Masters Track News and Muse

USATF Masters T&F Chairman George Mathews -- making good on a pledge he made, oh, four years ago -- is looking for someone to be "Web liaison" for updating the masters track area of the USATF Web site. This solicitation is buried in his column in the latest issue of National Masters News.

Australia's Stan Perkins, whose day job involves putting on masters sports events, is officially a candidate for the presidency of World Masters Athletics, the world governing body of masters track. He would succeed Sweden's Torsten Carlius, who is out due to term limits. (But not out of power, since he's likely to win election as secretary -- a post that has Executive Council perks).

Italy's Cesare (pronounced CHEZ-a-ray) Beccalli, who was president of WAVA from 1987 to 1997, is running for his old post, according to my impeccable sources. Very interesting. He's an old old-timer, having helped found the European Veterans Athletic Association and organize the first European Veterans Championships in Viareggio in 1978.

Looks as if WMA prez hopeful Stan Perkins has a new job, which doesn't carry the bylaws-violation baggage of his previous gig with Gold Coast Events Management, which runs the Pan Pacific Masters Games (a rival to WMA events). Perkins writes: "Well you have done it again - foot in mouth disease! I have been forwarded your brief statement advising that I worked on Masters Games and that this was banned under WMA rules etcetera."

Dave Ortman is a national-class M50 sprinter/hurdler/jumper from Seattle who some might say has WAY too much time on his hands. His current complaint in masters track? "Lack of decent T-shirts" proffered by national championships. With the Boise national indoor meet coming up this weekend, Dave began a memo to meet director Tim Severa thusly: "First, congratulations on hosting the National Indoor Masters. I am sure that you will do a fine job." Then Dave gets down to the nitty-gritty.

A track meet is like a circus, they say. Several events vie for your attention at the same time. But in masters meets, especially everyone entered at Boise, but the following events caught my eye in the men's competition. (I'll cover women's events later.)

Generally, national championships are "above" the promotional tactic of touting record attempts. (Such hype is generally reserved for big invitational meets in Europe, for example.) But there it is in the USATF news release on the Boise masters indoor nationals: "Relays: Will be WORLD RECORD attempts; Noteworthy will include 50+ 4x800 meters (Steve Gallegos, Nolan Shaheed, James Robinson, Dave Clingan)."

Well, masters appreciate the thought. But this is ridiculous. USATF has named a 4 1/2-hour marathoner its Athlete of the Week. How does that compute? Well, the 49-year-old jogger is Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. According to today's USATF news release: "INDIANAPOLIS -- Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has been named USA Track & Field's Athlete of the Week after running the Little Rock Marathon Sunday in Little Rock, Arkansas."

Who knows why USATF does what it does? A recent press release mentions an Anselm Lebourne world record but neglects to mention another world record at the same meet and in the same event. Hooookay. A masters runner (but not Pete Tayl;or, as I previously thought) brought this meet results site to my attention.

Well, if I could read the fine print, I would have figured this out earlier. But the Armory results I referenced in yesterday's blog post were from a YEAR ago. That's why Anselm's 1500 record wasn't mentioned. I'm told that results from this past weekend's meet haven't been posted online yet. My apologies for all the confusion, especially to USATF which took my wrath.

The European Veterans Athletic Association has announced that it will inaugurate an annual award for top athlete of the year (male and female). That's great! Helps give the geezers the recognition we deserve. But something in the selection criteria leaves a bad taste in my mouth -- a requirement that the European Best Veteran, or EBV, "should never have been guilty (of) drug use and must be an opponent against drug use."

Well, gag me with a moldy spud. It's 11:20 p.m. Pacific time, well after completion of the first day's events at the national friggin championships. And results are not available at the place set up for 'em. So unless you're in phone contact with athletes, you're outta luck knowing, for example, if Nolan Shaheed snagged a world record in the M55 3000 meters or if Phil Raschker got off a good jump in the pole vault.

Just back from a two-day family trip to Disneyland. Just finished reviewing results from Boise (appended below). Very pleased to see how USATF's Melvin Jackson summarized the records set at masters nationals. Very disgusted that the official Web site for results still has none -- at 10:10 p.m. Sunday, many hours after completion of the three-day meet.

Steve Nearman, whose day job involves keeping folks on the fast track toward financial security, also is a national-class runner. And if the IRS questions any of his work-related receipts in Idaho, he can point to the column he wrote for The Washington Times on his visit to masters nationals over the weekend.

The European Veterans Athletic Championships were held the same weekend as the American indoor nationals. Some interesting comparisons are possible -- when one has time to comb the results. The Euros deserve credit for posting their results quickly and completely. The folks across the pond from them have much to learn on the online front.

I couldn't get my software to post the entire three days' worth of results on one blog page. So here is Day 2 from Sweden:

Here are results from the third of four days of the European Veterans Athletic Championships. The complete set of results is now online in the form of a PDF file.

If you're going to Spain this summer for the World Masters Athletic Championships, expect some housing gouging. So says a commentary on the Koop site in Germany. Apparently, the San Sebastian folks are licking their chops at all the big money to be made from masters athletes. Another commentary suggests that a handful of WMA leaders expects to capitalize on their insider connections to provide housing close to the track. Same old, same old.

A German friend of mine has shared some advice on how to save money on the trip to WMA worlds in Spain. Anyone else who happens upon some cheap fares or lodging is welcome (and encouraged!) to add their findings/secrets via the comment function of this blog.

Yeah, sure. Let's bankrupt this Universe and all 3,245 other ones while we're at it. They asked some idiotic questions of the Major League Baseball players and execs today in Washington, but one of the scariest came from a congressman who wanted to know if Olympic Games drug-testing should be mandated for all athletes everywhere. Yeah, sure.

When I screw up, I fess up. That's been my habit for more than a quarter-century in the newspaper biz. Corrections R Us. So it amazes me when folks mess up at USATF and try to wiggle out of responsibility and have to be pushed to show a little regret. I wrote a note a few days ago to USATF press chief Jill Geer and USATF Masters Track & Field Chairman George Mathews about the failure to post Boise indoor results quickly. First my note, and then their replies:

One of my pet peeves is "track clubs" that are anything but. My favorite example is the storied San Diego Track Club, which began more than 50 years ago as a bunch of San Diego State University track alumni who wanted to keep the cinder fires burning. But for at least 20 years, the SDTC has been 99% devoted to long-distance running. Fine for the roadies, but not for the sprinties. So I was delighted to learn of a new masters track club that specializes in sprints.

Becca Gillespy won't be eligible to jump in masters meets until about 2020. But she already has keen masters vision. As webmaster and founder of Pole Vault Power, making a run at Vault World for top-dog status, she's added a masters forum to her set of pole vault bulletin boards.

The WMA Web site is doing a better job getting the word out on new world age-group records. But the reporting is spotty. That's probly becuz cooperation is spotty from the affiliates. One problem affiliate -- the United States. While records from the Eurovets indoor meet have been posted on the WMA records news page, the recent USATF indoor nationals record are nowhere to been seen.

Francis Schiro, the goateed guru of New York-based Sprint Force America, is a world-class M50 long sprinter. He also can write and report. And his latest missive -- a recounting of Anselm LeBourne's M45 world indoor 800 record over the weekend -- is a doozy.

GeezerJock magazine is like its namesake athletes. It has its senior moments. The PR Newswire reports that "GeezerJock Media LLC announced today that the first official issue of GeezerJock magazine will begin arriving in the mailboxes of subscribers this week." This means the wonderful issue dated October 2004 was just for practice. Or a false start. No matter.

Got ya. Yes, the Australian National Masters Championships begins its four-day run starting March 25. And this will be a good test of how the Down Unders disseminate results. Their results Web site has the same structure as the one USATF originally was going to use for the Nampa indoor nationals.

It's no joke. In recent years, National Masters News has printed an April Fools' story in its April issue. In April 2004, I tweaked them for basically reprinting a column from 2000. So I was thinking. How 'bout if y'all help NMN with some ideas for the annual April Fools' column? Post your ideas here (in the comments section below), and I'm sure Jerry or Suzy will see them.

I often get queries from new masters or open athletes wanting to know, simply: Where can I find a meet in my area? I suggest reviewing my FAQ for ideas, but I often just type: Check with your local USATF association for a meet calendar. But even that's an iffy proposition. Tonight I learned of a meet that accepts masters athletes in four events. It's right up the street, in fact.

Several months ago, someone from DCS LifeWave Technology wrote us about placing an ad on masterstrack.com. Since the "technology" described in their product -- a "LifeWave energy enhancer" patch -- seemed flaky, we asked for some samples. Dave Clingan, our co-webmaster and world-class M50 runner, tried 'em out.

Ross Dunton is an ex-Californian now coaching and webmastering from his home in Sevier County, Tennessee. Among other things, Coach Ross produces a highly flawed set of performance lists for World Masters Athletics. But his Web site also offers something he calls "Masters Track & Field News." I often look in vain for actual masters news; it's often just a cobbling together of Olympic, elite track and drug news. But the "Monday, March 28th Edition" gave me pause. He posted a calendar of "upcoming USATF Masters Meets."

I know you shouldn't judge a track meet by its Web page, but things are looking good for Linz, Austria, in March 2006 for the 2nd World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships -- especially if this Web site is any indication. It's still being built, but many great parts are up and running.

What a letdown. After I go to the trouble of building up anticipation for an annual April Fools' Day article in the April issue of National Masters News, they go and publish without one. That doesn't mean there's nothing funny in the latest issue. I got a chuckle reading of Christel Donley's recent hurdle exploits. The authors of the Page One story? Christel and Jerry Donley.

National Masters News for April carries a column by USATF Masters T&F Chairman George Mathews, recently elected to a second four-year term. Titled "Drug Testing Questions and Answers," the column is a reply to a questionnaire I emailed him and a dozen others in late February. The piece is a revelation.