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

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.