masterstrack.com

I just returned from Riccioni. The throwing events were very well run and the quality of the competition was excellent. Most of the throwing events used a laser measuring device, so things moved quickly and efficiently. The people in Riccioni were very hospitable and the food was wonderful.

The 50 -54 discus was amazing. I'm glad I didn't have to throw against those guys! Ralph F. was magnificent.

I have only one gripe: the meet shirts. The logo for the meet was offensive and condescending. It showed a crazy-looking old guy with one tooth standing on the victory stand with a couple of fat old guys. It was probably designed by some 24 year old smart-ass graphic artist who thought it was funny. The shirts at these meets have always been very nice, but this year was an exception.

That sux! The guys and women I'm training with are some of the fittest people I've ever been around. I have a pretty good sense of humor but that is just ridiculous and really juvenile.

Tom,

You are a fairly large fellow and a thrower. Upon receiving said t-shirt, roll it up in a ball and find the meet director. Explain to him where you are going to shove it. Masters are older, not dead. Express yourself, in a completely appropriate manner. Like a fairly large fellow and thrower.

I agree with you about the souvenir T shirts with the cartoon front. They were rubbish. The organisers were left with lots of them they could hardly give away at the end of Saturday afternoon. However, the official polo style shirts were very tasetfully done, with just the official logo in the front, and wording on the sleeve. The quality of the manufacture and material was high too. Might be worth trying to find out whether there were any left that you could buy.

Wow! I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought those t-shirts were butt ugly.

they were indeed ugly and patronizing - I bought the polo shirt which was very nice. I heard a story that there was a masters swim meet there earlier in the year and they had sold many of the same design t-shirt - apparently it was a big hit so they decided to try it for the track meet. Bad idea - track folks don't wear stupid cartoon shirts. I wonder what they are going to do with those they could not sell even at a reduced price.

I got the answer! Maybe they can send them to a third world country where they will never be seen again!. LOL. I agree track folks don't wear cartoon shirts!

Does anyone have a photo of the shirts they could post?

I agree with everybody about the shirts but at least we were free not to purchase them...the organisers will be left with a lot of excess stock i suspect. However, more pertinent in my opinion was the lack of warm up facilities. Am, I the only person to have been 'mildly' inconvenienced by this? I'm a sprinter, I'm sure the track technicians (hurdlers, long jumpers etc) may have found this difficult. This adversely affected my enjoyment of what was otherwise a well organised championship.

No, you're certainly not the only one to have been very annoyed indeed by this. Jogging round a rough patch of grass used as a warm up area for softball may have been fine for those few middle distance guys who raced at the Riccione stadium, but for we sprinters, it wasn't just inconvenient, it was dangerous. I had a narrow escape with a turned ankle at one point while striding out.

And things were even worse on the final (relays) day. Even that piece of grass was locked up. Three guys from the local softball team had been given exclusive use of it during the morning. The athletes had to find anywhere else they could to warm up. The track was, of course, off limits.

I visited all three stadiums while I was in Italy. None had warm up facilities. If anything, the area available at Misano was even worse than at Riccione. I think we should be asking what WMA were shown as warm up areas when agreeing to award the championships to Riccione? If they accepted that the grass was adequate, shame on them. If they were shown somewhere else, I think we should be told.

Tom
GB M50 sprinter.

Thanks for posting the reply Tom. I know that dwelling on the negatives probably doesn't help but I just had to voice my disappointment. I had saved and sacrificed to attend this meet (as I'm sure had many other athletes). Medals were not on the cards for me at this level but I was looking forward to the chance to prepare properly for my races and maybe do a decent time pushed by good opposition. The grass paddock was not conducive and as you rightly point out fairly hazardous to sprinters.

OK that's it from me I've had my 'Whinge'...Thanks for the chance to offload.