Meet Management
BOSTON PREPS FOR 2002 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 22nd at 9:30am with the
men's and women's pentathlon and conclude on Sunday
afternoon the 24th 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 years, is expected
to see a continued alteration of the record book in
2002 as over 800 competitors are expected for the
event. The meet will be hosted and managed by the
New England Association of USATF.
Athletes are 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. 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 2004, the Association hopes to use the
information to make further improvements for future
years, as well as attract additional corporate
support.
M-F
Athletics, sponsor of the throwing events since
1998, and New
Balance Athletic Shoe, a sponsor in 1998 and
2000, are again on board for the 2002 meet.
EVENT HISTORY
The year 2002 presents the eighth time that the
Championships are held in New England, the first
time being the inaugural meet at Tufts University
in Medford MA in 1976. The second running in the
area, at M.I.T. in Cambridge in 1981, had
approximately 200 participants. Those numbers have
now crested 800 as the meet has been a regular
visitor at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic
Center. Meet management in 1997, 1999, and 2001 was
by TRACS, Inc. The 1998 and 2000 meets were
directed by USA Track & Field - New England,
who will also steer the meet through 2004.
DEMOGRAPHICS
More than 800 master athletes from all over the
United States are expected to participate at the
2002 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 (will this be the year for a 100 year old
competitor?). 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 through the years in
Boston have represented all 50 states Bermuda,
Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, and Israel, among
other countries.
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.
Since 1997, a combined total of more than 200
World and nearly 100 additional National age group
records have been 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
local association 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. As one of 57 regional
organizations in the country, it ranks in the top
three in number of individual members, member
clubs, and sanctioned events.
Other major events hosted by USATF-NE or
organized within the New England Association
recently include:
- National Cross Country Championships in 1984,
1991, 1995, and 2000, organized by the
Association in conjunction with Boston's Parks
& Recreation Department, as well as a variety
of USA masters cross country championships.
- World Cross Country Championships and World
Masters Invitational 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 for the past 13
years.
- USA National Women's Long Distance Running 10
Km Championships, organized by Conventures,
Inc.
MEET MANAGEMENT
Steve Vaitones |
Meet Director, and Managing Director of USA
Track & Field - New England. Director
1998/2000, and meet management committee,
1997/1999/2001. |
Ed Daniels |
Athlete Representative for USATF-NE,
Co-Meet Director. |
Michael Collins |
Registration Coordinator, and Office
Manager, USATF - New England. |
Phil Byrne |
Masters Track & Field Chairman, USATF -
New England. |
Marja Bakker |
President, USATF-NE. Program and Planning
Coordinator, 1998/2000/2002 National Masters
Indoor Championships |
Justin Kuo |
Race Walk Coordinator and Webmaster
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OFFICIALS
Regional and national level certified officials
will officiate at the meet. Several officials have
officiated at the 1996 Olympic Games, and most have
officiated at other Masters National Championships
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:
- two shot circles, throwing onto a synthetic
surface. One shot circle is cement, the second
circle is wood.
- one weight circle, wood.
- a second weight circle set up outside for the
superweight 30-69 competition
- two long/triple jump pits, and two high jump
pits.
- one pole vault pit.
The facility offers seating for 2500 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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