Kamloops to host first non-European indoor worlds
Congrats to Kamloops! Canadian and WMA brass have confirmed what we telegraphed earlier: Kamloops, British Columbia, will host the 4th World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships. The dates are March 1-6, 2010, according to Brian Keaveney, head of the Canadian Masters Athletics Association and president of the North, Central America and Caribbean WMA region. Meanwhile, another high WMA official informs me that Kamloops was awarded the 2010 WMA Indoor Championships “by overwhelming vote of the WMA Council” (with Britain’s Winston Thomas the only dissenter). My source says: “The council was given that power because there were no bids for the General Assembly to vote on in Italy. To my knowledge, there were no other bids received. A couple of sites expressed interest, but no bids.”
My WMA source also says:
There are always reported inadequacies. In Kamloops’ case, they seem to be most willing to do everything possible to host a most successful championships. The bidding parties are the City of Kamloops, (which) owns all of the facilities, and the Kamloops Track and Field Club, a large and active club in that area. Kamloops is known as the “Tournament City” and have vast resources and experience in conducting large events like this.
It is a flat track, which is not recommended by IAAF, but is acceptable by the IAAF rules. Winston does not like a flat track, and that is his privilege, but Harold Morioka’s club, John Hawkins, and others running in the first meet on the track last week reported no dissatisfaction with the track at all. In fact, they reported that they liked it.
So the string of world indoor meets in Europe ends at three.
Kamloops, a town of 90,000 several hundred miles northeast of Vancouver, has big snowshoes to fill.
Next month, Clermont-Ferrand, France will host the 3rd WMA indoor worlds, and the numbers are big: 3,625 athletes from 59 countries entered in 6,781 events. According to WMA, Europeans are the biggest contingent of the six WMA regions, with 3,338 entrants (more than the total number at Linz two years ago) from 35.) They are followed by North America and Carribbean (173), Africa (56), South America (26), Oceania (18) and Asia (14).
WMA says: “The host country, France, will send 1,267 masters (a new record for a hosting country), followed by Germany 383, Spain 334, Italy 319 and Great Britain 285. The biggest delegation outside from Europe is the USA team with 132 masters.”
In 2010, expect a few more Americans in the mix.
18 Responses
Terrible track to host a World Meet. Flat 200 with no real seating area. This looks like a practice facility. I see a lot of people not coming to this venue. However, I am glad it is a short trip for us Americans.
Don Drummond
Got to laugh at the description by Mr. Drummond of the venue as a “terrible track…with no real seating area”. Some might call it “cozy!! or “friendly”, but what the heck – it is not in Europe and after 3 indoor WMA in Europe plus 3 Outdoor WMA in Europe – it is time for North America to host a couple of meet.
Now we will have back to back Indoor and Outdoor WMA meets in North America. It is time for the Canadians and US Athletes to have a chance to stack the deck with a large numbers of masters competitors, maybe we will have a chance to win a bunch of relays too. But I agree there is not likely to be large numbers of Europeans attending the Indoor Meet.
It will be a shorter trip for many North Americans and a less expensive one as well – assuming the US dollar does not tank by 2010.
I went to Kamloops a few years ago go for the WMA regional outdoor meet. Our Canadian friends know how to run a good meet. It was very pleasant in the summer, I hope to have the opportunity to see it in 2010 in the late winter.
Perhaps they can offer a snowshoe race too!
Annette Koop has some picture on her web site. It does look “cozy” :-). No place to sit down. Looks like just one high jump pit. Definitely smaller than Boston. Do not expect 3600 people……
http://www.masters-sport.de/frames.html
FYI: You’ll get the description and the pictures of the indoor track at the website below.
http://www.kamloopstrack.ca/
I’m trying to find out if they actually have a high jump pit. They said they have LJ, TJ and PV but did not mention HJ, and the infield is a basketball court. I totally agree with Don on this facility, but am glad that the world championships is finally hosted in North America. I think I get to go for the first time as long as they have HJ. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Here is the type of track to hold a world meet on. We have plenty in the U.S., but I am happy for B.C. and will compete there regardless.
For those going to France(Worlds) Here is a video of the track we will be running on; looks fast and great venue
http://clermontcommunaute.net/flash/video/mov93/index.htm?a=1&pop=1
I am sure they will have high jump. I hope they will remove/cover up the basketball court so we can jump in spikes in the infield. Where else would they put the high jump. Sure, it was the politically correct decision to award this Championship to North America, but did anybody checked out the facility first?
I also had a good experience at the 2000 WAVA regional meet at Kamloops. The people were nice and the summer weather generally pleasant (average highs in February and March in Kamloops are 38F and 50F, respectively — not bad).
Note that Kamloops would be more difficult to access than Paris, London, etc. for people from the East. As I recall, it took me a long time to get there (flew from Washington Dulles to Chicago O’Hare to Vancouver International to Kamloops). Others may do better.
Would suggest we get some information in two areas: (1) How much seating (temporary or permanent) will there be? How wide are the lanes (they look rather narrow)? If they are too narrow, can they be widened before the meet?
Can’t wait to see Kimiko Nakatake, Professor Milan Jamrich, and others high jump there in 2010.
Just in: the track is all-weather polyurethane surface (not mondo). They said the same surface covers the entire floor so the high jumpers don’t have to jump on the basketball court with warm up shoes on. (Thank goodness.) I will try to find out about the seating capacity and the lane width that Pete suggested. (I’ve read that the lanes are narrower than the outdoor track but don’t know the exact width at this point.)
Hmmmm, they’ve got 2 years to install seating. lol. Maybe they’ll expand the building, and/or build a 2nd floor! Seriously, this will be horrible if only a few people can watch the events! We’re going to have to stand on each other’s shoulders!
“stand on each other’s shoulders” – hum – not on mine – you won’t get to see much as I am height challenged. As for accepting the Kamloops bid because it is “politically correct” -gimme a break – they accepted it because it is the bid they had. Otherwise they would be out there trying to get another European venue to make a bid or just call the meet off.
There are “better” venues in North America – The Armory in NYC, Reggie Lewis in Boston to name two – but NO bids are likely to be forthcoming from those venues any time soon. The Armory bid for the first indoor WMA meet (2005)and lost out to Germany with nasty comments being made about US Security making folks take off their shoes, being visa unfriendly (especially for the visa exempt European countries – ) etc, it fell victim to the anti-American sentiment of the time and that still lingers today. Fortunately Canada is exempt from that.
I notice that the 3 European venues that have (are) hosting the WMA indoors are municipally owned facilities – ie not collegiate facilities. It requires a week of time, areas for outdoors events -half-marathon, race walks, x-c, and some throws, and lots of available housing. There are not many places in the US that fit that bill and that are willing to go to the trouble and expense of submitting a bid. Be happy that the 2010 meet is in Canada and deal with the supposed deficiencies of the venue.
As for getting Kamloops from the East Coast – Yes I remember that trip – I had to take a flight to Vancouver and then a fairly short flight to Kamloops. Having just checked what is available now – fyi- there some flights now from Seattle so one does not have to go via Vancouver – buy your tickets early!
Of course it is not as easy as going to Paris and then to Clermont-Ferrand – but it will be much less expensive than doing that trip over the Easter holidays when Air France jacked up ticket prices several hundred dollars for flights over that holiday.
Mary’s point about getting the facilities right is the most important one. As a Brit, perhaps you guys will say I’ve been fortunate recently to have had major championships in places like Linz and Riccione. OK, but I’ve absolutely no problem with travelling farther afield (Sacramento 2011, WMG Sydney 2009 – bring it on!) BUT why should I bother with a championship that’s being held in what appear to be totally sub-standard facilities?
Remember the Riccione furore when we all said “how come no one checked it would be as bad as this?”.
Are mu USA and Canadian friends in our sport are so determined to get the next World Indoors in North America that they’ll settle for it being held in a venue that would not get consideration were it to be anywhere else? After all, we’re talking about our sport’s WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS. I wanted to think that the Riccione business meant our representatives would assess, then award, not vice versa. Answer me this: how do we have any chance of continuing to grow the status and esteem of our sport if we hold its major events in places that won’t be able to cope?
And no more euphemisms please. If “cozy” means unfit for purpose, let’s not go round kidding ourselves.
The arena seems to have pull out seats for the basketball, but if you pull them out you will cover the long jump and part of the curve. The narrow lanes will make the curves specially difficult to negotiate in 200 m dash. The younger age groups will have to slow down. Maybe they can install a large TV in the warm up arena. But wait, is there a warm up arena? Some of us were suggesting qualifying limits in order to reduce the number of competitors, but this might work as well. I am all for Sacramento, not that much for Kamloops.
With all due respect to my photo-buddy Tom, the WMA Council can only work with the bids that are presented. There may be may better facilities in the World, but if no local organization wants to host the meet, it won’t happen there.
The choice is: Kamloops or stay home. If you feel the facilities are substandard -do not go. I have a feeling that there will not be 3000plus participants in Kamloops mainly because of the location.
It does not have a major tire company headquarters nor an extinct volcano to draw excited sightseers. The venue appears not have seating for thousands – and it does not have a mondo track surface.The turns will be tight, and the track flat.
And as Doug Smith (the Younger) points out – the choice for WMA was – accept the bid they received or not hold a meet in 2010. Where is the bid from Great Britain? There must be a suitable indoor facility somewhere in the British Isles.
No one is forcing anyone to go, and frankly the idea of having qualifying standards for a meet that is being greeted with such disdain is just hilarious.
The meet will be in Canada – not in Europe – that in and of itself is lovely change.
As for my comment about “cozy” it was in reference to the apparent lack of seating – not to the competition facilities themselves – and was made tongue in cheek.
No doubt there are many superior facilities where a meet might be held – but until the bids come rolling in – the WMA meet is not going to be there. Be glad there is a WMA Indoor Meet in 2010 – otherwise you all would have to stay home and complain that there is no WMA Indoor meet in which to demonstrate your world class talent.
Although I usually disagree with Mary’s numerous comments, I must admit I do echo her sentiment in this instance. It will be nearly exactly two years to Kamloops and I am already trying to figure out a way to scratch up the cash to make it there. I know I will never be able to afford the time or money required for a WMA meet in Europe so this and Sac State are the only things to look forward to for me.
Mary, I didn’t follow your point about qualifying standards. I’m totally against them, but never mentioned them in my post. But I think that both Doug and yourself have made my point for me. Yes indeed, we do seem to be saying that as long as there’s a venue, no matter where it is or how sub-standard, if it is the only one we have on offer, let’s go with it.
I find that sad, and feel it devalues our sport. I’m just an athlete – I don’t know why there were no bids from Britain or anywhere else, but I’m just beginning to get the feeling that if the sole bid had come from Europe, and had offered the sort of facilities there seem to be at Kamloops, there would have been a real uproar.
It would have been justified, of course. What I’m saying is that I personally feel a lot of allowance is being made for Kamloops’ deficiencies because it is in North America. You guys feel it’s time you hosted a World Indoors after three in Europe. I don’t disagree, as my post made clear, but all that way for poor facilities? Remember how you all felt about Riccione.
I recently talked to Harold Morioka and John Hawkins, both local high-level Masters Tracksters, about the Kamloops facility. Both attended an indoor meet there 2 weeks ago.
Both Harold and John said the facilities were good. The track will be expanded to 8 lanes and the field facilities were described as more than adequate. John remarked that the high jump surface was one of the best indoor ones he’s ever jumped on as a Master.
They both did state, however, that the room for spectators was limited.
Sounds like the meet facilities will be ok for participating but won’t have room for a large audience.
Kamloops is less than a 4 hour drive from either Vancouver BC or Seattle and probably less than that from Spokane. I know from Vancouver there are many cheap connecting flights available.
The natural scenery in that part of BC (say within an hour or so of Kamloops) is spectacular. More impressive than anything in Europe, many of my Euro friends tell me.
No place in Canada has a better indoor facility for the field events at this time.
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