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 Vaitones, Meet Director Executive
Director USA Track & Field - New England, Co-Meet
Director for the 1998 National Masters Indoor
Track & Field Championships
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
Ed Daniels
|
Masters Track & Field Co-Chairman for USA
Track & Field - New England, Co-Meet
Director for the 1998 National Masters
Indoor Track & Field Championships, held in
Boston.
|
Phil Byrne
|
Masters Track & Field Co-Chairman for USA
Track & Field - New England.
|
USATF/New England - Members of the Board
of Governors, including:
|
Dan Hart
|
President
|
Marja Bakker
|
Vice President (Program and Planning
Coordinator, 1998 National Masters Indoor
Championships)
|
Kathy Nary
|
Vice President (Registration Coordinator,
1998 National Masters Indoor Championships)
|
Betsy Harshbarger
|
Secretary (Sponsor Coordinator, 1998
National Masters Indoor Championships)
|
Justin Kuo
|
Race Walk Chair and
Webmaster
|
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.
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