Sacramento worlds in 2011 faces competition from Italian meet
Sacramento’s major competition next year for masters bodies may not be the National Senior Games in Houston or USATF masters nationals near Cleveland. The host of 2011 worlds has to worry about the northeastern coastal resort town of Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy. That’s the site of the European Masters Games set for September 2011. “All people with an age of 35 years old and over can take part in (the European) Masters Games, in order to elevate the sport in all its forms,” says a recent news blast. “Not only the competitive spirit but also the awareness that, at every age, sport competition gives great health benefits.” The Sacto LOC must be sweating bullets over this. Europeans are counted on to cross the Atlantic with heavy wallets — and lighten them in the Golden State.
Here’s a newsletter I got recently:
Lignano gets ready to welcome European Masters Games
From the 10th to 20th September 2011 Lignano will host the first official edition of European Masters Games (EMG). The Masters Games, organized at European level in Lignano, confirm the vocation for sport of the city. Actually Lignano has already hosted high level events such as: European Championships of weightlifting ( Olympic qualification race), the Italian Football Championships (primavera), the International Meeting of Athletics, the World Tour of Beach Volley, the Championships of Italian Therapeutic Community, the Italian Championships for disabled athletes, the stages in the Tour of Italy, the races in sailing boat, the agonistic speed-boat racing, the Golf Championships, the Olympic festival of European Youth 2005 and six finals of National Sporting Student’s Games (three consecutive editions).
All people with an age of 35 years old and over can take part in Masters Games, in order to elevate the sport in all its forms. Not only the competitive spirit but also the awareness that, at every age, sport competition gives great health benefits. A lot of participants had been World or Olympic champions, national delegates, club’s athletes or sporting people at social level. The participants compete as individual and not in national teams. You don’t need to pass qualifying tests or selections, you just need to have the minimum age for the race, according to rules of international sport federations, being a European citizen and being associated to a Sport National Federation.
Lignano has a variety of sport facilities at its disposal, also thanks to the availability given by neighbouring villages. As for European Masters Games will be involved more than 40 towns. At the moment the number of races scheduled are 22: sport disciplines are organized: athletics, beach volley, football, five-a-side football, canoe-kayak, boat racing, cycling, sport dancing, golf, judo, karate, orienteering, handball, rugby, weightlifting, tennis, wing shooting, archery, triathlon, sailing boat, fencing and taekwondo.
“Being a European citizen” means no Americans or Aussies allowed. Oh well.
The Euro Masters Games first appeared in 2008 — in Malmo, Sweden. But now they’re contested every four years. The third will be in 2015 (with no site chosen yet).
Sacramento may be nervous, but it’s really Porto Alegre, Brazil, that should be sweating bullets. In 2013, the Brazilian town is set to host WMA worlds. But another Italian meet looms big that year — the World Masters Games in Turin.
What’s up with those Italians? Why not just bid for WMA worlds? Oops, I forgot. They hosted 2007 worlds in Riccione.
21 Responses
So I guess whenever WMA is in Europe we should host a North American Games because we don’t want to travel? Don’t we almost ALWAYS go to Europe?
EMG are a joke.
A stupid joke.
In Malmoe there were a couple of athletes from all over Europe. It was a resounding failure.
It’s only a sort of business made over masters.
Have you ever heard speaking about “European Olympics”? It has not sense…
Not sure it matters. Most of us can’t afford to even go to championship meets here in this country.
I must really disagree with the extraordinary comment from andycop, although he is my friend. I was there in Malmo, Andrea. no Italian athletes were there, as far as I remember. Another European country’s Masters organisation even imposed a threat of sanctions on it’s athletes that led to none of them attending either. But a joke it was most certainly not.
Please let us not forget that EMG, like WMG is a “Games”, and in this case, unlike the Olympic Games, track and field is not necessarily centre stage. On the track in Malmo there were several performances that bettered what won in The Eurovets in Slovenia a few weeks earlier. Malmo was a delightfully well organized small meet. It had no pretensions to be anything else, in my view, and it has repeatedly saddened me that commentators who were not there try to equate it with WMA or EVACS Masters championships.
I won two golds in Malmo. Doesn’t make me champion of anything or anywhere, but I am simply pleased to have had another good class Masters meet that I was able to attend. To suggest that EMG in Italy is in some way a competitor to Sacramento is a joke, presumably designed to provoke comment. It is not (although the Turin WMG v Porto Allegre WMA conflict in 2013 might be) and I have no doubt there will be many of andycop’s Italian compatriots who do both. And for those of them who cannot, or choose not to, meet the cost of going to the USA, thank goodness EMG is providing them with a good meet in September 2011.
Tom. You allege that “Another European country’s Masters organisation even imposed a threat of sanctions on it’s athletes that led to none of them attending either.” Can you substantiate that?
Otherwise, I also think EMG Lignano, Italy September 2011 can be an attractive meeting.
Of course I can say who it was. Doesn’t mean I am going to. You can carry on thinking it was Great Britain if you like, but read my post more closely if you do.
Tom. Of course it was Great Britain. Quote from BMAF Chairman Winston Thomas in BMAF Masters Athletics magazine Summer 2008, page 5: “In September there will be the E.M.G.A. masters Games in Sweden, please note that these games are not under W.M.A or I.A.A.F rules and therefore B.M.A.F will not support these Games in any way, and therefore will not sanction any athletes taking part.” What more do you want?
Anyway I hope now that all parties (including BMAF and WMA) have moved on and now see EMG Lignano, Italy September 2011 as a welcome feature on the competition calendar.
Please take your poison elsewhere Anthony. You know full well that the comment was superceded, and that a large number of Brits attended the event in Malmo. They entered (as did all competitors) as individuals, and did not need BMAF approval. You know this because, as I recall, you entered yourself, though you didn’t attend. There was a full report in the BMAF magazine too. Sound like sanctions? So, of course, it wasn’t Great Britain to which I was alluding.
Your attempts to criticise Winston Thomas for the last four years or more on this web site have become very boring indeed. I understood from a post you made a while ago that you had transferred your allegiances to Sweden. Good. Enjoy, and quit Brit bashing.
I competed in Malmoe as well. It was a wonderful small meet, not just for tracksters. I met athletes from a variety of sports, all had a good time. And no, the event was never intended to compete with a WMA meet. Ken was trying to create a bit of a ruckus, nothing more serious than that. Ken has his personal vendetta with “Eurotrash”. After having been in Sacramento for the Nationals, I worry much more about the little WMA meet in Sac next year than about a fun meet in Italy. For example, why would a thrower cross the pond to be treated third class citizen at a dump of a throwing area? And how about a non existing warm-up area at the main stadium in Sac? Yes, non existing since there will be throwing events going on every day all day long. Nobody can use the warm up track when there are top throwers around, it is much too dangerous. Or do they plan to farm out the throwing events? For those of you who have not been there: The main stadium has artificial turf for football games, throwing hardware around will be impossible. The warm up track is bumpy and not much to write home about. You cannot do any laps when javelin events are on (and they will be on!) And foul throws in the discus could end up on the track as well, if my calculations are correct. I only hope all issues will be addressed and solved before the opening ceremony. Otherwise, the ‘Eurotrash’ will be trashing us for years to come, mark my words.
My “poison” Tom? Really! That citation from the BMAF Masters Athletics magazine Summer 2008 proves that the WMA Secretary Winston Thomas, then BMAF Chairman Winston Thomas, improperly used his British masters magazine to actively dissuade his British masters athletes from their right to participate in EMG Malmö, which his WMA (then?) regarded as a competing organisation. That was a deliberate, disgraceful attempt to sabotage EMG. It created problems for British athletes, many of whom eventually declined to compete because they felt intimidated by their own federation BMAF. Therein lies the poison Tom. So direct your criticism where it is due. That is, if you can afford to as “accredited BMAF photographer.” As to Winston Thomas – I would simply have preferred that Winston Thomas used his head and did not do this sort of thing.
Furthermore 1, Then BMAF chairman Winston Thomas, aka WMA Secretary Winston Thomas, only changed his tune after forceful queries and protests from a minority of British athletes. I was one of them. I remember approaching the BMAF Secretary on this question at the BMAF 2008 Birmingham Championships. Where were you then Tom? Did you protest?
Furthermore 2, Although entered, I did not compete at all at EMG Malmö 2008 simply because EMG, with some 5 days at its disposal for athletics, in its wisdom had placed my two main events the LJ and 400m as follows:
Wednesday 3 September 2008
12.30 M65 LJ Final
12.40 M65 400m Final
Furthermore 3, I am not shifting my allegiance anywhere. I am a British national and wish to represent GBR. But I will not represent GBR again unless I get an apology from BMAF for the rules infringements and verbal abuse suffered at the hands of the BMAF Team Manager in 2006. That is unlikely. The good thing about EMG is that you do not represent your country. You represent yourself. Very healthy. So EMG Lignano 2011 fits in perfectly.
Yawwwnnnnn.
Tom, BMAF stooge: “See No BMAF Evil. Hear No BMAF Evil. Yawwwnnnnn.”
I participated in the Sydney WMG last fall. It was great fun to see the thousands of athletes in many different sports. I enjoyed the track competition but it was “competition lite”. I did not fly from the east coast of the US to Sydney because I thought the competition would equal that of a WMA meet. I went because it was Sydney. Location location location. As for the track meet – nice facility – better than Sac – and it was the “warm up track” for the Sydney Olympics! The track meet was well run – my competition pretty thin – but I had a chance to see again age group competitors from New Zealand and Australia who do not travel to the US nor Europe for the WMA meets. It had a bit of a feel of an all-comers meet – but nicely run with good officiating. I had a great time and Sydney is a great place to visit.
Will the European Masters Games be competition for WMA 2011 in Sac? Not too likely for hard core track and field competitors who can afford to travel to the states.
I agree that WMG in Turin in 2013 will provide a bigger challenge for WMA 2013 in Porte Alegra, Brazil. Unless you have a private jet at your command – flying from Brazil to Italy – will be a major expense. Plus the overlap of the last 2 days of the WMA meet with the first 2 days of the WMG meet. Add to that the expense and difficulty of obtaining a visa for Brazil for US citizens. It is expensive, you must appear in person at a consulate in the US to obtain it, as Brazil does to US citizens what the US does to Brazil citizens re visas. Tit for Tat.
OTOH – if you went to Riccione and “enjoyed” the organizations “issues” of that meet – what do you think will happen in Turin where there are many more sports and thousands more competitors?
You guys are hilarious don’t stop now!
If you are in the same age group I would suggest you both enter the EMG boxing, karate, judo and then finish off with orienteering and get ….
How do you get any time to train with all your pissing and moaning.
As to Tom Phillips’ “You know full well…..that a large number of Brits attended the event in Malmo”. Well, not really. Because only some 17 British men and 8 British women attended EMG Athletics at Malmö 2008. So Tom’s ”large number of Brits” = 25.
Pity, because I believe Tom, Stefan, Mary and others that these EMG and WMG events are very pleasant. So if EMG and WMG are convenient and the price is right take your choice. But let it not happen again that WMA or national federation(s) “imposed a threat of sanctions on its athletes” (Tom’s own words, so it did happen) participation in EMG or WMG events. Everyone at least agreed on that?
Skippy. Nice thought. But no EMG boxing, karate or judo for me. Tom Phillips is much younger with a black belt (clogs, ribbons and wurzels) in English Morris Dancing.
Stephen, I’m going to travel to the WMA meet in 2011. If I”m lucky enough to earn a medal which is probably not, it will be against the top competition. I’m no spending travel bucks for a “wonderful small meet.” Why travel long distances for a glorified all comers. Except if its some great location like Mary pointed out and then its a vacation. The WMA meet will have at least two track competition venues if you d bother to find out.
Seattle-USA
Important Question;
Will be permited to compite COMPETE for Americans?
Number of Canadian & American athlete- kayakers would like to attend
Karol
European Masters Games 2011: 15% DISCOUNT ON EARLY BIRD REGISTRATIONS PROLONGED UNTIL 12th JUNE, 2011!
Does anyone know what the athletics timetable is for EMG 2011 ?
It just indicates on the website that athletics take place on every day – which isn’t that helpful !
Thanks Mike
Some time back I noted 14 September for M70 Long jump and 15-16 Septenber for M70 400m but now I cannot find the athletics timetable either.
Leave a Reply