General Assembly will be held near track stadium.
Sometime around noon local time Oct. 23 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, we should know who will serve as president of World Masters Athletics through 2017. Will it be incumbent
Stan Perkins, whose term would include 2016 worlds in his native Australia (Perth)? Or will it be challenger
Rex Harvey, the Ohioan who
lost by a single vote at Lahti worlds in 2009? The decision will be made by several hundred delegates at the General Assembly, meeting in an auditorium near the stadium at
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul. But they could use some help deciding, so I’ll reprise my shameless-as-usual Q&A of the candidates.
In 2005 and 2009, I did the same. (See the
2009 interviews here.) But this time, I want your ideas. What should I ask these gents? You can
email me privately or post a comment.
WMA will mull a new constitution in Porto Alegre as well as crown Daegu, South Korea, as host of the 2017 World Masters Indoor Championships. Apparently, it’s the only bidder, or one willing to pay the $35,000 sanction fee and provide all the perks WMA demands (like lodging, travel for WMA execs).
In fact, the 2017 worlds contract has already been posted. See it here. The next world indoor meet is March 2014 in Budapest, Hungary. (WMA is skipping ahead to 2017 since the outdoor meet is being held two years in a row: 2015 and 2016.)
7 Responses
Rex for President of WMA!
I second the motion.
Rex Harvey gained my total respect and highest admiration in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico during the Regional Masters Championships of 2010. Without his constant advice and input, hands-on work and training inexperienced local officials on the job, the meet could have been a disaster. Mr. Harvey’s cooperation with the German Bernd Rehpenning on the 2010 Age Graded Tables for Multi-Eventers created a beauty, finally a combined event scoring system for masters that works. I might sound selfish because I greatly benefit from his contributions to our sport but my vote would go to Rex Harvey.
Oh yeah, ask them when was the last time either one of them set up hurdles at a masters event, schlepped weights to the throwing area, measured distances at the long jump pit, crouched down in the field to fairly judge javelin throws. In Rex, we would elect somebody who can do it all.
Rex Harvey for WMA President, hands down. With no slight toward any other candidate generally or to Mr. Perkins specifically, Rex has, over the past many decades, proven himself a man for all seasons. He is incredibly experienced as an athlete, a super-star in the decathlon. He has shown time and again, that he can organize events, deal with sensitive political T&F issues, as well as provide wisdom and historical details on any topic in track and field. Without him and a few others, there would literally have been no “legitimate” WMA meet in Durban in 1987. He is a man of courage, experience, tact and wisdom. But, most of all he is personable, attentive and kind to every one who approaches him, no matter how busy or overworked he is. We are so lucky to have him willing to serve in this position; I hope the world takes note.
Correction: Durban in 1997
I totally agree and concur with the previous comments about Rex Harvey. He has truly been a constant and tireless advocate of the sport of Masters Track, as athlete, organizer, official, problem solver, etc. in the 20+ years I’ve known him. I third the motion!
I’m on board with my fellow Ohioan, Rex Harvey. Although he has demonstrated pride and dedication to the success of our sport over and over again, the thing that sets him apart from the other executives is his humbleness. Like Stefan pointed out, Rex is willing to serve as the administrator, meet official, hurdle setup crew, pit raker, tape measurer, lap counter, cheerleader, and hopefully, President.
Did I miss anything? 🙂
Good luck Rex Harvey!
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