Meet Management

BOSTON PREPS FOR INDOOR NATIONALS

Preparations are well underway for the fourth consecutive USATF National Masters Indoor Championships to be held in Boston, Mass. The meet will open on Friday March 24th at 9:30am with the men's and women's pentathlon and conclude on Sunday afternoon the 26th with the sections of the 4 x 400m relay. The Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center, which has produced more than 100 masters world indoor records in the past three years, is expected to see a multitude of alterations of the record book in 2000 as over 850 competitors are expected for the event. The meet will be hosted and managed by the New England Association of USATF, reprising their role from the highly successful 1998 edition of the Indoor Nationals.

Competitors will be asked to assist the New England Association by filling out a survey form that they will receive at registration. With the indoor championships remaining in Boston through 2002, the Association hopes to use the information to make further improvements for future years, as well as attract additional corporate support. Both New Balance and M-F Athletics who were on board for the 1998 event are returning as sponsors for the 2000 meet. Athletes are also encouraged to submit with their entry form any recent notable performances or places in national or international competitions for use by the meet announcer and for media disbursement.

EVENT HISTORY

The year 2000 presents the fifth time that the Championships are held in New England, the first time being the inaugural meet in 1981, with approximately 200 participants. In 1998, the third year of competition in Boston and organized by the New England Association of USA Track & Field, the meet had a record 817 entrants. Meet management in 1997 and 1999 was by TRACS, Inc., who again are scheduled to organize the championships in 2001. In 2002 the Championships will be back in Boston, and meet management at that time will again revert to USA Track & Field - New England.

DEMOGRAPHICS

More than 800 master athletes from all over the United States are expected to participate at the 2000 meet, which will be the largest indoor track and field competition for masters in the USA. Master athletes range in age from 30 to 90 plus years. A survey conducted at the 1994 National Masters Outdoor Championships, showed that more than 80% of these athletes are college graduates, with nearly 50% having obtained an advanced degree. Participants at the 1998 Indoor Championships represented 46 states, Bermuda, Canada, Mexico, Great Britain and Israel.

COMPETITION

Many of the country's best master athletes compete at the National Championships. The meet is comprised of a full complement of track and field events, with a total of 17 events and the pentathlon contested in five year age groups for both men and women.

At the 1997, 1998, and 1999 Championships, also held at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center, a combined total of more than 100 World and nearly 50 additional National age group records were set.

HOST ORGANIZATION

USA Track & Field - New England (USATF-NE) is a non-profit organization, dedicated to the promotion, development, and improvement of athletic and fitness programs in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Vermont. USATF-NE is the regional representative of USA Track and Field, the governing body for the sports of amateur athletics, i.e., track & field, distance running, and race walking, in the USA. It is one of 57 regional organizations in the country, ranking in the top five in number of individual members and registered clubs.

Other major events hosted by USATF-NE or organized within the New England Association include:

• National Cross Country Championships in 1984, 1991 and 1995, organized by the Association in conjunction with Boston's Parks & Recreation Department
• World Cross Country Championships in 1992, organized by Boston's Parks & Recreation Department in conjunction with the Association
• National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships in 1993, organized by the Thunderbolt Track Club (a USATF-NE Club) in conjunction with the New England Association
• National One and Two Hour Race Walking Championships, organized by the New England Walkers (a USATF-NE Club) in conjunction with the New England Association
• National Women's Long Distance Running 10 Km Championships, organized by Conventures, Inc.
• National Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships,
  - in 1997 and 1999 organized by TRACS, Inc., with assistance of the Association
  - in 1998 organized by the New England Association

MEET DIRECTOR

Steve's credentials include serving as Meet Director and/or Associate Director for the New England Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the Northeastern Twilight Meets, the 1991 and 1995 National Cross Country Championships, and the 1992 World Cross Country Championships. He is a nationally-ranked racewalker at 50 kilometers, a certified USATF official, has served as team manager of several USATF racewalking teams and served as assistant manager for the 1999 Pan American Games team.

MEET MANAGEMENT

OFFICIALS

Regional and national level certified officials will officiate at the meet. Several officials have officiated at the 1996 Olympic Games, and all have officiated at National Championship or other major national events.

VOLUNTEERS

Volunteer services will be provided by members of many of the Association's clubs and by individual USATF-NE members.

FACILITY

The Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center, part of Roxbury Community College in Boston, opened in 1995 and is a state of the art athletics facility. It features a six lane, lightly banked 200 meter Mondo track with an eight lane straightaway. The Championships will utilize:

• one weight circle, wood.
• a second weight circle will be set up outside for the superweight 30-69 competition
• two shot circles, throwing onto a synthetic surface. One shot circle is cement, the second circle is wood.
• two long jump and two high jump pits.

The facility offers seating for 3,000 spectators. The gymnasium adjacent to the track will be used for number and packet pick-up, meet merchandise sales, and meet information, as well as will provide an excellent warm-up area and location where athletes can obtain massages.