Paging Jules Lucas, chief timer of Landover masters nationals
Jules Lucas was the chief timer at Landover nationals. His old Web site at R and R Timing in Maryland said his company’s mission “is to provide reliable, high quality track
& field timing & data management services.В The job of effectively
managing track & field information during a meet is not easy.В We pride
ourselves in providing a dependable service to Coaches and Meet Directors
enabling to focus on what really counts — the competition of the meet, rather
than the validity of the results.” According to the meet program, Jules was assisted last weekend by Quentin Wilson, who has coached a youth team in Maryland called the Columbia Express. Behind the scenes, USATF leadership is working furiously to straighten out the results and find a way to prevent similar breakdowns in the future. Gary Snyder, our blogging national chairman, has promised as such (privately so far). Stay tuned for more details. I’ve written to Jules and Quentin for their account of the problems.
3 Responses
As the self-appointed nag about lap counting in the 3k and 5k at masters track meets, I want to rep0ort that there were lap counting problems.
I was not introduced to the person who allegedly was to count my laps – so I have no clue if there was such an individual. However I saw lap counters introducing themselves to some athletes in my heat (W 50 to infinity). After the main attraction of my heat finished, the announcer’s microphone turned off and the rest of us on the track still running were ignored – a blessed silence in many ways – some lap counter called out 5 to go – sort of in my direction. Perhaps it was intended for me – I thought it was – and also thought – not right – got 6 to go.
In any event I ran 15 laps – pretty easy to keep track when running one minutes laps -finishing in 15.01. However a competitor whom I lapped stopped right after me and was given the time of 15.08. She was delighted – and I thought – hum – I lapped her – how can she be finished. An other competitor who finished in 16 something – in my age group – made the same comment. I had lapped her also but she had kept track of her laps and ran 15 no matter what a lap counter may or may not have said.
I did not make any comment to the officials – the individual’s finish did not cause me to be displaced in my age group – she is happy with a time that she probably could not imagine running – but no official noticed that she stopped a lap short.
Again – it is obvious that little to no attention is paid to those of us who lag far behind the speedy 50 and 55 year olds and who need more time to complete the race. Certainly our presence on the track was of no account to either the officials nor the announcer.
I do not know how the lap counting went in the older mens races – nor in the race walks. However judging from my race – same old same old – not a lot of attention paid to those slow enough to be lapped.
The meet director can pat himself on the back for running a pretty good meet – but not for the lap counting.
However I want to give a big pat on the back to the officials who kept the finish line clock running until the last competitor in the mixed age group races finished her/his race. Thank you very much for that. There is nothing that is more distressing in a mixed age group race than having the finish line clock stopped for the first competitor and not turned back on. That did not happen in any of my 3 races nor in other races as far as I could tell. That was great – I wish other masters meets would do the same think. It is difficult enough to run a race without having to check my wrist watch to look at the time.
Mary, in an event with many different age groups and a “laps-to-go” card that was turned away from me it was hard to be sure of how many laps each runner had to negotiate before she finished. For me to say that X was ahead of Y or Y ahead of X would have been very tough. Therefore, I probably waited until I thought the runner had finished before I said anything more.
Yes, I am guilty of not saying too much after Joan Benoit Samuelson had finished, but what could I have said? If, for example, Coreen Steinbach was coming by, how would I know how many laps she had to go, where she was within the W55 division, etc.? It would be very hard for me to know, and without being certain it is better to say nothing.
Your announcer, Peter Taylor
Peter: I did not say it was your job to count laps – good grief – you have enough to do – and there are supposed to be official lap counters. I think you misread what I wrote. I would never assume you knew who was on what lap in a multi-age group 3k or mile – where the faster ones are running circles around the slower ones.
I did comment that after announcing Joan’s trip around the ovel for 10 minutes – you seemed to go mute – or maybe I went deaf. The acoustics in that building were terrible – sound echoed off the walls and ceilings and I just shut down any attempt to hear what you or anyone else – for that matter – were saying. Once Joan crossed the finish line – there seemed to be silence – and it was a relief – from the cheering, clapping, and your announcing of her name that had taken place for 10 minutes. If you said anything after that – I think the ringing in my ears probably drowned it out. And my focus was on counting up to 15 as I never assume that the officials are doing it for me – and usually I am right about that.
Next time Joanie shows up for a race and I am also in it – I will wear ear plugs – or maybe my Bose noise canceling headphones that I use when I fly!
My comments were intended to highlight the low lights of the lap counting -the same old same old thing. Although compared to Boise and Decatur – two of the worst examples in US Masters Track and Field -and I have to add in Dartmouth Relay (count your own laps folks – said at the start line of the 3k just before the gun fired) – Landover was pretty good. I will not get started on Linz and San Sebastian, or Brisbane etc –
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