Dirty little secret of World Masters Games revealed in story
A site called Monsters and Critics has posted this little article. The headline tells it all: Cost decisive factor for many athletes at World Masters Games. So tell me something I don’t know. Of course, with all the hoohah celebrating the supergeezers and the economic impact of World Masters Games, few articles discuss whether these multisport festivals mean much in deciding who really is the best swimmer, boater or hurdler. They remain all-comers meets. And the dream of a true Masters Olympics remains distant. Someday, somebody will figure out how to monetize these events. Then we can celebrate true world champions.
Here’s the article, in case the link goes buh-bye:Â
 Cost decisive factor for many athletes at World Masters Games
 By DPA
Oct 16, 2009, 8:12 GMTSydney – Russian table tennis player Yury Illarionov has medals galore from the World Masters Games in Sydney.
‘Two golds and a bronze – and I’ve still got the singles to come,’ the 46-year-old Moscow estate agent said Friday.
He’s over the moon with glory in the doubles, mixed doubles and team event, convinced that training five times a week for three hours has paid off.
But Illarionov, who only competes in table tennis, is honest enough to admit that the world’s best are not all at the World Masters Games.
The standard at European championships is higher and he puts this down to the fact many older people are kept away from intercontinental travel by high costs and work commitments.
It will be different at the next games, in Turin in 2013. Travelling to Italy won’t be so costly for Northern Hemisphere competitors and they won’t have to worry about jet lag.
‘There is no money for the Russian team – we all have to pay ourselves and it’s very expensive,’ Illarionov said.
Even the locals find competing costly. Multiple medallist Margot Bates, 98, admits she could not have come from Adelaide to star in the pool without a generous donation from a fan.
Sydney is shotputter Tom Houghton’s home town. The cost means the 72-year-old won’t be going to Turin. ‘So that’s it for me,’ the Canadian-born Australian said. ‘I’ve come last in my event today. I still enjoy it, but it’ll be hard to get out of bed for another go tomorrow.’
6 Responses
Will there ever be true world championships? I fear they will not. It is often too far, too expensive, too time consuming, in too remote localities. The world’s are nice, of course, but it is not the world that is competing, only a small perectage of possible medallists.
Maybe it would be better to call the numbers 1-2-3 of the year rankings medallists? And open regional championships for socializing?
About year rankings: the 2009 rankings have just appeared on http://www.mastersathletics.net/
This is very nice but voluntary work…
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/masters-games-an-absolute-joke/story-e6freyar-1225787683901
EVERY year it is inconvenient and expensive for someone. The Euros get a lot of meets so they can’t complain, but Canada is about to have one, the US has one in 2011 and Australia had one. For someone it’s always too far or expensive. So go to the ones you can and put up a world class mark when you’re there.
How many elites were left out of the Olympic Games for injuries? Does that make that NOT a real Olympics? I know very good athletes who don’t even go to our National meets. Does that mean our national meets don’t count?
I’m just trying to be practical in my comparisons. I had to choose one so I chose Australia over Finland because Phil Raschker told me she would be concerned about their weather for vaulting because they tend to have periods of cold and rain. So I picked accordingly. I’d love to have done both but it didn’t make sense. Bubba
PS – As much as I would love to go to the World Masters Games in Torino, Italy, I’ll probably go to Brazil since I’ve never been there. I have four years to save. LOL!!
my take is that these are called a Games for a reason. Some take it very seriously and post world class marks; for others it’s a bit of fun, “hit and giggle” stuff.
World champs are a different matter. Surely they are supposed to showcase the best of the best.
I’d like to see qualification marks for world championship entry, no matter the age. There are plenty og “games: for everyone else to have a go at something they love.
But, whatever, travel is expensive no matter how you look at it, so why not just plan ahead and incorporate competition with a decent sized holiday. Many folk can manage that as work commitments become less of a burden and they reap the financial benefits of their past labours
The outdoor national champs in Sacramento next year should be much more easily accessible to athletes than say, Orono or Oshkosh. Granted, I live here, but I have participated in the last 4 outdoor championships even when they were expensive and on the other side of the country (Orono). I understand perfectly that there are always budget restrictions, but Sacramento is going to be a very “travel friendly” location for many people. So to those of you who don’t make it to national meets because of inconvenience or expense, this may be one of the best opportunities you have to make it to a national meet. It’s time for you to provide the level of competition that some complain is missing from these meets. Let’s see as many of us as possible in Sacramento in 2010.
Cool, there are actually some great ideas on this blog some of my subscribers will maybe find this useful, will send them a link, many thanks.
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