Olathe already boasting 2013 nationals, predict 2,000 entrants
Dorothy (Judy Garland) would be W85 if alive today.
Here’s the rest of the story:
“Holding a national track and field event of this caliber provides Olathe with a chance to show what it has to offer visitors, and it helps establish the community as a great location for sports competitions and events,” L. Franklin Taylor, president of the Olathe Chamber of Commerce, said in the release.
Representatives from the Olathe CVB and local USATF went to the USATF’s annual meeting in Virginia Beach, Va., to make a bid presentation. The selection committee picked Olathe in a first-round vote because of its central location, availability of volunteers, competition facilities and commitment to the program, according to the release.
But the chamber’s own press release adds a valuable tidbit:
According to Kenneth Ferguson, “the fact that Milan Donley, meet director for the KU Relays, has agreed to serve as the meet director for this event, speaks to the broad-based support it took to bring this event to Olathe .”
That’s cool! Maybe Jayhawk track alumni (like me) will get their pick of lanes!
Rock chalk!
35 Responses
At last a topic on which I have some expertise. Eugene holds the record for our nationals with 1503 entrants in the year 2000. The 3 meets that managed to attract more than 1400 but did not reach 1500 were as follows:
San Diego (1989)
Eugene (1994)
Sacramento (2010)
Note that all 4 of these meets were in either Oregon or California. Thus, Kansas will be striking quite a blow for the heartland of our country if it can reach 2000 athletes. On the other hand, why not think big?
I admire the enthusiasm of the locals and am glad to see that Milan Donley will be the meet director. Saddle up, boys and girls.
Would be interested to hear from Mary Harada (Massachusetts) and Mellow Johnny (Oregon) on what they think of the local prediction that Olathe will draw 2000 competitors in the year 2013.
Hi Pedro, you did not pick up on the 30 – 80 age group,
hope the over 80 will show up as well.Had to count
our ages…. not there yet.
And Milan Donley? not a relative, need to check.
Excellent observation, Christel. Yes, I saw it immediately but then forgot all about it. If Olathe is predicting 2000 athletes in the 30-80 group we need a separate prediction for ages 81 and above.
As for Milan Donley, is he related to Jerry? You will check, as noted. Milan has been a highly regarded coach in the long and triple jumps and, as the article indicates, is the current director of the prestigious Kansas Relays. All good.
Muchas gracias, Christel.
Pedro
I believe I was the FIRST ONE to call you PEDRO (LOL)
Ask and you shall receive, PT.
Like you, I admire the enthusiasm and like the fact they’re already starting to publicize a masters meet over 2 1/2 years from now.
My guess? That they don’t reach 2000 athletes but that being said, I hope they prove me wrong.
Personally, I plan to be in Berea and Lisle. It’s a ways off, but I don’t see myself making it to Olathe. The past 3 outdoor national meets and the next two all strong factors that are appealing to me (close to Oregon, near friends/family, or both). Orono was appealing because even though it had neither of those, my wife and I would like to go to Maine and it’s a mild climate.
Olathe doesn’t have seem to have anything that appeals to me other than the meet itself. Wonder if others feel the same.
Thank you, Mellow Johnny. Yes, I like their enthusiasm (in Olathe) and the fact that they appointed a well-known major meet director to direct the 2013 outdoor masters nationals. I believe that Olathe will be able to get 1025 athletes (or thereabouts).
As for Orono, yes, it has an extraordinarily mild climate. I just went to accuweather.com to look at the historical averages for each day in July in Orono. The average lows range from 57 to 60, and the average HIGHS range from 78 to 81. Now that is mild. Unfortunately, I hear that the track has seen better days. Oh, well.
If the Olathe Chamber of Commerce does some outreach to the Masters rank-and-file members and actually ASKS them what they’d like to have at Nationals in addition to great facilities (i.e., free, frequent and reliable shuttle service to and from the airport, low block rates at hotels, organized transportation into KC for dinners, etc.), then they might have a chance at high attendance.
Saying “Holding a national track and field event of this caliber provides Olathe with a chance to show what it has to offer visitors” is a lot like saying “build it and they will come”.
Before Olathe can show off its charms, the Chamber of Commerce needs to provide pay some specific attention to the needs of Masters athletes and offer some incentives to come (such as free transportation).
Saying that the cut-off age of competitors is 80 already shows that Olathe isn’t completely familiar with the population of athletes they are hoping to serve.
Olathe will draw 600-800 athletes. Mostly hard- cores will show up. Maine is awesome to visit. The track might not meet the expectations of our top athletes, but it was good enough. Spokane was fun also.
Good perspective there, David. Thanks. My guess is the # of entrants is closer to your 600-800 than their 2000. Again, I hope they prove me wrong but in all likelihood, I’m one of several athletes who will have (hopefully) made it 5 years in a row and have that streak broken by not attending Olathe.
Spokane, Oshkosh, and Sacto all had great aspects to each of them. None were perfect but, to someone who grew up in Eugene, the bar is set by Hayward Field so, unfairly, it’s essentially an impossible task to match it (in my opinion). Berea and Lisle have some very appealing things to me as well. I’m just not seeing anything from Olathe (nothing personal to the fine people of Kansas).
Would be interesting to know where the Olathe Chamber of Commerce got their projected attendance figure of 2,000 athletes and how they arrived at the conclusion that the meet will bring in $3.59 million in economic benefit.
That’s a hefty chunk of change.
Hopefully, some investment will be made in logistical support for the athletes (the aforementioned amenities like transportation, etc.) since Olathe’s expectation is that the athletes will be dropping big bucks during their visit.
Hey Mellow Johnny. Personally, I would love to have the meet permanently in Eugene. It would end the annual list of excuses as to why we end up in places most of us don’t really want to go to instead of with the most supportive T&F community and one of the best tracks in the US.
Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that Oregon is actually a pretty nice place to visit in the summer.
I thought Hayward was very good but it wasnt heaven on earth as every one thinks. It is equal to the tracks at ohter major universities with good track and field programs. I would get bored going to the same place year after year because part of the fun is visitng different parts of the US where I haven’t been. As to having the meet permanently in Eugene theres a little matter of having a bid come from them. So why dont you Oregon runners get moving on this and put your money where your mouth is and we will be happy to come to Eugene!
Another awesome destination for a track meet in the summer is Fort Collins, Colorado. They run a great masters meet every year at the end of August. Fly into Denver, drive north for about an hour. Beautiful college town, great track, great weather, good accommodations, good food, supportive T&F community, right next to Rocky Mountain National Park.
Fort Collins sounds nice. Note that of our last 10 nationals, only 1 has been in Eugene (7 years ago)and, going forward, none of the next 3 will be there. Thus, it looks like Eugene is a site of the past.
In the modern era (1992-2010), our nationals have been held in only 13 places, as follows:
Orono, Maine (3 times)
Eugene, Oregon (3 times)
Spokane, Washington (3 times)
Provo, Utah
East Lansing, Michigan
San Jose, California
Orlando, Florida
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Decatur, Illinois
Honolulu, Hawaii
Charlotte, NC
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Sacramento, California
I agree with the thrust of comment no. 13 that there are many other very good sites (other than Eugene). Thus, we are left with the central question: Why are 99%+ of the cities in the US with a good track and field facility not interested in hosting our nationals?
That’s a good question (#15), Peter.
I am a travel journalist and I presented your very same question to the president of the North American Travel Journalists Association, and she suggested that in addition to approaching universities and sports organizations with Requests for Bids to host Nationals that the Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVBs) of individual cities should also be approached.
Perhaps CVBs are already approached, but if not, CVBs could put together bids with officials from local track facilities. With tourism at a low because of the economy, many cities with great track facilities would likely be delighted to host 800+ Masters athletes. Maybe they just haven’t been asked.
Excellent, Rob, you are doing a good job for us. And your 800+ figure is interesting, because the range in the modern era (1992-2010) has been 802 to 1503 for the outdoor championships.
I agree, Anonymous, regarding the appeal of going to different places throughout the country for nationals.
Sadly, I think PT is correct that Eugene is a thing of the past. Last year, the long running Hayward Classic had to be cancelled for the first time due to lack of availability at Hayward. In 2011, it’s going to a one-day meet in mid-May because that’s what’s available.
Hayward will have the West Regionals in 2011 along with the “Open” championships. In 2012, the Trials. In 2013 and 2014, the NCAAs. All of these in addition to the Pre Classic, State H.S. meet, and other regulars.
So I see issues for the Hayward Classic and the now one-day meet it is finding a spot on the calendar not to mention a 4-day meet like outdoor nats.
Darn! No Eugene! But maybe Ft Collins??
Dave, having lived in Fort Collins and run meets there I can tell you that while it is a great place the facility is inadequate for a national championships — overlapping sectors for the long throws would make it impossible to put the meet on there and fit all the events in to a four day time frame. There is also the small matter of having a local group that would be willing to do the work to put on a national championships, which is exponentially more complex and demanding than the Rocky Mountain Masters that Jim Weed and company so ably put on year after year.
Sadly, there are lots of great places all over the country for smaller meets that simply don’t cut it for the masters nationals because of the number of events and age groups that need to be run. The biggest issue in most places is overlapping sectors for the long throws or only one hammer/discus cage (we need two to effectively have a championships). Because of changes to the facility in Fort Collins since 2004 it is no longer event feasible to hold the Throws Championships there.
Regarding Olathe, it is really quite close to Kansas City — if you think the half hour ride from the KC airport to Olathe is never ending, the ride from Denver to Fort Collins takes forever and a day. It is certainly a lot more convenient to a major airport that is served by discount carriers such as Southwest than Decatur or Honolulu were — or even Oshkosh and Spokane. Getting there should not be an issue (as it is for many further away than Boston trying to get to Orono).
I have the feeling that a lot of people are reacting as if Olathe was in the middle of no where with nothing to do. It isn’t. I was out in KC last May for a conference and had dinner one night with a former student of mine who lives in Olathe. From my hotel in downtown KC to his house took far less than half an hour. For those looking for interesting places to visit, KC has plenty, starting with the Negro Leagues Museum and the Jazz Museum. I was there for a four day conference and didn’t have enough time to see everything I would have liked to have seen.
So, instead of knee jerk reactions to Kansas and a place in Kansas people haven’t heard of, let’s try to look at facts and then react. It’s an accessible place with cheap airfares and plenty of places to visit nearby (closer to Olathe than downtown Chicago is to Lisle). Let’s build up the positives rather than emphasizing the negatives as so many contributors to this list seem to enjoy doing!
Thanks Jerry and Thanks David for the great response
to our Rocky Mt.Masters Games in Ft. Collins. Hope, to see everybody there this year.
Other than that, Jerry-Bookin-Weiner said it all.
Please, read it carefully! The criteria for putting on a National Meet is manyfold, and planning for 3 yrs. in advance, will simply be difficult, even with the best facility. We- the athletes- have many demands, that simply cannot always – or not at all – be met.
But with all the questions raised and new ideas, I am sure new places will be found, if people are willing to work on it!,
I totally agree with Jerry Bookin. It’s not very far from KC and Olathe itself is not a bad place to be. Moving the nationals around, allow us to visit different part of the country. This also allows us to compete in different venues and make new friends.I am personally looking forward to competing there and I am hopeful these nationals will be a big success.
Jerry Bookin-Weiner’s analysis (no. 20) is quite helpful. Not knowing all of the details of putting on meets such as Olathe (2013) or Berea (2011) or Lisle (2012), I decided to take another tack and look for trends that might be instructive. I found two:
1. It used to be very common to hold this meet at a major university. Even as recently as the 1998-2005 period (8 meets) I found that 75%, or 6, were held at a major university (Louisiana State University once, University of Hawaii once, University of Oregon twice, and University of Maine twice).
Going forward, I think it will be rare to hold the meet at a major university. University of Maine (2007) was the last one, and I don’t see any through 2013. In fact, the Olathe meet will be held at a venue owned and managed by the local school district.
I don’t think this is a bad trend, as I think that the Div III schools and the large school districts may be more suited to our masters championships than are the huge universities that are in the news all the time. In fact, I wonder whether this meet will ever again be held at a major university (see Mellow Johnny’s point above, no. 18).
2. Eastern states like New York (1975, 1986), Pennsylvania (1980), New Jersey (never), and Virginia (never) have not held any of the last 24 meets, even though, according to the 2009 estimates, all four states are among the 12 most populous in the US (NY is 3rd, PA 6th, NJ 11th, and VA 12th), and among them they have many major airports.
Various reasons could be offered, but 1986 was the last year for these four states, as noted, and none will be active in 2011-2013. Massachusetts and Maryland are also populous, and neither one has ever held the meet.
In my humble opinion, I think we should continue to look at the Div III schools, take another look at Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia for possibilities there, try for a tourist connection if possible, and see what we can do.
This year’s meet was held at Sacramento State U.
Pete, #23,
The vast majority of high school facilities are inadequate for masters. There are several events that are not part of a high school schedule: Steeplechase, Hammer, Weight and Javelin Throws. Very few schools wil ad lib to have those facilities. How many high schools can provide multiple long throw sectors? Multiple vault runways? Multiple jump runways? Curbs are not required in the high school rulebook–we’ve managed to skirt that one with recent rule changes but its still proper to have a curb, rather than cones.
On the other hand, here in California at least, many Community Colleges have excellent facilities. San Jose City College, 1997, was such a location.
As a meet director who deliberately tried various facilities, there is the common problem of trying to reach decisionmakers at any public facility. In short, our meets are extra work. Public employees won’t lift a finger to help. We absolutely need someone on the inside to make any progress. Perhaps the local CVB and the politicos who think they see $ before their eyes can grease that, but then we will end up with yet another National Championship put on for profit of the local hotel owners, rather than for the athletes.
I don’t consider Sacramento State Univ. to be a major university by any means. Nor is Univ of Wisconsin – Oshkosh (2009) a major university. Will UCLA, USC, Stanford, Cal Berkeley, Univ. of Wisconsin, Marquette Univ., etc. be considering our meet in the future? I don’t think so.
Andrew: Agree that most HS facilities are inadequate. But I just don’t see a major university in our future with the possible exception of Univ of Maine (Orono). Maybe I am wrong, but I think we need to go to the smaller universities and colleges while considering high schools as well.
I agree with Andrew Hecker. I would have been far more enthused if the meet were scheduled for Lawrence, KS at the home of the Kansas Relays, where I ran back in 1975. With next year’s National Senior Games also moved to a high school venue, is this a trend? Is this what masters championships have become? Of course, the number of spectators do not warrant the need for a large seating stadium, but the venue should at least complement a NATIONAL event.
The one ray of hope is that the article references a date for the National Masters 2013 meet in June. For those wanting to go to WMA-Brazil (July 24-August 4), the Olathe meet would allow enough recovery time. Not so in 2013 with the National Senior Games, which has a direct conflict with WMA-Brazil.
July 21-July 26 or so (M50—64) – July 27-July 31 or so (M64+) – National Senior Games (Cleveland)
July 24-August 4 – WMA-World Championships (Brazil)
Most senior games athletes will not be going to Brazil, but unless the dates change, for those trying to attend a World Championship (I’ve paid entry fees for four WMA World Championship meets and participated injured at two)it will not be possible to use the National Senior Games as a tuneup for Brazil. Bummer.
and to add a bit more to the mix – the World Masters Games will be in Turin, Italy – starting around the first of August. Win the lottery, charter a plane and take some of us from Kansas to Brazil to Italy!
2013 is a long long time away- for right now – I am recovering from the 6k x-c in Charlotte, and thinking about training for the indoor track season.
Hi Mary…any pics from that Charlotte meet?
Duh, just found them on Ken’s latest post. Sorry for the unnecessary post and thanks Ken for posting!
I have yet to find the photos of the masters awards – but someone “official” was taking them.
runnerspace.com has some video of all the races.
I was there at the voting in Va Beach and it was frankly an easy call. I felt the presenters for Maine got way too folksy and the fact their track won’t be worked on didn’t sit well w/ me. No one felt right about Jacksonville due to the humidity though I like the bid better.
Olathe, KS was perfect due to local support, central location near Kansas City and felt it was best for athletes who are planning for the 2013 Worlds in Brazil. It is a fair location for everyone and also inexpensive for everyone.
The Kansas presenters impressed me enough to where I even wanted to visit Kansas City. This will be all good in the end.
Hellow to Ken Stone and other Master’s track athletes. I’m a newcomer (and like Ken a former KU trackster) and I’m gearing up for Senior Games back in the old stomping grounds. Olathe is a New York Minute from greater Kansas City (both of them) and has excellent facilities all around at the many high schools and small colleges…even larger universities in the area. I say to all runners of all ages, come to Kansas and see what the prairie people and the prairie winds can do for you…
Great perspective there, Barry. Thanks.
I was looking up Manute Bol on Wikipedia and found out he moved to Olathe:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12444652
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