Trivia question: How is Joel Dubow like Jimmy Carter? Answer: Both wanted to keep athletes from competing in their dream event. Joel is president of the Philadelphia Masters Track Club. But fortunately for masters runners at the rival Greater Philadelphia Track Club, Joel didn’t pull a full Jimmy. No boycott. A week ago I was CC’d an email exchange involving Joel and the Penn Relays. Joel had written members of the GPTC: “We have been granted the right to control the entry process. Based upon a recent policy decision of our Club’s Executive Committee we are declining to accept the GPTC entry applications.” In other words, a Philadelphia masters relay team couldn’t compete at Penn — in Philadelphia!

Of course, that didn’t stand. Chuck Shields of the GPTC, Lorraine Jasper and others (including Penn Relays masters honcho Phil Felton) sorted this out. A day later, Joel reversed himself. GPTC could enter Penn.

This is very sad and silly. But what really gets up my nose (as the Brits say) was the gag order issued against GPTC members from discussing this matter publicly.

On April 13 — under the headline “Keepin’ A Lid On It…..For Now” — GPTC member Kevin Forde wrote on his running free blog:

Once again I’ve been asked to refrain from speaking up, speaking out on the ongoing situation that is swirling around me right now. Because I respect the people who have asked me to bite my tongue I will, but I have been told there will come a time when I can say my piece on all this and oh believe me I will!!!

Of course, this muzzling doesn’t apply to me.

So below are the relevant communications from Joel to a dozen or so members of the GPTC, mainly members of their M40 and M50 4×400 teams:

—–Original Message—–
From: Joel Dubow
Sent: Mon, Apr 12, 2010 9:37 am
Subject: Penn relays entry

TO: Members of GPTC teams applying for entry into Penn relays 2010

I am sending this email to each of you in my capacity as President of Philadelphia Masters Track & Field Association (PMTF). Under separate cover I will be returning your Penn Relays 2010 entry applications and application fees. PMTF pays Penn Relays a hefty fee for the inclusion of Masters track events and we have been granted the right to control the entry process. Based upon a recent policy decision of our Club’s Executive Committee we are declining to accept the GPTC entry applications.

I will explain our reasoning. Unfortunately, I cannot be brief in doing so because our Club’s history, recent and past, along with the interactions we have had with pertinent MAUSATF clubs, is germane to how our policies have emerged.

When PMTF first made arrangements with Penn Relays to include Masters track events we were de facto the only club in our (now MAUSATF) geography that focused upon Masters competition. It was our purpose to afford to our area’s Masters athletes the opportunity to compete in Penn Relays — and also to bring in competitive teams and athletes from other parts of the country.

When there were no other area clubs that significantly drew against us for Masters competitors, and while the Masters events at Penn Relays were not overloaded with entrants, we had no need to establish any entry restrictions. Over time, however, the entries in some events began to increase enough to strain the capacity of the Franklin Field track to accommodate all interested athletes and teams.

Recently, there has also arisen a change in the competitive club structure for Masters in the MAUSATF geography. The years just prior to 2009 saw members of two clubs with primarily LDR interests (PAC and Pike Creek), competing in their clubs’ names in national T&F competition. Contemporaneously, there occurred some changes (not well known to most) within PMTF. In 2007 there occurred within the Club a dispute between myself (as Club President) and our Vice President over how I was managing the Club. Without going into details – and here comes the generally unknown part – that then-VP was encouraging me to resign. Interesting, though, is what he did circa April-May, 2007 when I actual offered to resign and turn Club management over to him: He resigned! Along with his resignation came his wife’s, who was serving as our Treasurer. Post haste, I convened a meeting with the remaining (three, non-officer) members of our Executive Committee and also invited all prior Executive Committee members who were still members of PMTF.

Our agenda was to determine the Club’s future. One consideration, given the small and declining number of members that actually made the Club operate, was to dissolve the Club. Had we done so, it is very likely that the robust schedule of events in the Philadelphia area that benefited Masters athletes would have waned to nearly nothing – including no indoor T&F season. [Had we folded, we would have been legally required to donate our assets of @$30,000 to one or more qualified entities. Ironically, the most qualified club at that time was Philadelphia Athletic Charities!]

One alternative to disbanding was to just muddle on, but no one was excited by that option.

What did, however, generate excitement among that small, core group that was still concerned about Club survival was for us to develop a serious Competitive Team, hoping that this would draw more interest to the Club in general. That was the direction we decided upon, though still with the realization that we were too few, and the operational burden too large, to continue to manage the full load of events that we were carrying. While it was clear that we ought to continue managing certain key events — the Association Championship Meets, our Throwathon, and Penn Relays — the real burden was the continual load of the indoor and outdoor developmental/all-comers meets. We decided to focus upon our unique strength, the indoor season, while seeking help from other clubs in managing the summer series – with the intent to eventually turn over that potentially profitable opportunity to another club, or clubs. [FYI: The indoor meets are usually a breakeven proposition.]

During the summer of 2008 we partnered on the summer meets with Ambler Olympic Club. We also did so, perforce, in 2009 because AOC was not set to take over full responsibility, GPTC was averse to playing a role, and TNT would not be ready until 2010.

The quite different responses we received from PAC/GPTC and TNT are crucial to our policy decisions. I will describe them.

Over the course of conversations I had with (then-)PAC’s T&F principal I expressed PMTF’s two goals: (1) being a strong competitor in national team competition, and (2) continuing to promote developmental opportunities for Masters T&F athletes — both on our own and by fostering other to clubs to take on a share of the load. He declined to join with us in a collective competitive team effort, and he declined to take on a share of the load. GPTC declined to support either of our goals.

The response from the Pike Creek principal, soon to form TNT, was a bit different. Initially, he indicated willingness to bring in a cadre of members to join PMTF. Later, however, citing differences in certain goals that his group had, but which were not on PMTF’s agenda – coaching youth athletes and operating in a part of the MAUSATF geography that PMTF did not well serve – he instead organized the TNT club. However, in contrast to GPTC’s posture, he indicated a definite willingness to conduct a summer all-comers series, which TNT has, in fact, now committed to – at just the time that PMTF is discontinuing our own summer series!

In 2009, with TNT not yet conducting summer meets, we did not address the Penn Relay entry issue – except for one contingency: If a need occurred, due to more teams applying than space would permit, we set criteria that would insure that our own members would get priority entry. FYI: Had we needed to deny entry to some teams — and, post-meet, some athletes suggested that perhaps we should have — we would have eliminated the ”B”, “C”, and “D” teams entered by visiting clubs. [Note, too, that I initiated several pre-meet conversations with Ray Parker about the GPTC entries suggesting that he might consider structuring the GPTC entries so that they would not face the B-team exclusion possibility.]

After 2009 it became apparent to us that we needed to initiate a reform of the Penn Relays structure and number of entrants. Given the sum we pay to Penn Relays, and the right we are granted to manage the Masters entries, the Masters portion of Penn Relays is essentially an invitational event. And notice this: the fee charged, even prior to this year, has been stated as an application fee, not an entry fee. It allows applicants to apply for an invitation – akin to college application fees, which do not guarantee admission. Unlike the college application process, however, all those that we accept then get a free ride; there is no further fee charged.

The decision criterion that the PMTA Executive Committee set for MAUSATF clubs in 2010, and presumably beyond, will be to invite teams that at least support our goal regarding developmental and competitive opportunities for Masters athletes – by in some way reciprocating with us in rough proportion to their size and the benefits they derive from our efforts.

Let me make clear that this policy is not designed to induce GPTC members to switch their affiliation to Philly Masters. Its intention is to encourage GPTC to pick up a “fair share” of the T&F load for Masters-beneficial events within the “Greater Philadelphia” area. Our perspective is this: We see accepting as entrants into Penn Relays those MAUSATF clubs that seriously compete in T&F, and which also organize Masters-beneficial events, as a reward to offer for their sharing the load.

What might a “fair share” be? If you look at the emerging 2010 schedule, there is a notable void between the 4/17 meet at U of Del. and the MAUSATF developmental meet on 5/29. A “fair share” might have been for GPTC to plug in a pair of early- and mid-May weekend morning meets plus pick up responsibility for the 5/29 meet. Our suggestion is that GPTC do something like that next year.

Our preference is that GPTC step up to the plate and organize a few Masters-beneficial meets. If Penn Relays is important enough to the athletes on the GPTC teams that applied this year, you should talk to your club leadership about your club’s philosophy.

Cordially,
Joel Dubow, President PMTF

Here’s the note Joel sent after the sitiuation was resolved:

Sent: 4/13/2010 4:24:36 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time
Subj: Re: Penn relays entry

My subject email sent yesterday morning generated a bit of controversy — even though we had announced the entry restrictions in an Oct. 23, 2009 email. Several of the GPTC member on the distribution list were on the distribution list for that email — including the GPTC member listed as Team Captain on the GPTC entries. Not long thereafter the GPTC team captain met with our Vice President to discuss inter-club issues and the subject restrictions. On March 7 I had a personal conversation with the GPTC Team Captain and it was certain to me that he was aware of them.

Nevertheless, GPTC took no actions to meet the requirements.

Last night, I received phone calls from Pat Good and Lorraine Jasper informing me of the discussions going on among a number of interested parties. If I recall correctly, both spoke with the GPTC Team Captain. In one of the calls I received from Pat Good, he asked me if there was anything GPTC could still do to merit entry. (I do not know if GPTC had raised the question or whether Pat initiated it.) One of two alternatives I suggested was to provide 6 volunteers (probably 3 per day) to assist us at our Throwathon event on June 5-6 at Albright College.

This morning I spoke again to Lorraine and mentioned to her the options. She immediately began a round of phone calls and not much later called be back with verbal commitments fron 6 GPTC members to work the June 5-6 meet. I then contacted Phil Felton to initiate the re-entry of the 2 GPTC teams into Penn Relays.
[FYI: The other option was to assist us by sharing in a donation we are planning to make to Glen Mills Academy to thank them for their help to us this year. Personally, I think the offer to help at the Throwathon is the more appropriate.]

Let’s have a big shout to to Lorraine!

Joel

Thank goodness adults prevailed. Now let’s focus on Penn! Here’s a list of the dozen masters events Friday and Saturday.

Best of luck to all (especially the GPTC)!