Al Sheahen: critical of WMA back in 2001.
World Masters Athletics started as an athlete-driven group called WAVA, fiercely defending the right of every over-35 woman and over-40 man (at the time) to compete at worlds. But the late
Al Sheahen sensed an upside-down change — with WMA leadership taking on the trappings of royalty. (Read his still-relevant
“Which Way, WMA?“ from 2001. See page 17) Now WMA has announced the prospect of a “masters conference” at 2018 Malaga worlds. A survey is going to Daegu entrants on this issue,
WMA reports. WMA Secretary
Maria Alfaro writes: “The IAAF through
Gunter Lange will be contacting athletes from the Championships in Daegu regarding a survey to ascertain the feasibility of hosting a masters conference at the WMA Championships in Malaga 2018…. Following the responses, a 2nd detailed survey will be made with the events specifically for Malaga.
Winston Thomas and
Cesar Moreno-Bravo will be coordinating with the IAAF to make this an athlete driven conference, so your cooperation on this would be appreciated so that it can be planned well in advance of the 2018 championships.” This is big — and strange. Who instigated this? If WMA wanted it, they wouldn’t have to ask. Is WMA being pushed into hosting such an event? Might the inmates again get a chance to run the asylum? Stay tuned.
3 Responses
Imagine that – an opportunity to hear from those who pay to participate in the WMA championship. The usual meetings are only for delegates- one can attend but not speak – not a whole lot of point in that . No the inmates will not have a chance to run the asylum – and if what is said does not please those who run WMA – could be a one and only. It will be interesting to see if that happens, how it is managed, and who decides who gets to participate. Meanwhile – I suspect many will be busy training or sightseeing – lots of great things to do in Malage area and in the rest of Spain. I will be looking at a trip to Granda – went there for a day many years ago and want to go back again.
I took, or started to take, the survey (can’t actually remember). As I recall, they are asking not only about whether to do this but also when and, get this, how much to charge! And none of the options were very cheap.
Jyvaskyla organized a series of technical talks, and the ones I attended were pretty interesting, but they were free.
Quick Silver
Hong Kong
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