World Masters Athletics unveils new site (with old thinking)
World Masters Athletics just celebrated, in Lahti, perhaps the best-run world outdoor championships in history — dazzling records, incredible competition, excellent officiating. So what does the new WMA Web site feature on its home page? Yeah, the same group shot it had on the old site. It’s more of the same “hey, look at the leadership” nonsense that’s afflicted WAVA/WMA the past 20 years. Yup, that’s excitement! So why doesn’t Major League Baseball plaster Bud Selig on its home page? Why doesn’t FIFA, the World Cup soccer overseer, go big with Joseph S. Blatter? Because they don’t want to put visitors to sleep. Hours after it unveiled the new redesign, however, WMA yanked it from the Web and restored the old home page. Then it went back to the new page. Weird.
Although newly elected President Stan Perkins has
promised a Web site shake-up, he apparently hasn’t knocked the right
heads. WMA is about masters athletics (a sport), not the WMA Council (a
snore). But at least the WMA redesign includes a search function — an essential element and long overdue.
Other observations on the redesign:
- WMA could redeem itself by merely posting some interesting news. But nooooo. Instead of talking up the several dozen world records set at Lahti, the news page informs us about the electrifying handover of the WMA flag from Lahti to Sacramento.
- The least we can expect from our world governing body is accurate, up-to-date information. But nope. The addresses page (as of August 26) showed Monty Hacker as acting president and Rex Harvey as vice president-stadia. Monty has been out for months, and Rex has been out since August 8.
- Although world age-group records set at Lahti were listed on the records page up until this past weekend, that info has vanished from the new site.
- Future WMA world meets in 2012 and 2013 have been chosen, but they appear nowhere on the Championships page.
- The 2009 results page is blank. Nothing to report, I guess.
- The About Us page defines masters as 35-and-up. But oops! The IAAF Congress just redefined masters as 40-and-up for the purpose of nonstadia (road running, etc.) meets.
But all is forgiven, WMA folk, if you just put a runner, jumper or thrower on the home page — any runner, jumper or thrower.
World Masters Athletics isn’t about the Council! It’s about the sport and its athletes.
Show it.
18 Responses
Minutes after rewriting this entry to tell how the redesign was replaced by the old version and then replaced again by the new version — the old version was online again.
WMA, just make up your mind, will ya!
Record news appear now.
Some technical difficulties are normal during a dns switch.
Yes, the site does not appear to be one that will show up on too many “favorites” lists, and it’s a little puzzling as to who they really think their audience is, and what they think they might be interested in.
Ken,
Well said. It isn’t as if WMA doesn’t have access to a vast reservoir of action photos of Masters Athletes, either. My web site is at their disposal, they only need to ask…..
You put it so succinctly when you said the site seems determined to be more about an organisation than the exciting sport it purports to manage. But then I could point to other Masters governing body web-sites that are just as irrelevant to we poor athletes. Perhaps we should have competition for the worst?
Tom
great idea Tom- a contest to see which masters website is the most irrelevant to masters athletes. If I can start the contest off with two candidates – WMA and USATF.
Or perhaps a category for most self-serving – and the first nominee is WMA.
New faces and same old same old self aggrandizement- both sad and pathetic.
Patience… Never restyled a website yourself? Style and content are two things, but I also hope the content will come after teh restyling has been finished. (What I do not like at all is websites with fixed width, awful).
But more important: what is going wrong with http://www.mastersathletics.net/ I fear it is too much work for one person…
Weia,
I’ve written to Martin Gasselsberger several times to ask about changes and downsizing of mastersathletics.net — and he hasn’t replied.
Would someone please write him in a more suitable language than English? I’m worried about him.
His email:
office@mastersathletics.net
I’ve mailed some hours ago. We’ll see. I saw he has recently done some work on the style of the site so he is not completely down.
I heard from him about a month ago. I had emailed him to ask how to submit results as that link had seemed to disappear. He only said the rankings would be up later in the year but still didn’t tell me how to submit results for ranking. It may be a language problem.
Sorry, but I think we are drifting off the point here. This isn’t about style, it’s about content.
Ken’s original point needs to be kept in focus – do we athletes see any added value in our world governing body managing a web site that seems to be several steps removed from the action and realities of masters track and field, stadia and non-stadia events?
They have an unique opportunity to have a web site about our great sport, and use it to promote it world-wide. They are not taking advantage of that. Go back and re-read Ken’s article. He got it right.
When records appear on the website, where does the information come from? Who selects the info? Are there certain standards for qualifying to be listed and what are they? how does one submit results?
Good to see the world masters athletics records But what to talk of the asian masters athletics records which have not been updated after 2006 as yet. Very embarrassing.
We are still waiting to see the updated Asian Masters Athletics Meet Records Which have not been done even after 2006 (Asian Masters Athletics Meet held at BANGLORE, INDIA ) The General secty. and the President of Asian Masters Athletics Council Should take this responsibilty on their shoulders
Asian masters championship records does not appear anywhere. Asian masters athletic association to please do the needful.
Asian Masters Athletics Association seems to be still sleeping over the request made by some DAVINDER. Pity !
Is there anybody who can tell as to where are the Asian Masters Athletics Championship Records available and not the age group records As world masters Athletics championship records are easily available
Is there anybody who can tell as to where are the Asian Masters Athletics Championship Records available and not the age group records As world masters Athletics championship records are easily available.
gracias por tu información
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