Bubka vows money for masters, IAAF role in WMA records system
I donât know whether to treat this news as Christmas in July or pie-in-the-sky. But IAAF presidential candidate Sergey Bubka has announced that heâd throw money at WMA and even give IAAF a role in age-group records vetting. This could be huge. Itâs also a sign of how desperate Sergey is in his race against Lord Sebastian Coe, the other IAAFâer looking to succeed Lamine Diack. Trying to win masters support is like hoping to gain a hundredth of a second advantage in the 100-meter dash. Not that big. In any case, the news broke Sunday with this post out of Paris.
Of course, Iâm thrilled that Sergey has uttered the M-word. But I havenât seen Sebâs thoughts on masters track. Maybe we could spark a bidding war. Old guys and gals rule in IAAF, too, I guess. Stay tuned.
Hereâs the original wording, which also got picked up by Around the Rings and other sites.
MASTERS ATHLETICS SHOULD RECEIVE MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT, SAYS BUBKA
Paris, July 5, 2015 â IAAF Vice President Sergey Bubka has vowed to provide support program to ensure further development of mastersâ athletics movement, if he wins the IAAF Presidency election in August 2015.
Bubka believes that mastersâ athletics is an integral part of the sport and the global social mission of healthy lifestyle and harmonious well-being.He said: âOur sport fits every age, either for practice and fitness training or for the competitions. Look what a great potential our sport has! We have recently enjoyed the performances at World School Championships in Wuhan, China, but now we are already looking forward to World Masters Championships to be held in Lyon, France in August. I truly admire men and women aged 30, 40, 50 and older, viagra online both retired athletes and newcomers, who dedicate their lives to our sport performing at the international level within national mastersâ teams. IAAF should provide maximum opportunities for the mastersâ athletics to grow and develop ensuring more elderly people are involved in sportâ.
Bubka urges that IAAF must provide more support for World Masters Athletics to organize and administer competitions worldwide. He said: âWe must keep on encouraging the integration between Masters Athletics and IAAF Affiliates across the world through the IAAF Masters Commission. I pledge to support the WMA Championships and other international mastersâ athletic competitions, which are the inestimable example for the youth and great promotion of Athletics worldwide.
âWe will ratify and register world mastersâ five-year age-group records and maintain data on other outstanding athletic performances by masters. I believe that IAAF and WMA teamwork will help involve more nations into regional, national and international mastersâ competitions.â
Bubka says the support of the World Masters Associationâs events and initiatives will benefit the IAAF and the sports in general in terms of promotion of sport, as well as provide enhanced opportunities for sponsorship, improve access to government funding programs, and assist in facilitiesâ development.
âThe development of mastersâ athletics in all possible ways including special Mastersâ coaching and education programs is a part of my âTaking Athletics to the new Heightsâ program. My vision is clear that growth of mastersâ athletics is one of the priorities for the global success of our sportâ.
Sergey Bubka is a candidate for the Presidency of the IAAF, and the election will be held in August 2015 during the IAAF Congress in Beijing, China.
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3 Responses
Sergey doesn’t mention masters in the video posted. But it gives a great sense of his overview of the sport.
I read this in Track & Field News this morning. The fact that we Masters are on the radar is good news. With World Masters best being set pretty much every month this year and still elite level Masters like Bernard Legat getting plenty of press, it has been a good year. There are over 8,000 registered entries for Lyon, which is another good thing.
Here’s what WMA Prez Stan Perkins has to say about Bubka’s initiative: http://masterstrack.com/2015/07/36984/
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