Will masters face uniform challenges in Riccione?

Remember the ā€œSoup Naziā€ on ā€œSeinfeldā€? It appears that masters on the WMA stage may have to deal with a Uniform Nazi — an official who challenges your team uniform. So suggests a recent post on a blog attached to Annette’s Seite in Germany. A friend helped translate the blog entry for us, and he begins: ā€œThe blog hammers Brian Keaveney of Canada, Vice President Non Stadia. He ran around at the World Indoors (at Linz, Austria, in March 2006) and harassed athletes regarding their national uniforms. Seems like he focused exclusively on female athletes. (The blogger believes he was afraid of male athletes.)ā€


My friend continues:
ā€œWhenever he disliked the uniform of a female athlete, he threatened disqualification. He made one athlete change uniforms and disqualified another. The blogger continues by asking what exactly makes a national uniform.
ā€œThere are more than a dozen national uniforms in Germany alone. The Germans were sponsored by Addidas and uniforms were ā€˜modernized’ every other year. Last year or so Nike stepped in and got the sponsorship with the logical result: new uniforms every year. For 2007, the official uniform changes from basic grey to red.
ā€œThe German T&F Association hopes to sell a bundle to senior athletes, but even the oldest East German uniforms are still considered national uniforms.
ā€œThe question is asked if Brian K. can decide what exactly makes a national uniform. Will he disqualify all Germans not wearing the new Nike red? For now, only insiders know about the Nike red, older uniforms are still promoted and sold. What will he say about socks? About shoes? About acceptable bodies and hair styles?ā€
Me again:
This is only one person’s interpretation of a blogger’s say-so.
So I’ve written to Brian to see what’s up.
Stay tuned.

Print Friendly

January 2, 2007

10 Responses

  1. Dexter McCloud - January 2, 2007

    Well, this shouldn’t be an issue for the U.S. Team. We only have one uniform.
    What bugs me is that the Masters uniforms are from the ’96 Olympic Team. WHY can’t USATF make the 2000 uniforms available to us? Is it because of some contractual agreement with Nike or we just getting overlooked?

  2. Mary Harada - January 2, 2007

    some of us have several US “uniforms” – and as of the moment only the spiderman stuff from ’96 is “official. I certainly hope that we will get a minimum of 4-6 years out of that stuff and that the US Uniform Nazi (whomever that may be) does not decree that we will all have to buy new singlets for 2007 –
    Personally I do not want to help empty out the warehouse for the 2000 Olympic leftovers – nice or not – I would prefer that the US Masters have their own uniform and not just the leftovers from prior Olympic years.

  3. Rich Rizzo - January 3, 2007

    WEARING A UNIFORM FROM THE LAST CENTURY DOES NOT SEEM TO BE IN DRESS CODE OF THE USATF YOUNGER ATHLETES SO WHY IS IT THAT US OLDER ATHLETES HAVE TO WEAR SOME OUTDATED CLOTHING THAT SHOULD BE IN THE T&F SHOWCASES OF ALMOST ANTIQUITY?? WHEN YOU GO SHOPPING FOR A SUIT OR DRESS OR UNIFORM FOR THAT MATTER DO YOU PURCHASE A ITEM THAT IS 11 YEARS OLD ? WHAT A JOKE ! THE UPPER ESCHELON SHOULD GET WITH IT WHEN IT COMES TO DRESS CODE FOR THE OLDER LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF T&F

  4. Mary Harada - January 3, 2007

    the “joke” is not that the masters uniform is 11 years old, but that USATF uses the masters to empty out the warehouse of overstock from the ’96 Olympics. There was no markdown in the price and when they ran out of stock they sent stuff that did not fit or new stuff made in some sweatshop by 6 year olds in a developing country. We use to have our own uniform way back in the old 20th century – as much as one may or may not have liked it. Then USATF got the bright idea to unload the old Olympic uniforms on us.
    It should not be up to USATF to pick out what sort of left-overs to dump on masters competing in WMA – it should be up to the masters committee to pick a uniform and then have it be the official uniform for a few years – otherwise we will be getting the hand-me-downs at the whim of Indianapolis – and forced to shell out repeatedly for new singlets and other tops to meet the requirements of the WMA Uniform Nazi.
    Meanwhile I have 4 different “official” singlets from WAVA/WMA meets – and 3 different warm-ups- and if you have not been to a WMA meet and seen the opening and closing ceremonies – the USA group always looks like a bunch of rag-pickers – with a wide variety of warm-ups – some from past WMA/WAVA meets and some just stuff from home. I have a sufficient number of USA warm-ups to last the rest of my life – and I do not need any more “official’ singlets – they do not wear out. When I compete in the US I wear my club singlet – not a USA singlet – meanwhile my expensive USA “offical” singlets are in a drawer taking up space and collecting dust. We need to do like some other countries do – get a uniform and stick with it for years. Update it with the same colors perhaps in nicer fabric, more wicking stuff or whatever – but stick to a single design that is simple, represents the colors of our flag, and get out of the USATF warehouse sale business.

  5. Lesley Richardson - January 3, 2007

    It is interesting to see the responses to this hot potato. The Masters kit also has many shapes and forms but is a different kit to that of our National Senior team. I would prefer that all athletes regardless of age wear the same kit. This is not possible however in GB as our National Athletics association does not recognize masters so they had to form their own association. It is fact that our Masters are far more successful than our Senior team who are sponsored and paid for whereas the masters have to pay their own way to the championships and have to buy their own kit.

  6. Jim Barrineau - January 3, 2007

    If we are paying full price for uniforms from USATF, then we should get the latest version including sweats. Hand-me-downs should be free or substantially discounted.

  7. Charles Roll - January 3, 2007

    This sounds like just another argument for breaking away from the USATF…..lack of respect?
    Quite frankly, I wouldn’t mind wearing the uniforms of the ’96 team but they
    didn’t seem to have enough of them. Now that’s marketing!

  8. David E. Ortman - January 3, 2007

    FR: David E. Ortman(M53) Seattle, WA
    I say the sooner WMA gets rid of the national uniform requirement the better. Perhaps there is some logic for asking relay teams to wear four identical tops, but otherwise let atheletes wear what they want.

  9. John Stilbert - January 4, 2007

    I agree with Mr Ortman. The uniform requirement serves no purpose at all. I guess it’s intended to provide the illusion that this group of individuals, many of whom have not even met each other, and who fund 100% of their own training and travel, are somehow a “team”.

  10. stefan waltermann - January 4, 2007

    From a marketing standpoint, the requirement to wear/purchase ’96 uniforms does not make much sense. You buy one set and you?Ā¢ā€šĆ‡ĀØā€šĆ‘Ā¢re done sending your money to Indianapolis. Make all national uniforms legal and sell us the latest, jazziest, stylish and technically improved stuff you make available at no cost to elite athletes. Many of us masters would place orders whenever USATF promotes new fabrics, colors, design. The fashion conscious techno-geek who is writing this will be one of them.

Leave a Reply