Peter Taylor won’t be part of announcing crew at Sacto worlds
Pete Taylor
Bob Burns continued in a response he sent yesterday:
We met Willy at the European masters meet and really liked the way he called the meet. He has announced many masters and open cross country meets in Belgium, and he is a wonderful guy. We also felt it was important to have an announcer with skill in several languages.
Willy and Bob Steiner (veteran announcer who did both Olympic Trials in Sacramento and has been one of the top PA guys since the 1960s) will handle Sac State.
Carl Bryan, a Bakersfield man who has done the Junior Olympics and state junior college championships, will be the primary announcer at Sac City, and Bob Rush, a longtime announcer in Northern California, will work American River the days there is competition at that venue. He will move around on the other days.
We also have a couple of local announcers who will assist — Keith Conning (a longtime announcing partner of Bryan’s and Rush’s), Kevin Morning and Randy Sturgeon. We think we’ve got a very good crew.
Kevin is a world-class masters sprinter, and Randy publishes National Masters News, so they are great gets.
Keith Conning has a popular track blog called The Conning Tower.
33 Responses
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Smartty
Wow!!! a major meet without Pete announcing??
Pete, will you still go to Sac.?
No, Nolan, I will stay in Virginia. And you, as a musician and great track performer, have been an inspiration for me. Announcing is more than just talking, more than simply reading words that are set in front of you.
It’s a performance, Nolan, as you know. In some ways I have done a good job over the years, in some ways not. Oh, well.
PT
Makes me sick and sad. It’s not a big meet to me unless I hear “The Voice”.
Peter,
This is an injustice and a short sighted decision.
How can you stage a World Championship and not have THE WORLD CHAMPION ANNOUNCER who is more knowledgeable about Masters Track and Field than most folks non the Planet??
This is a major disappointment for all of us in Masters Track and I apologize to you Peter for not being able to help you be part of this event!!!
thats not good….
Not wishing to cast judgement on those who will be calling the events at Worlds but I very much doubt any of them will bring the vast knowledge that you do Pete to the table,your voice and knowledge will both be missed in Sacramento
This is a loss to athletes and spectators. I’ve never seen anyone who knew as much about so many masters’ athletes as Pete. Do you think these “newcomers” are going to know where you went to high school or how fast you ran in college? Pete does! I sure hope you’ll be announcing at Nationals in Berea.
It won’t be the same without Pete…
Pete, although I am relatively new to the wonderful world of Masters Track, I quickly realized who the stalwarts were. Your vast knowledge of our sport and it’s competitors is unrivaled, and also VERY welcoming. Thank you for reaching out to me and making me truly feel special. My race in Sacramento will be dedicated to you in your absence. It almost seems as though we should bring the meet to Virginia!
All the best, hope to see you in Berea!
I’m with Bubba and Roger. How can they not include “The Voice” !
Linda 🙁
Pete, Your unique announcing skills and enthusiasm will be sorely missed.
To those interested:
As of now (6:43 PM EDT, June 26) I am not the announcer for Berea, but I hope to know one way or the other NLT Wednesday evening, June 29.
PT
I hope you will be in Berea Peter – the entries so far look not so robust but as you know – lots of folks enter at the last moment. I have yet to enter – every time I look at plane fares I get a cold chill – how can it cost more to fly from Boston to Cleveland than from Boston to Sacramento???? I am in full dither mode.
As for SAC – I am sorry you will not be there – you add so much to a meet – even if you do not know what I ran in HS (hint – no girls track in my HS and none in my college either) -I hope the meet announcers take some time to make themselves familiar with the athletes and learn to pronounce their names. I expect to not understand how my name is pronounced in Finland, Italy, Spain etc – but in the US – please – they need to make an effort.
You will be missed.
Have the “committee favorite” announcers (it sounds very political) ever 1) ATTENDED a Masters competition 2) INTERVIEWED any Masters athletes 3) studied past competitive history and be able to deliver these bits of information compellingly to an audience in the stands like Pete does?
Have your favorites, Sacramento. Rent out those tents for shade.
I pounded out my inflammatory response before I read the “continuation” of the post, so I apologize to the announcing crew that was picked.
I agree, having a European announcer who has language fluency is a terrific asset.
I apologize.
I certainly appreciate the contributions of Pete Taylor and wish he could have been included, but I do not wish to slight the announcing crew that was picked.
The announcing crew that has been selected seems to be well-qualified, but let’s be frank- there is only one Pete Taylor. Pete, you are unique- your knowledge of our sport is encyclopedic and your enthusiasm is unlimited. We have been inspired by your words and your presence over so many years at so many big meets. We will all miss you hugely in Sacramento.
Well, sure, having language fluency is an asset. But no one does it like Peter. There are several announcers working the Worlds, correct? Why couldn’t they have their linguist, and Pete also? The Voice will be sorely missed!!
Thank you, Susan. I have studied French and German and speak Spanish as much as I can. I could certainly have given announcements in French, German, and Spanish without mangling them. To announce an entire race in anything other than English or French would have been difficult, but I don’t think that was the issue.
This is ridiculous NO ONE IS A BETTER ANNOUNCER THAN Mr. PETER TAYLOR, PERIOD! He is total class and loves our sport. I will miss hearing his voice at these World Championships, can anything be done to reverse this?
What a big disappointment. I will miss you for sure!
Tony:Llamame
Just finished attending 4 days at the USATF National Champs and they have the same issue as the folks at WMAs do in bringing on some “big-name outsider(s) to announce.” Clearly, any of us who have attended a meet with Peter Taylor announcing know it doesn’t get any better. Same with USATF- the local guy- Paul Swangard- does a great job and knows his stuff. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Good luck to all those of you old enough to compete at Worlds! I guess I shouldn’t be bummed that I’m too young by 3 months. Maybe next time.
Peter,
You will be missed….hope to see you in Ohio….Sully
Rejection of Peter Taylor for the World Meet is a travesty. As the above outpouring of support and chagrin attest, Peter is obviously without peer in his vast knowledge of masters track and field and his familiarity with the biographies of the participants. Nor can anyone match that colorful sense of drama that enriches his every call. He is absolutely the best! So SHAME on naysayers responsible for his heave-ho.
It’s an understatement to say that this is disappointing.
Panama kid mandame su numero, y te llamo.
Tony
Tony:Pegale una llamada a Luis Santos en P.R.
Yes Peter—with 36 years in Masters Track I can truly testify that you are the best–with no comparison–you even inspire me when I run against Earl Fee (and lose) but you make it sound so grand, like “Chariots of Fire”—a wonderful and touching human drama that touches the soul and spirit–what a lost to WMA–but a big gain for Berea. Don Cheek
Although I tend to do rather well when I attend national masters indoor or outdoor championships, due to distance, costs, and injuries, I have not entered very many (one national outdoor meet in the past 13 years). Still, at one national indoor meet, Pete came over to check on where I had gone to college. I was impressed that he took time to add to his immense notecards of yearly entrees. His announcing has always added greatly to the meets I’ve attended. Thanks, Pete.
Peter, I agree with all of the comments above: you go above and beyond when it comes to calling the races/jumps/throws and your knowledge of the competitors is simply unrivaled. I will never forget the first time I met you, I was running in a track meet in PA and relatively new to the masters scene; you came up to me after I finished the 200 (an event I very rarely do), and said, “aren’t you a miler?”. You had remembered me from my less-than-stellar performance at Orono the preceding summer in the 1500.I was amazed.
It will be a huge loss for all of those competing and watching at Sacramento not to hear the voice we have all come to know and love so well. As you can tell from the sheer volume of responses, the masters athletes are truly appreciative of all you do for us. Hope to see you at the races soon!!!
Blasphemy !
This is all that comes to mind for me.
I won’t be there, but I sure hoped you would have been, Pete.
Thanks, Sal. From what my people tell me, it wasn’t even close. Apparently they thought I would be in over my head. Ironically, I announced 1995 Worlds (Buffalo) before I had announced any nationals.
Starting in 1996 (Greensboro) I have announced 15 indoor nationals. Beginning in 1998 (Orono) I have announced 10 outdoor nationals. But I guess I didn’t have enough experience to announce Sacramento worlds.
PT
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