Olathe, Kansas, to host 2013 USATF masters nationals — if site OK
Masters mole No. 2335, working undercover in Virginia Beach, says the USATF Masters T&F Committee today chose Olathe, Kansas, as site of the 2013 USATF masters national outdoor meet, “contingent on site inspection.” If the site isn’t up to snuff, Jacksonville, Florida, gets the meet apparently. That’s all I know. Details still to come. Olathe, a suburb of Kansas City, isn’t far from Lawrence and the University of Kansas, my alma mater. But I have no idea where the meet would be held, other than one the four local high schools. Olathe has a running club, but I have no clue who made the bid. Stay tuned.
62 Responses
You have an excellent mole, Ken. I went to the Rand McNally site; Olathe appears to be about 38.7 miles from Kansas City International, which could be a bit of a stretch. As I recall, Oshkosh was about 22 miles from the nearest commercial airport (Appleton), but Oshkosh was a university with an outstanding facility, not a high school.
Will be interesting to see which of the high schools in Olathe steps up to handle this baby. Well, at least people can’t say it’s not near the center of the US. Hmmm, when was the last time we had an outdoor nationals in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, or Nebraska? I’m guessing Wichita, Kansas, in 1982. Anyone know of any more recent ones in those four “Heartland” states?
Is this a joke? While Olathe is a perfectly nice place – I have been there some years ago – it is not exactly a hot spot for visitors from around the US. Olathe for the outdoor nationals in 2013? – 2013 – isn’t the WMA outdoor meet going to be in Brazil and the WMG in Italy? Which one would you prefer – Olathe, KS, Brazil, or Italy?
I am not sure that Jacksonville, FL in late July or early Aug would be particularly attractive either. It will be winter in Brazil – in July/August – beautiful beaches, etc.
AAHHH ! I see Club Nationals are the same weekend as first weekend of Worlds in Sacramento. Darn !
Does any body know where Clubs are ?
Olathe is near Kansas City, KANSAS, actually. It’s pronounced Oh-LAY-thuh, BTW.
Hi, where are the 2012 meets Indoor and out?
Here’s my bet for location:
http://www.jccc.edu/cavs/facilities/outdoor-track.html
Olathe is really a nice area, it borders Overland Park KS.(which is where Johnson Co. Comm. College where I trained and coached for 6yrs in ’90’s) it is 30min all interstate ride from airport. I would guess it would be at Blue Valley (west) high school which has an outstanding stadium. The college is not far from there, and also has top notch facility (no stadium).
Chuck, Club Nationals are at Icahn Stadium in New York. It is unfortunate that they overlap with Worlds, but we generally don’t have much masters participation at Club Track Nationals.
The masters meet in Olathe will be held at the same site as Club Nationals a few years ago:
http://www.usatf.org/events/2008/USATFClubTFChampionships/
Apparently they have a hammer cage there, but it was broken in 2008 and the hammer was held at KU which was a rather significant drive from the meet. Word on the street is that the hammer cage is still broken.
The feedback I got is that it wasn’t a very good site for the meet. Club Nationals will not be returning there. It really is quite a drive from any airports… I guess they just expect everyone to rent a car?
If the meet is at the ODAC, it looks like a few cars in the parking lot will have spectacular seats for the pole vault! 😉
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=21201+W+159th+Olathe,+KS+66062&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=51.576045,83.232422&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=21201+W+159th+St,+Olathe,+Johnson,+Kansas+66062&ll=38.836423,-94.826048&spn=0.001632,0.003935&t=h&z=19
Another possible site for Olathe, KS to hold a Masters Nationals T&F Meet is the recently built Olathe District Activities Center which boasts of a 6,000-seat, lighted football stadium, a 2,000-seat, lighted soccer stadium, two 500-seat, lighted softball fields, two lighted baseball fields with 1,000 seats each, a 400-meter, 8-lane track, and parking for 1,500 cars. A maintenance facility, locker rooms, restrooms, and concessions are located throughout the complex that is over 80 acres in all. Some photos of this facility are located at, http://www.hollis-miller.com/projects/project/117/olathe_district_activity_center/?pageIndex=3&market=educational&state=&keyword=
On Google earth a bit northeast of Olathe I saw three black tracks. What is that?
I went to Club Nationals in 2008 in Olathe, Kansas 2008, the facility for track and field was not bad and there were hotels pretty close by. However, the drive to and from the airport was neverending.
I am also disappointed that next year, the National Club Championships are going to be taking place at the same our Master World Championship kicks off in the Sacramento. But I guess thats life.
It is at the activities center. Claim to be getting someone else’s hammer cage and building an additional shot put circle. Sandy Pashkin and Jim Flanik believe it will work.
I’m at meeting for 13-14 year old hammer rule (tabled) and ultraweight pent. rule which I believe has been accepted. Jerry Bookin-Weiner also tells me Seattle has Throws Championships in Seattle 2012.
George
Dec. 4, 2010 Virginia Beach, VA
2013 Masters Indoor and Outdoor Championships Bids
The results of the bids are the following:
The 2013 Indoor Masters T & F Championships were awarded to Landover MD. This bid group was led by Jerry Bookin-Weiner. Dates TBD. Likely to be 3rd weekend in March.
The 2013 Outdoor Championships were awarded to Olathe, KS and the group lead by Missouri Vally Assoc. President Kenneth Ferguson. The facility is the Olathe District Activities Center. Additional bids were presented by groups from Jacksonville, FL and Orono, ME. The bid from Olathe is contingent on a site inspection. Tentative dates are July 11-14.
Mike Travers
USATF Masters Site Selection Chair
Here’s another link to the Activities Center:
http://www.olathe.org/cvb/sports/facilities_guide.html
The sports tab adds a little more info.
Olathe weather link:
http://www.idcide.com/weather/ks/olathe.htm
It doesn’t look like it gets too hot in July. Not sure of the humidity.
Anyone know where the 2011 Throws Championships will be held, and dates?
Fidel, I think they get a decent amount of humidity in Olathe, but Ken Stone would know better. The very high all-time high in Olathe for July tells me something, as in the continental US the cities with relatively low all-time highs tend to be kind of sticky (and the reverse should be true).
Here is what I got from weather.com for some cities familiar to masters T&F fans (average low, average high, record high, all for July):
Olathe 69-89-114
Eugene 51-81-106
Charlotte 71-90-103
Orlando 72-93-101
Of those cities, Eugene is by far the driest in July (well under 1 inch of rain), and Orlando is easily the wettest. Charlotte (3.8 inches) and Oleathe (4.0 inches) are in the middle.
Looks like airports will be a big deal here. As you may know, the four cities that were able to draw more than 1300 competitors in our outdoor champs in the last 22 years were:
Eugene (twice) — Eugene Airport
Sacramento (once) — Sacramento Int’l Airport
San Diego (once) — San Diego Int’l Airport
Charlotte (once) — Charlotte Douglas Int’l Airport
Because Olathe doesn’t offer what Eugene has in terms of tradition, prestige, etc., it looks like they need to build an international airport. Failing that, the airport connection is going to have be made pretty strong for this meet to break 1300 entrants. Looks like a good facility.
It may have a good or even a great facility but the fact remains that many look at the National Masters Outdoor Track meet as family vacation time. What is there to do in Olathe
aside from visiting Kansas City KS and Kansas City MO ( which are NOT close but would be very interesting and would require a day trip – not an afternoon drop-by) – what does the area have to attract competitors from the West and the East Coast in July?
Yes I have been to Olathe, Lawrence and a number of other towns in the area so I am not just sounding off like a snobby New Englander who has yet to travel west of Philadelphia.
Lake of the Ozarks and Branson.
I competed at Club Nationals in 2008 in Olathe. The facility was okay, but like Lisa, I remember a lot of driving was involved to get there from the airport. At least the airport had direct flights from NYC and a lot of other places, unlike Oshkosh.
Olathe, eh? The last time I hit Olathe was in 1948. I probably won’t recognize anything. I retired to a ranch in Missouri so Olathe is close. For those of you who haven’t been to this part of the world, it’s laid back. Cats still say “weuns” and “youns.” Honest. Flying, and the engine stops? You want to be over Kansas. I mean, it’s one giant runway. The people make the place. As they say in Kansas, they’re “spayshul.” Smartty
http://www.mastershistory.org/Outdoor/1997-Outdoor.pdf
Anyone know the way to San Jose? I wish it would come back here.
Jeff you were just a young 34 year old.
I heard that 800 final was really windy and tactical.
The 2011 Throws Championships are slated for August 13-14 in New London, CT at Connecticut College.
So the main criteria for picking sites for Nationals is now 1) a place were no one in their right mind would like to visit, 2) difficult to get to, and 3) not a nice place in the summer. For our summer vacation, I took my wife to Olathe. Forget the oceans or mountains. Let’s do long drives through the heartland!
$$$$$ seems to be the primary criterion for picking sites for National and World meets. From the graphics for the Sacramento Worlds website, you’d think Yosemite and San Francisco are right next door to the stadium. Not so. As a tourist destination, Sacramento is about as fun as Olathe.
I skipped Sacramento after attending 4 straight. Having to go to Oshkosh kind of put things into perspective. I love to train, but Masters Nationals has little to offer unless you like ribbons & medals.
#5 Gary – Where will the 2012 Indoor Masters Championships be held?
Previous masterstrack.com post:
http://masterstrack.com/2009/12/2149/ identifies U of Indiana, Bloomington, IN.
Google search reveals: http://www.visitbloomington.com/docs/inusatf.pdf
Part of the press release follows:
December 18, 2009
Bloomington Awarded 2012 USA Track & Field Masters Indoor National Championships
Bloomington – Bloomington, IN was recently awarded the 2012 USA Track & Field Masters Indoor
National Championships. The event will be held at Indiana University’s Harry Gladstein Fieldhouse (one
of the premier indoor track and field facilities in the country) March 16-18, 2012.
The Indiana Association of USA Track & Field (INUSATF) and the Hoosier Sports Corporation successfully bid on this event …..
Anyone (Indiana?) who can verify please do?
***
New subject: Say – is that a new background of the USATF site? (Sorry if someone else has mentioned it.)
Happy Holidays all!
Interesting comments from David and Rob. As a quasi-historian of the masters movement I noted with some alarm that the meets in Spokane (2008) and Oshkosh (2009) represented the first back-to-back meets with poor turnouts since 1992 (Spokane) and 1993 (Provo, Utah).
I point this out because expected attendance is apparently not a big criterion for site selection if one looks forward from this point (Berea, Ohio, in 2011; Lisle, Illinois, in 2012; Olathe, Kansas, in 2013). Or maybe it is a major criterion but availability wins out.
To be frank (not pessimistic, just honest), I don’t see any of these three meets being big draws. I don’t know how that fits into the long-range plans of masters T&F in the US; it’s just the way it looks from here.
PS: I loved the Oshkosh facility; did not care for Spokane all that much.
If we are trying to kill Masters T&F, I can think of no better way. I trained all year like I normally do, but spent a week on the Northern CA coast with my wife instead of sweating it out in Sacramento. I didn’t miss it, I’m still in great shape. I would love to compete, but having the meet at non-family destinations really sucks.
What David Hampton said.
I have zero interest in Berea, Ohio, Lisle, Illinois or Olathe, Kansas.
We only get to vote on and choose from the bidders who bid–for those of us going to the Nationals for competition and not for family vacation Kansas seemed like the best of the three coices in a Worlds year for people going to Brazil for Worlds. The other two choices were Florida which I think most of agree (if we never get another bid from a Florida City we would be quite pleased) and the other choice Orono, Maine which is expensive to get to and the Track was in bad shape the last Nationals we had on it. I asked them if there were any plans to resurface the track before the 2013 Nationals–the answer was no–so all things considered Kansas was the best choice of the three. I would be willing to bet the turn out will be bigger in Kansas then it would have been for Florida or Maine.The opressive heat in Florida killed the meet planned for Clairmont, Florida two years ago and the Track surface in Orono is not up to standard for our Nationals. The site for the meet in Kansas is a Mondo surface that is new the facility looks first rate- for serious competitors this will be a good meet.
I should have been clearer above. Yes, you can only vote on the bidders; from a strategic standpoint the issue is whether places that will bring in the athletes can be persuaded to bid. I guess the answer is no.
Matthew said:
*** I have zero interest in…Lisle, Illinois…
No, Matt, don’t say that!
Hahaha!
Greg
Just checked with the Head Track Coach at Case Western Reserve University. This might have been a more convenient location in Cleveland (although Baldwin Wallace is only minutes from the CLE airport). Case has never been contacted, however, they would be interested in hosting. I wonder if Ohio State would be interested also. Perhaps we should organize a group of masters athletes that could scout out potential sites, make the initial contact, and then present the compiled list to the selection committee. Otherwise, the idea of having the Nationals in a permanent central location is not a bad idea.
Linda 🙂
After reading Linda’s post I am wondering how the universities/groups with facilities are made aware of the bidding process and which nationals are available? How is USATF communicating the process for bidding and availability? Are interested parties suppose to contact USATF or is contact made by the group that would like to host the event? I like the idea of having a masters group scout out potential locations. In response to a portion Mark’s post that refers to competition versus family vacation, I prefer both.
I suffer from Mothers’ Guilt, as a result when I have the opportunity include my family as part of the journey in Masters Track I attempt to do so.
Mike Travers (post no. 16) is our site selection chair. Mike is on the board of governors of USATF New England (go to that site to find his direct e-mail address).
We should all be scouting as much as we can. If you are in Columbus, Ohio, for example, you might say to the head coach of the men’s or women’s track and field team (as you are raking the long jump pit at one of their meets): “The best thing that could happen to Ohio State University, better even than a no. 1 ranking in football, would be to host the USATF masters nationals in 2014.”
I think that is the way you do it; take the opportunity, if you have it, to speak with one of the coaches and drop the suggestion. If the coach (or athletic director) is interested, match that person up with Mike Travers — that’s the way I would do it.
Yes, Pete Taylor, you are correct. Interested parties must contact me. Cities must be more than willing to host a meet. There are significant financial obligations. They also must have a Local Organizing Committee(LOC). I had 13 parties with initial interest in the 2013 outdoor meet. Those were self sorted down to 3. I have personally solicited bids from locations all over the country. The best case scenario is when a university teams up with a local convention and visitors bureau.
I am actively seeking bids for 2014. I would be glad to discuss this with anyone!
Mike Travers
mikefit@mindspring.com
617-686-3485
Thank you, Mike. Very surprising to me that there were 13 parties with initial interest in hosting the 2013 meet (eventually awarded to Olathe). Shows you what I know; I would have thought there were only 3 (Orono, Jacksonville, and Olathe).
So, boys and girls, get out there and do some scouting, then have a university rep or someone from the local convention and visitors bureau hook up with Mike (e-mail address above). You will have done your good deed for masters T&F for the year.
I’ve never been to Orono but based on what I’ve read from those who have been, seems that Orono would have been a shoe-in to host the meet. Kansas doesn’t sound all that appealing but moreso than Florida.
Local convention and visitor bureaus in candidate cities for Nationals might also be interested in proposing pre- and post-meet excursions for Masters competitors as part of their bids. Having a 1000+ Masters (plus family) visit a city would make any convention bureau happy.
That might possibly address some of the good points made by Mary Harada and others about the need for a family tourism component to the locations selected for Nationals.
I competed in Orono in 2007. Orono was a delightfully quaint and charming town. I loved visiting Maine. However the track (as Mark Cleary said) was NOT in good shape and no doubt it’s even worse now. One other item: accomodations in such a small town were in short supply. You could stay outside of town, but then you’d need a car. I stayed at the local hotel and I wasn’t thrilled with the comfort level. I heard from several other people who stayed in the dorms that there was no air conditioning and we had some hot sticky weather during the meet. Finally, if you don’t live in the area it is a very expensive trip to make. The surrounding airports are smaller and therefore a more pricey airline ticket. We flew into Boston and drove 5 or 6 hours (don’t remember how many). It was a trip I don’t want to make again.
I am glad that Liz Palmer has the cure for the ORONO AMNESIA that seems to be going around. Travel was only reasonable if you were you were from Boston or New York, the track was not the best, and although the meet was near Canada, we had to deal with 90+ degree heat and high humidity.
Sign me up. I’ll be a scoutee!
I am puzzed as to why there is such a negative reaction to Lisle. It is in greater Chicago. It’s not far from either airport. That makes it easy to get to, and there is a ton of stuff for families (and adults)to do in Chicago. Downtown is just a short train ride away. The Throws Championship were held there this year, and had the best ever attendance for a throws champs.
I am also puzzled as to the issue of a 30 minute car ride to get from the airport to the track. Yes, a drive down the west outlying parts of KC does seem to last forever, but let’s do some comparison. Taking the Metro from Reagan National to Landover is at least a 45 minute train ride. Many folks going to Eugene will fly into Portland and rent a car, then drive two hours to get to Eugene. The shuttle from the Sacramento airport to campus took thirty minutes. And, again, KC is easy to get to, unlike Oshkosh and Decatar.
Linda, the next time you are down in Columbus you can check out the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium at Ohio State University. Apparently the track has 9 48-inch lanes and 4 directions for pole vaulting (assume 2 boxes). Could not tell anything about hammer throw, shotput, etc.
Tell them that you are Linda Carty and that OSU should consider a bid for our 2014 outdoors. As far as attractions for the family, I don’t know much about that, but you could find out, I am sure.
As a high school coach in Ohio the throwing areas are across the street (Fred Taylor Dr). Nice throwing facility. Couple of shot put areas, hammer/discus cage, and a javelin runway. Not sure if there are other areas I don’t know of but those are the ones used for state competition. You wouldn’t be able to throw javelin, discus, or hammer simultaneously because they are too close or utilize the same pad. If you google map it the throwing area is to the left across Fred Taylor Driver and past the first soccer field.
I competed in Orono in both 2002 and 2007. In 2002 I did the penthalon and javelin and thought the track was fast as I ran a respectable 200 despite tearing a quad in the long jump, the first event of the penthalon. The long jump runway also seemed very fast to me. In 2007 I only competed in the javelin due to 2 knee surgeries since 2002 so I have no first-hand experience as to the quality of the track, but it definitely looked the worse for wear compared to 2002. The heat in 2007 didn’t last the whole meet, by Sunday when I threw the javelin, the high was only around 70, a little too cool for javelin throwing for my Southern blood. Even on Friday (I think the high was 98), it wasn’t any worse than what most of us from the South and Midwest experience (and get used to) at that time of year. I enjoyed my visits to Maine and would like to go back, but I agree that unless the track is resurfaced at some point, its a no-go. There are too many too fast tracks out there to settle for one that was sub-par in 2007 and will only get worse with the passage of time unless its resurfaced, given the punishment inflicted on it by Maine winters.
It’s a wonder that they even give Master’s the opportunity to compete at their own Nationals competitionafter reading some of the complaints on this subject that seem ridiculous, even if it is only from a few and not a true representation of all masters athletes. This is a major track and field competition first and foremost. You would think the arguements against the site would stay relatively confined to standards of the facilities and weather related issues. I’m reading about sightseeing and vacation sites as arguements against Olathe? First off if you think that KC is too far to sightsee in an afternoon and evening , unless your going by horse and buggy or riding a uni-cycle it’s only 22.5 miles between both cities. If your primary focus on going to a nationals meet is more for a vacation than competing, then you should probably stick to just a vacation and scrap nationals. So Yosemite and San Francisco aren’t visible from your hotel balcony when competing in Sacramento, we apologize for the inconvenience. Some of the snobbery and bad mouthing national locations make some athletes sick to their stomachs. Kind of like the Howell’s, Thurston and Luvey on “Gilligans Island” than athletes. Relax and just go, compete and have fun. I’m sure there’s electricity and clean out-houses at all the motels in town.
As a Maine native who went to school at Orono for four years, including one summer session, I can tell you that the heat during the 2007 meet was highly unusual. Since I only competed in the long and triple jumps in 2007, I will have to defer to others as to the quality of the track.
Right you are, Steven. I spent 6 days in Orono in 1998, in 2002, and in 2007, and it is hard for me to imagine a more pleasant summer climate. According to weather.com, there is not a single month of the year in which the average high in Orono exceeds 80 degrees (average high in August is just 78; July is the hottest month with average top temperature of only 80).
I went to AccuWeather.com for detailed stats. From July 1 through August 28 of the current year, a period of 59 days, there were just 3 days in which the temperature in Orono even hit 90. Let’s see, my calculator says that is 5.1%. I love those odds (essentially 1 out of 20).
As noted, I have spent 18 days in Orono and can’t recall a single difficult day in terms of climate. Contrast that with Charlotte (2006) and Sacramento (2010), where the heat wsa brutal; I will never forget those sites. And yet, I must trust the recollections of the people who actually competed ( I did not). Apparently, it was hot in 2007 and I believe it was hot in 2002 as well (per the reports of those who competed in track or field events).
Thus, I conclude that our experience in Orono has been extremely atypical. I will now go to AccuWeather to see what the figures were for the July 1 through August 28 period this year for Olathe, Kansas, our 2013 site (we never have our outdoors before July 1 or after August 28).
OK, in Olathe this year they had 36 days that were 90+ in the period of July 1 through Aug 28. My calculator says that is 61%, or 3 out of 5. I believe that Olathe has lights; they should certainly be used in 2013 to hold the distance races and racewalks.
It was hot in 2002 – I believe that Sunday, it was around 95, but I don’t remember the other days as being higher than 90.
I don’t think we’ll ever see an evening session at Masters Outdoor Nats. If it didn’t happen in Sacto, it never will.
I agree with Milton G (#51). We’re there to compete, people! If you want to make it a vacation that’s cool, but the primary focus of the event is the national championship track meet. Sometimes you can’t make it a two-fer. If Olathe has a top-notch facility with adequate hotels, motels, and restaurants plus its reasonably close to a major airport, then I’m There!!
Meet venue has been confirmed: “Milan Donley, meet director for the KU Relays, will serve as meet director for the masters meet, which will be at the Olathe District Activity Center.”
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/12/10/2512151/olathe-to-be-site-of-2013-national.html#ixzz17nE6mSG3
What is the masters indoor 5,000 record both AR and WR? We know Lagat (36 on 12/12) ran a AR this year in 13:11.5 in Boston 35+ record, but what is the 40+ record?
12:49.6 is the Indoor WR for men.
Why is this event not contested on the Masters circuit? Does anyone know what the best time male and female for the indoor 5K? Any history ?
Outdoor WR is 13:43 Mohammed Ezzher Maybe if Lagat is still running that will be about 15 seconds quicker.
Ezzher ran 13:13 indoors at age 35. Has any 40+ male athlete ran sub 14 ? Female 40+ record?
Thanks
Matt, the 5000 run is not well suited to our masters program. In open competition (except when Bernard Lagat runs) you could expect everyone to be “with the leader” (same lap) or 1 lap off the pace. In masters the trailers could be as much as 10 laps off in a 25-lap race. This could wreak havoc for lap counting as well as avoiding collisions between leaders and trailers.
Thanks Peter. Makes sense.
Unless there was seeded heats at Nationals were qualifying times were necessary. Perhaps only a competitor or two would be lapped. Keeping the final to a minimum of 12 would be ideal. I’m all for qualifying marks at nationals. Why not? We have them for the masters invite circuit at special meets.
Matt, as I have said before, the sport with which I am most familiar (other than track and field) is golf. In golf they have qualifying galore — it’s all about merit. Thus, I am used to qualifying, as they have it at every level.
Track and field, also, has qualifying as an integral part of its competitions. Even the National Senior Games, for crying out loud, has qualifying (Ken Stone has already qualified for the 2011 Senior Games in Humble, TX). Masters T&F is an exception to the rest of the world.
Even if you are in M40 and can’t break 24 seconds in the 110 hurdles, if you are a USATF member you can compete in our national championships. This is considered to be your right as an American.
In practical terms, if there are 8 lanes and 9 competitors in the M40 110 hurdles, the slow hurdler will force the other 8 to run a trial (with possibility of injury, extended warmups for the trial and later the final) just to eliminate him. This is considered appropriate.
A bit of history: In the 1998-2001 period I announced 2 of our 4 nationals, but I read about 1 I didn’t announce (Orlando 1999). In the 2 meets I announced as well as Orlando 1999 there was at least 1 competitor each time who finished his/her race while a later event was going on !!!! “And here comes Doug …..from an earlier race.”
In the 5000 indoors it would not be considered inappropriate (in masters) to accept runners in M45 who could not break 48 minutes, even though the winner would be around 15:40 or so. Again, it would be considered the God-given right of the “48-minute man” to be allowed to compete in our national championships.
The other thing, of course, is that (a) prospective competitors lose interest when they find that anyone can compete, and (b) possible sponsors say: “What, there is no qualifying? We’ll spend our dollars elsewhere.” As I have found, however, if you say that there should be qualifying you are branded as an elitist.
In truth, I am not 100% in favor of qualifying in all events. Certainly, any event in which there are possible trials MUST have qualifying, or you run the risk of having unqualified competitors force a trial. Thus, outdoors the 100, 200, 400, 800, straight hurdles, and intermediate hurdles should all have qualifying.
Because of time considerations, the 5000, steeplechase, 5000 racewalk, and 10,000 should all have qualifying. That leaves the 1500 and 1 mile, which I think we could have with no qualifying.
What about in events like the 5000, of having a cutoff time like 25 minutes or something. This is done in marathons and in events like the Ironman. This could serve a goal for those not competitive and speed up the meet in general.
Leave a Reply