USATF Pacific Association smells payoff over Trials
Masters aren’t the only ones with beefs about site selection. When USATF announced in mid-December that Eugene would host the 2012 Olympic Trials, folks in Sacramento said: Say what? They were blindsided. They lost the 2008 Trials to Eugene fair and square, but the 2012 Trials weren’t even supposed to be in play. Or so they thought. But what Nike wants, Nike gets. So Nike got the Trials to Eugene four years hence, and a few weeks later they hire USATF CEO Craig Masback. Something stinks. And yesterday the home USATF association of Sacramento gave notice that they’ll file a grievance over the award of the 2012 Trials to Eugene. Of course, a grievance has little force of law. If Sacto doesn’t get no satisfaction, they could turn to the courts. Mr. Masback, do you swear….
So what do you think? Take the poll!
USATF Pacific Association is fast on worlds uptake
Sacramento 2011 should be a first-rate event, especially in terms of marketing and publicity. A news release crafted by Mark Winitz, the host association’s communications manager, is a model for how USATF as a national body should treat masters. (Indy HQ has yet to do a wrapup of the meet. Sigh.) Anyway, Mark featured Joy Upshaw-Margerum in his release, which was headlined: “UPSHAW-MARGERUM EARNS FOUR MEDALS AND U.S. RECORD AT WORLD MASTERS ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS.” Read on.
9 Responses
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mellow johnny - September 17, 2007
So, with 2011 going to Sacramento, does this mean 2013 will likely go back to Europe?
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Ken Stone - September 17, 2007
Yes.
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Mary Harada - September 18, 2007
gee Ken – you must have special inside knowledge as to who will bid for 2113. Maybe there will be a bid from somewhere in Europe, maybe Porte Alegra will find a goldmine and be able to fund a realistic proposal, pay the fee (which they never paid to submit a bid) and make a presentation that says something about meet facilities and not just try to sell the place as a tourist destination.
And maybe they will not try to schedule it for January as well.
Who knows who is working on a bid to submit in 2009 for 2113. Perhaps Australia will do it again, South Africa, Japan, – I have not heard any rumors about this. For those with short term memory problems – WAVA/WMA – met in Finland in 1991, Japan 1993, Buffalo 1995, South Africa 1997, England 1999, Australia 2001, Puerto Rico 2003, Spain 2005, etc – while it has been in some part of Europe in recent times, this is not always the case.
WMA usually does not go out and recruit bids – except for the failed one for Brazil, and I suspect they prefer the meet to move around the world. It would have been good to have a meet in South America – but it needs to be a bid from a place that has the money to fund it, has adequate facilities in place, can find sponsors, has hotels etc for athletes, can provide transportation, etc.
When bids are accepted from anywhere – they need to be sound fiscally and have good facilities in place – not just a dream, a wish, and a hope and a prayer – lousy tracks make for angry competitors, poor transportation creates enormous frustration, etc.
The transportation problems, lack of practice facilities, lack of warm-up facilities, and considerable distance between the 3 venues in Italy illustrated clearly – to me- the folly of giving a meet to a location just because the more recent meets have been in Europe.
I am all for spreading the meet around the world but not at the expense of poor or non-existing tracks, poor transportation, etc -while it is nice to travel around before, during, after the meet – the point of this is the meet itself. That needs to be the focus of any bid, anywhere, and anytime. -
Yeah, I was guessing about Europe winning again. But it only makes sense — since the Euros control the vote.
But there’s no guarantee that a European bidder will be in the mix in 2009, when the 2013 venue is chosen.
But how about this for a topic: Where would YOU like worlds to be?
I’d love to see Toronto or Edmonton bid.
Or San Diego. -
Tom Phillips - September 19, 2007
If I am still fit, competitive and solvent by 2013, I’d be happy to see the Championships held away from Europe, despite the convenience for me of proximity to Britain.
BUT by then, we as athletes must have made our collective and individial voices heard that some of the outright inadequacies seen at Riccione are simply not acceptable to us at any meet – let alone one which is our World Championships. It isn’t a case just of what is put in a bid. Surely (surely?) someone from WMA was persuaded by Riccione that there would be warm up facilities for the athletes. On what basis were they persuaded, though? It’s a bit like last year’s European Champs in Poland. We were told there was a warm up track next to the stadium. It turned out to be a disused motorcycle speedway stadium, and was in no way suitable – as even the most cursory inspection would have revealed. So how come no one spotted the actual absence of any warm up facility in Riccione? Can WMA tell us what was actually promised, or what they were shown? It would be an even bigger scandal if they saw the grass patches we were offered (except for the last daty, when even these were locked away), and declared them suitable warm up for a Masters World Championships.
Ditto transport in Riccione. How come the buses stopped at 8.20 even on days when the program clearly showed events on until after 9 pm. And while there might (just) have been room in the buses for athletes, did no one think about the needs of guests, family and spectators?
Can we trust WMA’s scrutiny of venues and facilities, wherever they are? I for one have serious doubts based on recent experiences. -
In order, I’d like to see the following:
1) Eugene
2) Vancouver, B.C.
3) San Diego
Now, 2 years after Sacramento, is there any chance it would stay on the U.S. West Coast? Very doubtful. But, as Ken pointed out, it depends on who bids and asked where we would LIKE it to be. -
tommy aunan - September 19, 2007
eugene would be the dream venue or what about bislett oslo norway?
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Stefan Waltermann - September 20, 2007
Dream all you want. It will either be Timbuktu in Mali or Berlin, Germany or Atlantis. No, wait! What? Forget it. Whoever it will be, it will be totally and absolutely inadequate. Nothing will ever be good enough for a certified baby boomer.
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I am too old to be a baby boomer so I will not take Stefan Waltermann’s comments personally! The warm up facilities available at the 3 venues in Riccione were fine as long as one did not want to warm up too much. I don’t know about you Stefan but a road with traffic on it is NOT a good place to warm up – not even a sidewalk – just a narrow road – at Misano stadium.
San Giovanni was better – there was a triangle of grass that was fairly flat – and no one was throwing there. At Riccione – there was a warm up field – around a baseball diamond – fine – would have been nice to be able to use it on the last day- but it was being used by a local baseball team – there was a small patch of grass available closer to the stadium.
As for the distance between the venues – not a problem if the buses had run on time and there had been more buses – but the buses ran on no known schedule, were often jammed with standees and it is a very long way to Misano and San Giovanni – I am a bit too long in the tooth to recover so easily from being jammed into a bus for a 50 minute ride to the stadium, warm up on pavement for a 1500m race.
No doubt you are a superior athlete and that sort of thing would not bother you. I have been to other WAVA/WMA meets where the ride to the stadium was very long – so no surprise – but the unfortunate part was that given the distance between 3 stadiums -going out to watch other races was difficult.
NO race under 300m was held in the main stadium – ok – a few 5k and 10 races were – but the vast majority of races were NOT at the main stadium – what were they saving it for? That was a first for me – and this was my 9th WAVA/WMA meet.
Transportation to the venues is always a problem no matter where the stadiums are located – and often it is crowded but excuse me if I think that not having buses after the last event is over, or having one bus for hundreds of people is a problem.
As for Eugene – my bet is that a WMA meet will not happen there again – too many people and a lack of housing in the area. The university is not going to empty all the dorms and there are few hotels close by. I went to the WAVA meet in Eugene in 1989 – it was wonderful – but the participation numbers was much smaller – no way Eugene can host 8 or 9 thousand athletes, plus guests, officials and the like.
Personally I am glad that Porte Alegre did not get the bid – any bidder whose presentation features tourist attractions and not a single word about the athletic facilities should be suspect. but call me spoiled for wanting decent tracks, a place to warm up, and reasonable transportation – we all went to lie on the beach and work on our tans – right!
3 Responses
If Nike wanted to do something really wonderful for USA Track and Field, why don’t they help fund the buliding of a permanent national track and field stadium. All national championships would be held in the stadium. The stadium would be state of the art, perhaps with a retractable roof, and seating for 35-40K. They would have perpetual naming rights to it, and it could house a Niketown, to sell their products. If they could donate a dollar from the sales of all their running and track and field shoes, and fifty cents from the running and track apparel, there would probably be enough to pay the yearly financing of the stadium.
It would be a great incentive for USA consumers to purchase Nike products over other competitors, and better yet, foreign consumers would be helping to provide the USA athletes with great facility. I’m sure the donation wouldn’t kill their margins either.
What do you say Uncle Buck?
Hayward Field is the Yankee Stadium of track and field. Anyone who has competed there with the stands full knows the magic of the place. Just standing in the infield with the place empty sends chillbumps up my spine. I call my trips to Eugene pilgrimages. I don’t care about Nike or how Eugene got the trials, but I’m glad they did. Sorry California.
Completely agree with you, Jim. I’m obviously biased having grown up in Eugene but I personally don’t give a rip how it all went down, I’m just glad the Track Town is finally once again hosting the Trials and US Champs regularly.
Late June can’t get here soon enough!
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