's long jump competition at the Prefontaine Classic, an IAAF Grand Prix meet taking place Sunday at Hayward Field.

She never was recruited to college. Upshaw walked on at Oregon in 1993 only because former UO assistant coach Mark Stream had some encouraging words for her.

"I think he saw some potential in me," said Upshaw, whose interest in the film and entertainment industry as well as her slow-moving long jump performances contributed to a decision to transfer closer to her Bay Area home.

At Oregon, she managed a sixth-place finish in the Pac-10 Conference meet with a jump of 19- 1/4 in 1994, but that was it for the Ducks.

At Cal, "no one really knew what to expect out of me. I worked hard, but when I was done I thought I was finished."

A second-place jump of 20-5 3/4 in the 1997 Pac-10 meet was as good as it was going to get.

"I thought it seemed a little far-fetched to keep going," she said. "I thought I was done. I didn't think I could get to the next level and figured I would get on with my life."

Which is why on Upshaw's resume there is a two-year gap - 1998-1999: Did Not Compete.

She went to Hollywood and worked for a couple of years in the music video business as a production assistant, an experience highlighted by the production of a Prince video, she said.

Not everyone, however, was convinced Upshaw's athletic career needed to stay in mothballs.

One of her three sisters, Joy Upshaw-Margerum, believed Grace Upshaw's long jump tank was far from empty. She introduced Grace to Olympic triple jump champion Al Joyner in December of 1999, and the rest is slow but steady history.

"I just knew that there was huge potential in Grace that had been untapped," said Upshaw-Margerum, a former all-American track athlete at Cal State Hayward.

Joyner knew, and so did Stanford coach Edrick Floreal, who tutored Grace Upshaw for a time, and Upshaw-Margerum, who is now the sister/coach.

The genetics were there, too.

The Upshaws' father, Monte, broke Jesse Owens' national scholastic long jump record on May 29, 1954, with a leap of 25-4 1/4 , surpassing the mark of 24-11 1/4 set in 1933.

At the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2000, Grace Upshaw's long jump push began with a ninth-place finish at 20-11 1/4 . But a year later, at the USA outdoor championships, she upped her distance to a silver-medal finish at 21-8 3/4 .

By the end of the 2002 season, she was ranked No. 1 in the United States by Track & Field News.

In 2003, she claimed the USA outdoor title, crossed the 22-foot barrier (22-1 1/2 ) and was ranked No. 5 in the world.

Her personal record rose to 22-5 1/4 in 2004, the year she became an Olympian, finishing 10th in Athens. In 2005, Upshaw won the USA outdoor championship again, was third at the world championships and inched up to a No. 4 ranking in the world.

"It's been a hard, unbelievable process to get to this point," she said amid her recent preparations for a third appearance at the Pre Classic.

Upshaw has paired her drive with an emphasis on technique and power.

"A lot of athletes just have the natural ability," Upshaw-Margerum said, "and Grace does have some natural ability. But in order for her to take it to another level, she had to concentrate and work on technique."

The obvious targets remain.

A 23-foot jump? "That's always a big goal, and if I didn't think it was possible, I wouldn't still be jumping," said Upshaw, a resident of Menlo Park, not far from Stanford University.

The 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing? "That's another goal," she said. "Any time you're in a technical event, you have the potential to get better as you get older ... as long as you stay healthy."

Upshaw-Margerum said her sister is taking a "year-by-year" approach.

"We do the training, the base work, take little steps within a season, doing the layers and making Grace stronger and stronger," she said.

As has been Grace Upshaw's athletic history, the best may yet be to come.

Posted by Ken Stone at 7:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Longtime masters track star Toshiko d'Elia of Ridgewood, New Jersey, won the Vincent Carnevale Award (and $300) at Sunday's Run for Freedom, which I wrote about a month ago. Race founder Frank Schiro of New York wrote me with some highlights of the pair of races (1 mile and 5 mile) that benefited Integrity House, a nonprofit drug and alcohol treatment center.

Frank writes:

On 5/21/06, Masters track and Field Hall of Famer Toshiko d'Elia of Ridgewood NJ running for the North Jersey Masters won the Vincent Carnevale Award at the 21st annual running of the Run for Freedom -- a 1-mile and 5-mile road race in Newark. . . . Toshiko at age 76 ran the 5-mile in 45.05. That's a 9:01 mile pace for an age-graded 90.80%.

George Studzinski of Kinnelon, N.J. at 73 years of age ran 39:45, a 7:57 mile pace to win the men's division with an age-graded 76.30%

Both athletes received $300 for their efforts.

About Carnevale:

Vincent Carnevale, an avid runner and participant in Integrity's races passed away in Feb. 2006 at the age of 89. To honor him, a $300 prize will be given to the 65 and over male and female winners in the 5 mile race (based on age graded ranking). All runners age 65 and over will receive yellow shirts in Vincent's memory.

Posted by Ken Stone at 7:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Linda Cohn of Northridge, California, will fly under my radar no more. Saturday at Long Beach State, she raised her own W50 American Record in the javelin to 39.06 meters (128-2), beating the 500-gram jav best of 37.95/124-6 she set back in April 2004. After reporting Saturday that four world age-group records were set at the Striders' Meet of Champions, I was alerted to Linda's own remarkable efforts. To atone for my oversight, I made her acquaintance via email and invited her to tell her story. Which she graciously did. And what a story.

Here's what Linda shared:

"I was born December 7, 1952, and grew up in the San Fernando Valley. I did play softball when I was younger, in park and recreation leagues, and my parents were very supportive, but sports for girls were just not a big deal back then.

"However when I was younger I was always captivated by the Summer Olympic Games. I felt I had random athletic ability and had always wondered if I really practiced something, if I could have been good enough to go to the Olympics.

"I don't know when, but somehow I heard something about Senior Olympics, and vowed that when I was old enough I would compete in those! (There is a much longer story here, but in the interest of brevity I will leave that part out).

"When I turned 50, I saw a pamphlet for the Huntsman World Senior Games, and realized my opportunity for Senior Olympics had arrived! I saw you could choose from a myriad different sporting activities, but to me, Olympics had always meant track and field.

"I looked at the list of events offered, ruled out anything to do with running, and feeling that I had a decent arm (from softball experience) I decided to learn to throw something. I looked at the options, thought the shot put was too heavy, and decided to learn how to throw that stick" (the javelin).

"My story grows exponentially from this point, but what seemed like a completely random choice at the time, has turned out to really be something I was meant to do. Throwing the javelin has become a passion for me. It is such a technically difficult sport, (for which I had little aptitude) but there is something about it that keeps making me work harder and harder to improve. This (it turns out) was the something I really could work hard at to see how good I could become.

"So my career in track and field started late in life, but I have managed to accomplish quite a bit in the past three years. One of my most unexpected highlights was competing on the College of the Canyons track team for the past two years. That too is a very long story, but truly a wonderful experience which I will treasure for the rest of my life.

"Even though on the surface I appear to be a rather typical 53-year-old woman -- married for 29 years, a working dental hygienist for 30 years, mother of two sons, one in medical school and one deciding on which law school to attend -- I am really rather odd as far as my athletic pursuits. However I really feel I have found my people at these masters and senior track and field competitions.

"I don't have to explain to anyone there why I train and why these competitions are so exciting because everyone at these meets feels the same way! I have enjoyed meeting everyone, and though I have just ventured into this world recently, I feel more at home every meet I attend. . . .

"I was somewhat tired by the time we threw the javelin because I had run the 100m, and thrown the discus and shot put earlier in the day. However, it was an enormous thrill to break the old U.S. record for my age group. I had set it previously two years prior on what really felt like a fluke throw. At the time I was throwing around 109 feet and the throw that set the record came out of nowhere. I had trouble the last two years even throwing close to that distance until yesterday."

Me again:

As I explored Linda's credits online, I discovered that she also ran sprints -- and very well! She took fourth in the W50 100 at last year's National Senior Olympics, running 15.30 into a stiff wind. She holds the National Senior Games W50 record in the 50-meter dash at 7.70 in 2003. And her 13-6 long jump at the 2004 Huntsman World Senior Games in 2004 also was a meet record. At last year's Hawaii masters nationals, she won gold in the triple jump at 9.11/29-10.75.

The listed W50 world record for the javelin is 41.50 (136-2) by Germany's Regina K. Stange in 2002. Also born in 1952, Regina's all-time best is 58.82 (193-0), set back in 1978.

Under the 2006 WMA Age-Graded Tables, Linda's 124-6 is equivalent to an open throw (ages 20-30) of 57.31 meters, or 188-0 and change.

And a few years back, Linda tried out as a contestant for television's "American Gladiators".

Anyhoo, here's Linda spearchucking at Striders:

Posted by Ken Stone at 7:01 PM | Permalink

Bruce McBarnette, the jumper-lawyer-teacher-actor-realtyguy, etc., is adding another gig to his bio: tour operator. He writes: "Bruce McBarnette, Masters World Champion, high jump 45-49 age group, has arranged hotel discounts and tours in the Charlotte area." Since I'm planning to take the cheapo route at the masters nationals this August (staying in the dorms), I don't have a stake in Bruce's promotion. But since I like the guy's chutzpah, I'm passing along details on his tour. My only question, if you're unhappy with the hotel, can you hire him to sue?

Here's the note from Bruce Esq.:

Please share with those going to the Masters National Championships in Charlotte, August 3-6.

Hotel Discounts and Trips around Charlotte

Bruce has reserved several suites at the Springhill Suites Charlotte University Research Park Hotel. The Springhill Suites is 3 miles from track and less than 1 mile from the Courtyard Marriot, the meet headquarters hotel. It is about half an hour from the airport.

Rate: $84, plus 15.5% tax (for a total of $97.02) per day.

Includes: Each suite can sleep 4 people and has two rooms. One room has a sofa bed and the other has either a king bed or two double size beds. Each suite has a high speed internet connection, refrigerator, and microwave oven. Breakfast is included.

Address: 8700 Research Drive, Charlotte, NC 28262

Reservations or more information: Call (800) 321-2211 or (888) 287-9400 or (704) 503 4800 or visit www.marriotthotels.com/CLTSH . Reserve by 5pm July 13 under group code BMCBMCA which is Bruce McBarnette’s group code. After you reserve send an email message to Bruce at charlotte@mcbarnette.com and let him know your name and the names of your guests.

Group Tours

Grandfather Mountain

On August 7 at 9:30am Bruce will be leading a tour to Grandfather Mountain. We will car pool from the Springhill Suites. At the Mountain, we will visit Mile High Bridge. Some of us will hike for about an hour or two and others will visit the museum and animal park. We will leave the Mountain at 1:30pm. Admission to the Mountain is $14 and you would pay when we get there. For more information visit www.grandfather.com.

City Tour

On August 7 at 3 pm Bruce McBarnette will lead a tour of the major sites of downtown Charlotte. We will car pool from the Springhill Suites. There is no cost.

To reserve any tour, email by Aug. 6 Bruce McBarnette, charlotte@mcbarnette.com, to let him know;

1. your name and the names of your guests,

2. the tour your are reserving for,

3. how many rides you need if you need any rides,

4. how many rides you can offer if you can offer any.

For questions contact Bruce at charlotte@mcbarnette.com or (703) 404-8429.

Bruce has been helping with hurricane relief in Grenada which was almost totally destroyed by Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane Emily. To make a voluntary donation, you can make your check payable to Grenada Hurricane Relief Fund and mail it to:

Grenada Hurricane Relief Fund
Branch Banking & Trust
1730 Rhode Island Ave.,
NW Washington, DC 20036

For more information visit www.grenadaembassyusa.org/

Bruce McBarnette, Esq.
President
Summit Connection, LLC
Real Estate Investing and Corporate Training,
(703) 404-8429, (800) 777-7680
248 Willow Terrace, Sterling VA 20164
bruce@mcbarnette.com
www.mcbarnette.com/summit
LSAT, GMAT, GRE Tutoring.

Posted by Ken Stone at 10:31 PM | Permalink

The annual Southern California Striders Meet of Champions certainly lived up to its name this year. In perfect conditions (low 70s, mostly sunny skies) at Long Beach State University, two men and two women today set world age-group records -- Willie Gault in the M45 200, Bud Held in the M75 pole vault, Kathy Bergen in the W65 high jump and Gerry Davidson in the W85 3,000-meter run. The official results should be posted before long, but I can share the highlights here.

I went to the meet to compete, and not take notes, so I may have missed some outstanding performances. But here's what I heard or saw:

Willie Gault, 45, chose not to run hurdles today, which were contested around 11 a.m. He'd been on a plane from Boston to L.A. the day before, he told me.

Despite jet lag and lack of rest, he gave a wake-up call in his first event -- the 100-meter dash -- by clocking 10.80 with a maximum-legal wind of 2.0 meters per second (about 4.5 mph) out of Lane 1. That's just off the 10.79 he ran at Occidental College the previous week. He had competition in the 100 from Matt Bruno, the California state 100/200 champion in 2002. Matt ran about 10.74.

Two hours later, Willie flew out of Lane 3 in the 200, and despite Long Beach State's notoriously squishy-slow track became the oldest man to break 22 seconds. With a legal wind of 1.3 mps, Willie clocked 21.91 to lower his own M45 world record of 22.08 from February, which had beaten the listed M45 WR of 22.13 by Kevin Morning in 2002.

On the 2006 Age-Graded Tables, Willie's 21.91 is equivalent to an open (20-30) performance of 19.58.

Earlier, Bud Held, 78, raised his own M75 world record in the vault, clearing 2.97 meters (9-9), bettering his own 2.96 set at the Decatur masters nationals in 2004. Bud cleared on his second try and had the bar raised to 3.05 (10-0) but missed three times. He vowed to nail 10 feet later this season.

The Age-Graded Tables call 2.97 equivalent to an open mark of 5.88 (19-3 1/2).

Kathy Bergen, a champion sprinter over the years, has found another niche in the high jump. Today she flopped over 1.35 (4-5) on her second try to better the listed W65 world record of 1.34 by Holland's Rietje Dijkman in 2004. The age-graded open equivalent? 2.12 meters -- or 6-11 1/2!

And Gerry Davidson, capitalizing on her new (W85) age group, ran the 3,000 meters (about 200 meters short of two miles) in just a little over 24 minutes. I didn't get the exact time, but she beat the listed WR of 24:08.62 by the late Ivy Granstrom, the blind Canadian distance legend.

Only one fly in the ointment: The running records (especially Gerry's 3000) might be negated because the track lacked a rail inside Lane 1. (Long Beach State has a metail rail, but it wasn't plugged in.) Considering the fact that automatic timing and a wind guage were used, it would be heartbreaking to see these records go unratified for lack of dang rail. (This is what ultimately did in the M80 mile record application of John Keston.)

Dave Clingan has promised to propose a change in masters rules -- one that removes the rail as a consideration in age-group records.

In other highlights today:

-- Nolan Shaheed, two months shy of turning 57, was grateful to run under sunny skies (his recent efforts, including the Drake Relays, have been in the rain.) His fun run today was the 1500 -- which he completed in 4:23.17 -- not far off his own M55 American Record of 4:20.76 set in 2004.

-- M40 Getulio Echeandia ran the 400 hurdles in 55.5 and the flat 400 several hours later in 51.24, I was told. Running for Portugal, (5/21/ correction: actually, Puerto Rico. I mistook PUR abbreviation in world results, sorry) Getulio took second behind Kip Janvrin in the 400H at the 2005 World Masters Championships in San Sebastian.

-- Three-time Olympian Amy Acuff, 30, showed up at the high jump and impressed a small but awed crowd with a 1.91 clearance (6-3 1/4).

Just another day at the track in SoCal. Congratulations to Striders President Brenda Matthews, veep Eric Dixon and the Long Beach State crew for putting on another smashing event. (Nice T-shirts, too!)

Posted by Ken Stone at 10:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Aaron Thigpen? Willie Gault? Nope. This is a trick question. Think younger. The over-40 studs listed in mastersrankings.com aren't the fastest. Masters are now defined by World Masters Athletics as age 35 and up. On that basis, the top masters sprinter in the world is American Jeff Laynes. According to the 2006 outdoor IAAF top list for 100 meters, Jeff ran 10.17 with a legal 1.6 mps wind at Modesto on May 6. Jeff was born in October 1970. So he's in his first full M35 season.

He took fourth at the Modesto Relays:

1, Jason Smoots, Nike, 10.04 seconds.
2, Dwight Phillips, Nike, 10.15.
3, Marcelle Scales, Nike, 10.15.
4, Jeff Laynes, Brooks, 10.17

This time is well under the listed M35 American record of 10.3 by Ruben Whitney in June 1980. That's such an outdated mark, I'm ashamed to even mention it. Since 1980, we've had many M35s run faster -- such no-names as Carl Lewis (10.10 in 1996) and Dennis Lewis (10.15 in 1001).

In 2004, Kevin Braunskill ran 10.13 at age 35.

The all-time best M35 at 100 is probably Britain's Linford Christie, who ran 9.97 in 1995.

Sadly, Jeff Laynes lives with a shame.

In 2001, he was busted for doping (stanozolol). He was handed a two-year suspension.

According to a USADA press release:

Laynes "admitted to manipulating USADA documentation as well as testing positive at two international track and field events. Laynes, 31, manipulated USADA forms on three occasions (August 26, October 20 and October 27, 2001) when he was being tested for the sport of bobsled. The August 26 test was an unannounced out-of-competition test in Calgary, Alb., Canada, while the October 20 and October 27 tests occurred in Park City, Utah at the U.S. National Two-Man and Four-Man Team Trials, respectively.

"In addition, Laynes tested positive at the Reunion International Meet in La Laguna, Spain on July 14, 2001 and the International Lausitzer Meet in Cottbus, Germany on July 18, 2001 for stanozolol, a prohibited anabolic steroid under International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) rules."

Ironically, Laynes accused fellow American Jon Drummond of doping back in 1998, according to this New York Times piece by veteran track writer Jere Longman:

This thick sense of suspicion engulfed the United States track and field championships last summer in New Orleans, where Jon Drummond, one of the world's top 100-meter sprinters, strained a groin muscle during a preliminary round of the 100 meters. Another sprinter at the event, Jeff Laynes, made an oblique reference to doping, telling Drummond, ''That's what you get for taking that stuff,'' and insinuating that Drummond had used drugs for an edge.

''This kind of stuff has got to stop,'' Drummond said. ''It's killing our sport.''

Before the doping case, Jeff worked for UPS in Oakland.

In any case, he's back. And a lot faster than 2005, when he was 25th of 32 in the heats at the Carson open nationals (clocking 10.46 into a slight wind).

I doubt he'll show up at your neighborhood masters meet. But he's eligible.

Next up: Who's the world's fastest masters hurdler?

Hint: Initials are AJ.

Posted by Ken Stone at 3:05 AM | Permalink

Jess Brewer, the cancer-conquering physicist in Vancouver, spends his weekdays studying muons and other quantum cuties. The rest of the time, he trains for M60 hurdles (in which he recently set a Canadian record in the 100 hurdles). He took a break from both this week by posting his own version of the 2006 Age-Graded Tables, joining Dr. Howard Grubb in England, who was first off the mark. But Brewer's interface is a lot simpler -- a Googlized version of Dr. Grubb's "lookup" form. Both work fine.

Posted by Ken Stone at 10:41 PM | Permalink

Yes, we are chopped liver. How else to explain this latest indignity? Today, while checking on a meet date, I learned that the USATF Western Regional Masters Championships set for July 22-23 have no home. The venue is TBD -- to be determined. For the past two years, the Western Regionals have been held on the superfast, Olympic-caliber Mondo track at the Home Depot Center in Carson, south of Los Angeles. This site, host of this weekend's televised Adidas Track Classic, made a losing bid for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials. Now it's treating masters like a bunch of losers. Andy Hecker's site said of the meet: "No longer at Home Depot Center -- the location is in the process of being changed. Details to follow."

So I wrote some people for details.

Here's what I learned from folks involved in the host Southern California Association of USATF:

"They have booked a professional lacrosse league and our charity-case event doesn't make nearly enough money. I don't know if there was any deliberate effort on their part to screw masters track. Home Depot is notorious for dragging their feet on signing contracts and living up to those contracts.

"Always, the renting party is charged a lot more at the end of the event. Among those, (one official) claims he was charged $339 as a cleaning charge after the meet. I was one of the last people off the track and that stadium was as close to spotless as it could be.

"To answer your question, Home Depot is only friendly to the almighty dollar. They have been so uninterested in the training programs and non-profit activity at the track, the signs declaring it to be an Olympic Training Facility have been removed."

Occidental College was seen as a possible replacement venue -- but it fell through yesterday, according to another source.

"I worked a meet there on Saturday and Troy Engle told me he was enthusiastic to have us there," said another source. "Since then apparently Troy discovered he has to be in attendance at some High Performance event and he could not find an assistant who could supervise the facility."

So a Southern California USATF official is "trying to pull strings at Long Beach State. . . . The problem is the administration has taken over renting the track --it's now a revenue source. Read: . . . .We pay more money."

So the bottom line is meet organizers are scrambling to find an affordable venue for what has been a two-day meet in recent years.

This, of course, should chap everyone's hide. We had first dibs on those dates, and the Home Depot Center blithely said, "Adios, muchachos."

Remember what was promised at the Home Depot three years ago?

Well, I'll quote myself:

"The May-June issue of California Track & Running News contains a very intriguing article about the new track at the Home Depot Center in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson -- intriguing because it mentions the M-word three times. M as in Masters. USATF's Southern California Association has submitted a facilities use plan that includes what it calls "masters development events. "

The plan includes a proposal to solicit youth, open and masters clubs within a 30-mile radius of Carson to apply to Southern California USATF to make the Home Depot Center their 'home track,' " the article said.

Now we're left out in the cold.

Needless to say, I don't plan to attend any Home Depot Center events anytime soon -- and hope you don't either.

Meantime, we should learn in the next week or so where the Western Regionals will land. It's a major tuneup for nationals and traditionally one of the biggest West Coast masters meets every season.

But this year, it's an orphan. What a crying shame.

Posted by Ken Stone at 4:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I've been corresponding with the meet director and chief official for this summer's Charlotte masters nationals, and they seem to be on the ball when it comes to conduct of distance races on the track. Most important, they're aware that some are worried about hydration and lap counts. (North Carolina is rumored to be hot in early August, and lap-counts have been the bane of masters existence in major meets of late.) Tony Wayne, the tiptop official, wrote me today: " It will not be our responsibility to take down the split times for each individual; however, each lap will be accounted for."

Here's what Tony wrote:

"Gordon Edwards has previously responded to the availability of water during the race. In general I believe ethat water should be made available from the 3K on up in distance and that the water table be located on the back stretch. As to the timing system, I suggest that the running clock be continued for all runners in the race. This is something that will be discussed with the timing organization and meet management. My understanding as an official, that it is possible. No other race will be started until the existing race is completed and the Finish Lynx personel will have individual finishes with electronic timing, so why not?

"I read the result of the races you forwarded. Pretty scarry. During the long distance races at the National Masters Championships we will have at least 5 officials at the finish line that are specifically in-tune to making sure that the number of laps, and individuals in the race, are accounted for and that they all run the prescribed distances. It will not be our responsibility to take down the split times for each individual; however, each lap will be accounted for.

"These people were hand selected as to their experience with finishline ccoordination and lap counting, but also Masters athletes and races that have combined age brackets, to assure that we had lap counting and individual accountability well covered. They also use specific sheets that keep track of the competitors.

"We are making every attempt that these distance races represent National Championship races.

"With all that said, I also want you to understand that I can not guarantee that something might happen, but we are doing everything within our experience to make sure we have no problems.

"I hope this belays some of your concerns."

All the best,
Tony Wayne
Coordinator of Officials
2006 USATF Masters Championships

Earlier, Dr. Edwards -- the meet director at Charlotte -- wrote me:

"We already made plans to have a Water station set up halfway thru the first curve for ALL sections of the 5000m & 10000m Runs and the 5000m Race walk the 10000m Race Walk will also have a Water Station. IT is a 1000m out and 1000m back loop course, so five times around it equals 10000m. We will come up with a form that the Lap Counters can use to record laps & split times. We will keep the Finish Line Clock running for all contestants."

Posted by Ken Stone at 7:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I'm planning to compete in the Charlotte masters nationals in August, and I found a PDF detailing cheap on-campus housing. The options are two-bedroom suites ($35 per person per night) or four-bedroom apartments ($39 per person). (All rooms are air-conditioned, BTW.) Would anyone be willing to have me for a roommate? I don't smoke or drink. I cuss just a little -- when I take ice baths after my event. Gents interested in sharing a suite or apartment with me should write me privately at: TrackCEO@aol.com.

Posted by Ken Stone at 6:54 PM | Permalink

Ivar Söderlind of Sweden, records guru for the Eurovets, is the decider when it comes to European masters age-group records. And he's decided not to ratify any of the European records that came out of the Linz world indoor championships in the 3,000-meter run for women 65 and older. Why? Uh, nobody knows for sure how many laps they all ran. Of course, this isn't news to readers of this blog, who saw Mary Harada's account of the lap-count disaster in her W70 race in Austria. Ivar also sent me his opinion on whether the mile should be zapped from the WMA record books. His verdict: Keep it!

Here's what Ivar said about Euro records:

"So far in 2006 I have noted totally 61 new European Veteran Indoor Records and 52 of these records are noted in WMA Indoor Championship in Linz March 15-20. 34 of the new European Records are also World Records. The results from W65+ 3000m in Linz can not be considered for records. The number of laps that the athletes ran can not be verified and therefore a record can not be accepted. I have not noted any records for multievents. In the final record list for 2006 my ambition is to present records for Indoor Pentathlon when I hope the final WMA Scoring Tables are determined.

"When two or more results are noted in one age group and event the first noted result is the official record. Only results with all tasks reported (Birth Date, Date and Place for the Competition) are approved as official records. Only electronical timing is accepted for distances up to and including 400m. For distances from 200m and more the track round must be 220yards (201.168m) or shorter. I have noted if the European Records in this list are World Records or better than the Official World Records."

Here's what Ivar told me about efforts to delete the mile from WMA records:

"Yes, now I have read your blog post about WMA records, thanks.

"About records we once have decided in EVAA to note European Records for Championships Events + 3000m. Every year we discuss this matter and I really also want to have European Records for one mile.

"I do not note official records for Nonstadia Events because it is often uncertain when and in which way official measurement of road distances is realized in former Road Competitions (even Championships). We continue with Best Performances.

"For Multievents I have not up to now seen any final WMA Scoring Tables. I know it is discussions about this in USA, Germany, Sweden and other countries. We will now check Prof Howard Grubb´s online look up form for Age-Graded Tables.

"In Linz they used wrong Tables! We really want to update all old multievent records Europes!!!!! In Sweden it´s Ove Edlund who work with this matter and he also help me with the European Records for Multievents."

Me again:

Since I'm kind of a dunce and can't read between the lines, I wrote Ivar again and asked, specifically, if the mile should stay on the WMA records.

He replied:

"In WMA Record Meeting next year as in EVAA Council this year I will say my meaning about the Records. Then we will see if the decisions follow my meaning. I have looked at your blog!"

Posted by Ken Stone at 7:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Rob Copeland is president of U.S. Masters Swimming, a stand-alone group that runs masters swimming without being part of USA Swimming. In reply to an email query, Rob tells me that USATF Masters Track & Field, if it split off from USATF, could still be recognized by World Masters Athletics as a national governing body. That's been a side issue in whether USATF Masters should secede from USATF. (Some had argued that WMA might not recognize an independent U.S. Masters Federation, or whatever it ended up being called.

Here's what Ron says:

"As I understand the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, it charters and grants monopoly status to the United States Olympic Committee, and specifies requirements for its member national governing bodies for individual sports. However it does not address the world governing bodies of the individual sports or other governing entities. It is my understanding that USMS is not recognized as an NGB by USOC (just as the NCAA is not recognized as an NGB), but we are recognized by FINA.

"And since we are not an Amateur Sports Act NGB we are not bound by the constraints of the act. But that’s a different discussion.

"I would assume, if Masters TF received official recognition from the international governing body, that they could be organized and operated in a manner similar to USMS.

"So the short answer to your question below “How does U.S. Masters Swimming act as a NGB? How do you operate under the Amateur Sport Act , which stipulates only one NGB per sport?” We act as an NGB under the auspices of FINA. We do not operate under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act."

Me again:

Of course, the ability to split and the willingness (or wisdom) to split are two different puppies. The mechanics of forming an independent U.S. Masters governing body are beyond my feeble comprehension at the moment. But I'm sure smarter folks know how to incorporate as a non-profit and start the proces of building a grass-roots organization that puts on regional and national championships.

It's been done before.

Just look at the fish.

Posted by Ken Stone at 6:40 PM | Permalink

I've been having an interesting online debate with IAAF and USATF racewalk poobah Bob Bowman over whether the Amateur Sports Act in the United States permits a group like USATF Masters Track & Field to leave the parent organization and form its own national governing body. Bob says nope. I say yup. Following is our exchange this weekend. You be the judge.

Bob Bowman first wrote:

All this discussion is very interesting, however the original email from Ken Stone referenced comments made by George Mathews which suggested he was considering the possibility of Masters T&F breaking away from USATF and still remain the U.S. governing body for that entity. This is clearly not possible and contrary to the Amateur Sports Act.

Then I replied:

I beg to differ, Bob.

According to the Amateur Sports Act online, groups like U.S. Masters Swimming can exist apart from USA Swimming under section 220526, "Restricted amateur athletic competitions."

And I quote:

"(a) EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION.—An amateur sports organization that conducts amateur athletic competition shall have exclusive jurisdiction over that competition if participation is restricted to a specific class of amateur athletes, such as high school students, college students, members of the Armed Forces, or similar groups or categories."

U.S. Masters Swimming (and a bunch of other masters amateur sports) couldn't exist if only one governing body were allowed to exist per sport.

Anuther thing in the ASA, under "General duties of national governing bodies":

"For the sport that it governs, a national governing body shall ... (3) keep amateur athletes informed of policy matters and reasonably reflect the views of the athletes in its policy decisions."

So how well is USATF performing on this score?

Then Bob replied:

Ken,

You are misinterpreting Section 220526 subsection (a) and ignoring subsection b) which states: (b) Sanctions for International Competition - An amateur sports organization under subsection (a) of this section shall obtain a sanction from the appropriate national governing body (i.e. US Swimming, USATF) if the organization wishes to - (1) conduct international amateur athletic competition in the U.S.; or (2) sponsor international amateur athletic competition to be held outside the U.S.

U.S. Masters Swimming is not the NGB for swimming. A separate masters track & field organization would also not be the NGB for track & field nor would it have exclusive jurisdiction over masters track & field in the U.S.

As to keeping athletes informed on policy matters and reasonably reflect the views of athletes in the policy decisions I would say USATF does a good job. If you are concerned that the views of masters athletes are not being given adequate consideration, I would encourage them to get more involved in these discussions, present their views in writing or in person at the USATF annual meeting.

Then I posted this to the USATF Associations listserve early Monday morning:

Actually, Bob, U.S. Masters Swimming IS an NGB.

See: http://www.usaquatic.org/ -- which says:

"The rules of the Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA), the international federation responsible for the sports of swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, and water polo, require there to be only one recognized member federation of FINA in each country throughout the world.

"For the United States of America, that member federation is United States Aquatic Sports (USAS).

"USAS was formed to become the US member of FINA in 1980, when the Ted Stevens Amateur Sports Act of 1978 took effect in the United States and required restructuring of many sports organizations.

"USAS deliberately attempts to play a minimal role within the United States, leaving primary responsibility for the governance of each of the aquatic sports to its members, the national governing bodies or NGBs: USA Swimming, Inc.; USA Diving; United States Synchronized Swimming, Inc.; USA Water Polo, Inc.; and United States Masters Swimming, Inc.

"By law, USAS must present a single organization to represent the United States NGBs internationally. By choice, the NGBs have also determined to delegate to USAS the responsibility. of conducting a national convention. The USAS Convention allows for economies of scale and permits the leadership and membership of the various NGBs, to get together to talk over common problems and concerns. If and when the revenues of the convention exceed expenses, the surplus is dedicated to sending the US teams to the World Swimming Championships."

Me again:

I also received this reply from Julie Heather, a honcho in U.S. Masters Swimming:

"With Masters Swimming, we seceded peacefully from USA Swimming. If you can form your own governance model under USATF you'll probably have the best chance of success. I do know that Masters Water Polo (which is currently part of Water Polo) is interested in going off on their own. The problem is that they are pretty much of a cash cow for Water Polo, contributing far more than they use."

Sound familiar? It appears that U.S. Masters Track & Field has every right (with several legal precendents) to leave USATF.

Deal with it.

Ken Stone
San Diego-Imperial USATF

Posted by Ken Stone at 1:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Lesley Chaplin-Swann, bless her super-efficient heart, good-naturedly replied to my cheeky request for details of her W45 American Record in the 1500 over the weekend in Nashville, Tennessee. She took the time to type and send a report despite it being Mother's Day (she has a grown daughter) and no doubt having better things to do. She writes: "With regards to the race (Saturday): I had run in the SE Masters meet at Duke last week attempting a double record from the mile."

Lesley continued:

"The (Duke) meet organizers had graciously agreed to have official timers at the 1500 mark for me. I came up short on both attempts, 4.50.3 for 1500 and 5.12.48 for the mile.

"So off to Nashville for another go at the 1500. It was SO windy when we got to Nashville that my husband suggested I not run, but I figured it might calm down a little. I didn't feel that great warming up, but I have learnt that is not a good predictor for me of how I will run. However, I still had to talk myself into running. I put my spikes on and felt so much better!

"All the college girls I was about to compete against were seeded in the 4.40s so I knew I had the potential for a good race.

"We hit the quarter in 74 right on pace, 2.31 at the half, still good. I just stayed tucked in behind two girls from Milligan. I took the lead just past the bell-lap on the curve -- too soon as it turned out. There was a clock at the 200 mark but not one at the finish line. I hit the 200 clock at 4.11, I think, and knew then I had a shot if I could just hold on that last 200.

I got passed in the last 100 and finished fourth not knowing if I had done it or not, I knew it was close! (Memories of my mile at Boston just missing the WR by 2/100 of a second remain fresh in my mind!) They printed off the results and showed them to me. I couldn't read them since I didn't have my glasses on! They had to read my time to me! Anyway, one down, two to go!"

Me again:

Who needs eyesight when you have the eye of the tiger? Lesley is one tough runner, and shows it by taking on the kids on their turf.

No doubt we'll have much more to watch for.

Thanks for the note, Lesley. Hope you had restful Mom's Day!

Posted by Ken Stone at 12:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Yesterday's Oxy Invitational at Occidental College in the Los Angeles area saw other fine masters performances besides Pete Magill's 1500. Ageless (but actually 45) Willie Gault ran the 100 in 10.79 (no wind reading given) -- shattering the listed M45 world record of 10.96 by American Neville Hodge in 2001. (But lack of a wind reading may negate mark for record purposes.) Willie also won his heat of the 110 hurdles (5/28 note: 39-inch hurdles) in 14.41 -- into a 1.3 mps wind!

Willie is 45, and although no official records are kept for the "international" highs, Pete Mundle's book lists the M45 age-group record for the highest 110 hurdles as 15.1 by Iceland's Valjorn Thorlaksson .

Using the newly revised WMA Age-Graded Tables, I find that Willie's 10.79 is worth 9.95 in the "open" class (20-30). And his 14.41 is worth an open 13.21 (but doesn't take into account his running hurdles 3 inches higher than the masters 39s.)

And in the 1500, 39-year-old Jim Sorensen of the Nike Farm Team ran 3:44.17 -- about 4:02 mile pace. (Jim's mark age-grades to 3:33.4!)

I found more on Sorensen at letrun.com:

In May, someone named Mark posted:

"Jim is a school teacher and he will 39 in a few days. As of now he is one of the fastest 5 men ever over 35 from the US. Only Steve Scott, Jim Spivey, Doug Padilla, and Steve Plancencia have run as as fast. Not bad company.
Trust me, this guy has a legit crack at sub (four) at 40.

"At this point Jim Spivey is the oldest man ever to run in the USATF 1500m champs when he was 37 in 1997.

"Sorensen was the NCAA II Champ for 1500m his senior year and then finished 2nd in the Oly Trials 1500m in 1996 when he was 29 by .02 of a second to Paul McMullen. If he had another 5 meters he'd have won that race because he was finishing like freight train. Then he ran a 3:38.65 and missed the Oly A standard by .65 so they put Brian Hyde on the Olympic team with his qualifier from the year before....

"The thing about Jim is he's a really good tactical racer and has made a career out of beating guys with smart races and a great kick."

Speaking of 39-year-olds (who are officially categorized as M35 masters, of course), Jeff Hartwig vaulted 5.63 (18-5 3/4) yesterday at the same Mexican meet where W30 Marion Jones ran a shocking 11.06. Jeff turns 40 in September 2007. His mark yesterday age-grades to 6.14 -- a mere 20-1 3/4.

Hang in there, champ!

Posted by Ken Stone at 8:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Linz world champion Lesley Chaplin-Swann, 48, a Georgia resident who competes for the SoCal/Fleet Feet TC, set another American record today at a Vanderbilt University meet, going 4:47.36 in Nashville to lower the ancient W45 outdoor record in the 1500. The listed record was 4:48.19 by Joan Colman (now Joan Ottoway) in 1989. (Forget the WR: 4:05.44 by Yekatarina Podkopayeva.) A former Briton, she's been rewriting the USATF records since becoming a U.S. citizen. Meanwhile, cross-country champ Pete Magill, 44, ran the 15 today in 4:00.58 at the Oxy Invitational.

Pete, a screenwriter in South Pasadena, writes: "I'm going to race three more times over the next four weeks, then go for the 1500 record either in Eugene (Hayward Classic) or the following Wednesday at a meet down here in So Cal." The listed M45 world record is 3:58.3 by Britain's Peter Molloy in 1995.

So who has the movie rights, Pete?

Up in Oregon, at the Fountain of Youth Masters Mile, other oldsters were burning up four laps in Canby, south of Portland:

1) 4:29.5 Jayson Pyatt (31)
2) 4:32.0 Peter Hegelbach (41)
3) 4:33.1 Chris Yorges (40)
4) 4:33.6 Kevin Paulk (45)
5) 4:34.5 Joe Dudman (41)
6) 4:38.6 Dave Clingan (52)
7) 4:59.0 Craig Rice (35)
8) 5:31.8 Jerry Smith

Posted by Ken Stone at 9:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Things are getting clearer. One of the reasons Masters is thinking of seceding from USA Track & Field is a potential downsizing of the USATF Board of Directors, which would give more clout to the "professional" (elite, Olympic-class) arm of USATF. From what I've been reading on the USATF Associations mailing list, the USOC (U.S. Olympic Committee) is the driving force to shrink the board. Folks posting comments suggest that a smaller board means fewer representatives of the "grass roots" -- which includes Youth as well as Masters T&F. In the past 24 hours, some very revealing arguments have been posted.

Alan Roth wrote:

Lopes was 38 when he broke the world record in the marathon by 54
seconds (2:07:12). He was injured that same year (1985) which forced him
to retire from competition and from running . I introduced him at an
event in NYC about 5 or 6 years ago and he was quite plump.

Priscilla Welch was 42 when she won the NYC Marathon in 1987 in 2:30:17.
Miki Gorman was 40 when she took 2nd in the NYC Marathon in 1975. Then
she won the race the next two years. Grete Waitz was 35 when she won the
NYC Marathon in 1988 for her 9th win there. Joe, these may also be
anomalies but I think older people can hang in there for longer
distances better than when more strength is involved such as in sprints.
Recent research shows that max VO2 doesn't fall very much as people age.
It's just that as you get older, biomechanical problems can interfere
with the intensive training needed to compete at the international
level. Also, as you get older, it takes much longer to recover from
injuries (as I'm sure you know!).

Associations provide an infrastructure that facilitates Masters T&F
activities. It will be very difficult to replace that.

Craig has spoken with many companies about sponsoring Masters T&F and
Masters LDR. While he hasn't brought such a sponsor onboard yet, he
continues to pursue that. The Editor of GeezerJock Magazine told me a
few days ago that he is looking for sponsors for masters where
sponsorship would support T&F as well as swimming, tennis, etc. He
thinks that a company may be interested more when more sports are
combined. He didn't express a preference for how Masters T&F should be
structured. That wasn't a factor.

Bob Fine is right that we have a lot of votes in USATF General Sessions.
We in grass roots can defend our position very well. Perhaps with that
in mind, Ed Koch, who chairs the restructuring committee is working
closely with us during the restructuring process. Ed is on this list and
can comment on this collaborative process.

Joe Lanzalotto, addressing Alan Roth, wrote:

They are all welcome anomalies and NONE of the ones you mention are recent.
You do not have to sell the value of masters' competition to me....that
happened when I hit the magic number! Masters comprise the majority of the
LDR members and competitors here in NJ, to the point that you wonder where
all the open women and men went. All that said, the political power is
behind the open runners simply because that is where the majority of the
Olympic medals are and there seems to be a need to be recognized by the
general public. Masters will never be recognized by the general public and
the fools gold is that neither will our very deserving open athletes, except
once every four years.

Cynical or not, that is the realistic manner in which I see it. It is a shame to say the least.

Bob Fine wrote:

I think that these postings are getting "off base". The point that a miniscule
number of athletes over the age of 35 canstill complete in World OPen
competition is academic to the problem raised.

The issue here is proposed major changes in the structure of USATF, being pushed by the USOC and professional athletes. It would result in the control of track & field by the USOC and less than 1/2 of one per cent of the members of USATF.

Put another way it is the "tail wagging the dog."

There are legitimate needs and concerns for the professionals and
non-professionals. I submit that these needs are presently being met under the
existing structure. I rebel against any outside organization, such as the USOC,
in effect, trying to take over all aspects of our sport when their concern is
limited to winning Olympic medals. Personally, I am more concerned with the
health and welfare of our citizens from the cradle to the grave. Giving
youngsters a healthy outlet for their energy and older people the benefits of
exercise.

THE MASTERS DO NOT WANT TO LEAVE USATF.

This sport has been the major avocation in my life. It has enabled me to get a
college education, travel all over the world, create friendships and remain in
good health. I wish to give something back to the sport, as does the leadership
in the Masters program.

This problem, created by the USOC and a few athletes can be resolved by the
Youth, Officials, Associations and Masters working in concert to protect the
interests of the professionals, USOC, and the non-professionals.

Steve Vaitones, responding to earlier remarks, wrote:

>The average Master is only concerned about competition. If the Masters
>formed an organization outside of USATF, as has been done in Canada,
>Great Britain, New Zealand and Australia, WMA would recognize such a
>group. Such a group could have an alliance with USATF, similar to AAU
>and the Senior Games.

There´s not much of an alliance with those two groups, in reality.

>Since most of the Masters meets are on the local level ,the average
>competitor would not care who is sponsoring same.
>
>USATF would not be able to host meets if it's officials and
>administrators, in the Masters program, started our own group outside of
>USATF.

There´s already comments that there aren´t enough masters meets, and a derth of officials. So who in the new organization is going to host meets and officiate them?

As a guy who directs these in the New England association, I have enough to do
without offering the same services at the usual rate of pay for another group.
Same, I suspect, with most of our officials So my choice is that USATF NE continues to put them on for our own organization or just say ´¨fuggeddabout it¨¨ on anything to do with masters. I know what´s easiest for us, but what´s best for the sport?

>This is not something the Masters are pushing for, although financially
>we probably would be in better shape. The reason being that at the
>present $20 dues $7.50 goes to the national and $12.50 to the
>Association. If there was a separate Masters orgaization the full $20
>would go to that organization. With 8500 Masters paying $20 per that
>comes to $170,00.

That´s a big assumtion that 8500 masters are going to join a new organization
with no history. ¨Better the devil you know than the devil you don´t¨´

At present the Masters' Committees receive less than
>half of that. In addition, USATF dues will be increased and over the
>course of a few years could reach $40 per year.

The organization is like a family - preferring to have a favorite rich uncle
than a benevolent father.

All committees - or at least those with the loudest voices - are looking to get
a return of just what they put in as dues, and that´s never going to happen when you have a central organization that needs general funding. Masters want more ... programs? someone has to put them on, and if they´re not being run now, as I said above, who´s going to run them later? ... money? for
what - travel to Worlds? (I´ve heard that one). If there are no qualifying
standards and more than 20 age groups, how is that divvied up? .... political
voice? It´s available now. So I´m as stumped as Ed as to just what is going
to be gained beyond the mythical 8500 x $20 and starting from scratch.

On the other comments about masters age athletes performing well
internationally, they don´t consider themselves masters and suspect few are
looking forward to competing as masters. There´s a big difference in those
athletes compared with the general masters crowd.

Edward Koch wrote:

I believe also Carl Lewis was 36 when he won his final Olympic Gold Medal.

While the discussion among the Task Force is not for public disclosure, I can
tell you that I had already planned to share the comments from this listserve
with the Task Force during their conference call next week and that the Task
Force is well aware that a 2/3's vote of approval is needed to pass anything, so
there will be lots of consultation along the way. I can also tell you that the
Task Force is looking at other stuff than just the size and makup of the Board
and it has been a slow go of it so far. While I expect at least some items to be
proposed at the 2006 convention, everything may not get done until the 2007
convention. That would be the absolute deadline before the 2008 elections.

Alan Roth wrote:

I don't see anything contentious here. I haven't seen any support for
masters leaving USATF and Bob Fine who is an excellent source of info
re: the masters as an insider says it won't happen. I think the only
factor that would support such a move would be the USOC forcing USATF to
disenfranchise the masters. If that were to occur, grass roots in
general would be disenfranchised.

While it is not impossible, I don't see a scenario for that. A
consulting firm did a study of USATF performance last year for the USOC
and it was a glowing report. We scored high in every category they
evaluated. As you all know, our performance on the world stage was
excellent last year. Our open athletes dominated the World Championships
but we were also outstanding in youth and masters world championships.
The report praised the efficiency of our volunteer governance with the
cost being only half of what is normally encountered in organizations
such as ours.

The report is quite comprehensive regarding their evaluation of
management and governance. They looked at so many different things. I'll
focus on a few of them that are most relevant to our discussion. They
express satisfaction with the degree that athletes are included in
decision making. I don't see any push to give high performance a greater
role in governance. Also, they made recommendations that are supportive
of grass roots such as:

Utilize more demographic and statistical information to enable targeted
membership development efforts in Associations that are not at full
potential membership levels.

Target youth fitness and drug education as key initiatives that
complement track and field partnerships with youth-serving agencies.

Determine feasibility of partnerships with the American College of
Sports Medicine, the President's Council for Physical Fitness and Sport,
and the Center for Disease Control to allow greater emphasis on physical
fitness and drug-free lifestyles.

Ensure that all stakeholders have input into outcome quality improvement.

Consider, evaluate, and act on membership dues increases to benefit both
USATF and Association programming.

Consider other membership products, including multi-year memberships.

Consider separate membership categories for athletes, coaches, and
volunteers/officials, with differential pricing and benefit packages.

Target a small number of communities with "pilot" projects to stimulate
membership growth, particularly where track and field is underdeveloped
and where the community demographic is conducive to expansion.

Consider ways in which Associations can be transformed from their
emphasis on registration and sanctioning to provision of services that
stimulate promotion of the sport and image enhancement.

Create ways to motivate high schools and collegiate track athletes to
join USATF, particularly by the strength of perceived benefits and services.

I'm not quoting these items in the report to create a debate on each
item. So far, the Board has not looked at the report in detail. Some of
these items have been discussed and there is some implementation but not
because of the report. For example, we are trying to alleviate the
burden of registration and sanctioning by associations through the
expanding use of the national website. Membership dues and products are
major topics for us at the moment.

While the above recommendations show that the evaluation was not biased
against grass roots, there was a disturbing aspect and that is in regard
to governance. There are two recommendations I find troubling:

Reduce the size of the Board and eliminate constituency-based
representation.

Create a Nominating Committee to allow identification and solicitation
of potential candidates and to ensure diversity of ethnicity and gender.

Of course I don't oppose diversity, but we are tackling diversity
through an active program to educate our leaders about diversity and to
implement mentoring and leadership development so that we will have more
diversity in our leadership. A nominating committee should not decide
who represents our committees because the candidates would not be tied
to their specific constituencies for whom they should be working. I
don't buy into the idea that Board members should be independent of our
constituencies. I've heard the arguments for this independence, but I
prefer the democratic ideal even though it's not perfect.

One way that we could lose our strength on the Board would be a
reduction in the size of the Board that would give us less
representation. I wouldn't mind a smaller Board so long as we are
adequately represented and we determine who is representing us. While
the report doesn't show a bias away from grass roots seats on the Board,
there is risk if the nominating committee happens to have such a bias or
if there are so few seats that youth, masters and associations are not
all sitting on the Board. Of course coaches and officials should also be
represented. One argument is that we have a Board of Directors with very
few members and then have an advisory board with representation from all
the committees. I don't see that working because the advisory board
would not need to meet as a whole if the Board of Directors is making
policy decisions and t