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Lack of Coverage of Field events at Boston Indoors Champs
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Author:  scotthannay [ Mon Mar 29, 2010 7:45 am ]
Post subject:  Lack of Coverage of Field events at Boston Indoors Champs

Did anyone notice that the Field events were completely ignored by the announcer and the Scoreboard in Boston ?? In the past, organizers at least posted field event finals on the Scoreboard. This year, field eventers got a piece of paper posted in the practice gym.

I believe this is poor representation to the field event athletes that travelled thousands of miles and spend lots of money in Boston for
absolutely ZERO recognition. Apparently, you need to a runner to
have any value to Meet Organizers.

Steamed in NY.
Scott Hannay M45 Shot Putter and Weight thrower

Author:  lpalmer [ Mon Mar 29, 2010 1:25 pm ]
Post subject: 

Hi --have it from a very good source that the assistant announcer approached the throws area for status during the events but was rebuffed by officials.

Author:  CoachLarry [ Mon Mar 29, 2010 6:43 pm ]
Post subject: 

The Indoor Nationals Organizing Committee asked me to assist Pete Taylor so that he could do the best possible announcing job. I know for a fact that Pete was very upset that he wasn't able to provide the coverage for the field events that he felt they deserved.

Frequently he asked me to find out who was competing, heights, distances, etc. More often than not the officials were annoyed at my intrusion. They were busy doing what they were there to do and felt no obligation to assist the announcer provide coverage. Sometimes I risked annoying the competitors themselves trying to get the info I couldn't get from the officials.

Making announcing field events more difficult was lack of event sheets for the field events. Had they been provided we might have been able to at least announce the names of the competitors even if we couldn't get results.

Pete Taylor worked three full days and was never away from the microphone for more than two minutes. He never ate lunch and even though he did a masterful job with what he had to work with, he constantly worried that he could have done better.

So, with this information I hope that all the throwers and jumpers will not blame Pete Taylor, but will insist that the next Masters Nationals do all they can to help the announcer provide the coverage they deserve.

Author:  lpalmer [ Tue Mar 30, 2010 10:30 am ]
Post subject: 

Thanks for the clarification Larry. Although I wasn't there, I felt certain the lack of attention for the field events was not intentional. I've attended in the past and participated in field events, and we were both announced and on the scoreboard in past years.

Author:  weinerpublic [ Tue Mar 30, 2010 11:56 pm ]
Post subject:  field event coverage

One of the most exciting points of the meet was enjoyed by all when Pete announced the Willie Banks-Bruce McBarnette high jump duel as it unfolded and timely just in advance of the key jumps and as they were done with each.

Author:  SantaCruzslacker [ Wed Mar 31, 2010 10:36 am ]
Post subject: 

Get used to it Scott. Field event athletes, especially throwers are always extremely low priority in masters track and field. You are correct in stating that you need to be a runner in this sport to recieve any recognition and it does not hurt the older you are. Instead of admitting a mistake by announcers in not briefly meeting with officials prior to the competition or making an announcement letting them know that they may be asked for updates periodically, we get a person who was not even at the meet making an excuse for the announcer and another blaming the officials and almost the athletes themselves, while at the same time highly praising the announcer. :shock: Coach Larry, you would have had a great carreer in politics as a senator or congressman in Washington. Divert the blame, as they say on the hill. :wink: I read a few months back that the 2010 Sacramento masters championships original throwers area inside the stadium will not be used. Instead the throwers will throw in some sort of practice area nearby or in a field across from the stadium. Out of sight, out of mind. Maybe at that meet they will lose the field event results, blame the field athletes for showing up, causing them to be overworked and in turn, lose the results. :roll:

Author:  rev gj [ Wed Mar 31, 2010 11:28 am ]
Post subject: 

First post was a winner.

See you Saturday.

Author:  Jerry Bookin-Weiner [ Wed Mar 31, 2010 5:53 pm ]
Post subject: 

It's not secret I've been a serious critic of the announcing in the past. To his credit, Pete Taylor wanted to announce the throws, but it isn't easy for him when the throwing venues are completely screened from his view as they are in Boston.

Two weeks prior, at the East Region Championships in Landover he did quite a bit of announcing of the throws -- far more than in the past. There the circle is in the middle of the infield, not hidden. Kudos to Pete for making a change. I went over and personally thanked him.

This year there was a serious intent to do better. It's true that the officials weren't very cooperative, but as someone has pointed out no one had told them ahead of time, and, frankly, it isn't their job. They have the events to run and are under pressure to do so in an efficient manner so that it doesn't take forever.

After an initial announcement that was quite incorrect, perhaps because the official didn't understand Larry's question, I began to ask the officials if I could look over their shoulders and I took notes and reported the results to Pete who made announcements about progress in the shot.

Unfortunately after a short while I was desperately needed elsewhere because some of the expected volunteers didn't show up and there was a meet-critical task that had to be done for the rest of the day. End of announcements about throws on Saturday.

Was it perfect for that short while on Saturday -- no. Was it better than ever before in Boston -- yes. Are further improvements necessary -- absolutely. Will we be working on it for future championships (both indoor and outdoor) -- you bet. Oshkosh, by the way, was better and outdoors is a lot harder with so many more events and such widely dispersed venues.

As for the message board, I have no idea why the field events weren't ever put up there this year. I do know that there was one computer operator who had to do the seeding, produce the heat sheets for races, and enter the field event results. Those results were often very slow to be entered (ask the medal winners how long they sometimes had to wait for the official results to be delivered to the medal table and I'm sure they'll tell you).

All of this needs improving, no question, and hopefully will get better in the future.

But, for the time being let's remember that this was an incredibly well run meet with no significant snafus that I am aware of. While the announcing and posting of field events less than ideal (especially the posting), that's actually rather minor in the grand scheme of things. Let's hope to do better on those scores in the future. Highlighting these as issues (as this string has done), is a great consciousness raiser. Thank you to Scott for getting the ball rolling.

Author:  lpalmer [ Wed Mar 31, 2010 8:03 pm ]
Post subject: 

Thanks Jerry for a great summary. You had some excellent points and suggestions that would be very helpful. Nasty replies and personal attacks are not constructive, especially from people who hide behind anonymous log on names. I'm primarily a runner, but I also participate in field events and a throwing event as well. I was rather disappointed in the coverage of the shot put in Oshkosh but I tried to find out why rather than sling insults on a message board. I hope the Sacramento Sports Commission finds a way to give adequate coverage to all the events. If you'd like to contact them with questions or constructive suggestions, the website is www.sacsports.com.

Author:  SantaCruzslacker [ Wed Mar 31, 2010 8:57 pm ]
Post subject: 

:roll:

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