It has been a successful year for USATF MTF, but we have a few events remaining in 2022 and then 2023 will be on us before we know it. We also have the USATF Annual Meeting in December where we will be discussing several important matters and have a few important positions that will need to be filled.
Remaining 2022 MTF Events and Upcoming 2023 MTF Events
With only a small handful of events remaining (most notably the West Region Masters Championships on October 23 in Hayward, California at Chabot College and the XXIII Central American Masters Championships on November 3-6 in San Jose, Costa Rica), the 2022 outdoor season wrapping up. Registration information for the West Region Masters Championships can be found here: https://usatfmasters.org/upcoming-masters-track-and-field-events/2022-usatf-west-region-pacific-association-masters-track-field-championships/ and registration information for the Central American Masters Championships can be found here: https://usatfmasters.org/xxiii-central-american-masters-athletics-championships/.
2023 promises to be as busy, if not more so, than 2022, with the Indoor Masters Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky (March 10-12), WMA Indoor Championships in Toruń, Poland (March 26-April 1), National Senior Games in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (July 7-13), Masters Outdoor Nationals in North Carolina A&T in Greensboro (July 20-23), as well as the Throws Championships in Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois (August 5-6, 2023) and Combined Events Indoor in at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin (January 21-22, 2023) and Combined Events Outdoor (site and dates TBD) all on tap.
WMACi Toruń – March 26 – April 1, 2023
The WMA Indoor Championships will return to Toruń, Poland, site of the 2019 Indoor Championships. The dates are March 26-April 1, 2023. The meet website is now live and has the daily schedule posted for the meet. Registration is likely to begin by the end of October. In the meantime, the USATF MTF Officers are working on the following:
- Team USATF accommodations – we expect to have room blocks at two hotels, including the Copernicus (the hotel we used in 2019) at approximately $100/night including breakfast and another at a slightly lower price point. We will let you know when rooms in these blocks are available to reserve.
- A revised physiotherapist/massage subscription process.
- Opening the applications for the WMA Travel Grants for the WMA 2023 Indoor Championships – the deadline will be the same as the deadline for entries for the meet (whenever that is).
Watch for more information during the coming weeks in these Newsletters.
2024 Indoor Will Not be Held in Spokane
Several years ago the MTF Committee accepted a bid from Spokane, Washington, to host the 2022 Indoor Championships. With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic a number of changes to the schedule occurred, and Spokane agreed to postpone to 2024. In August, USATF Masters and the Spokane Sports Commission mutually agreed that the 2024 USATF Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships will not be held in Spokane, WA due to a scheduling conflict. A new venue will be voted upon at the USATF Annual Meeting in Orlando at the beginning of December, with bids due by the beginning of October.
Come to Orlando for the USATF Annual Meeting in December
USATF’s Annual Meeting will convene in Orlando, Florida on December 1 to conduct the organization’s business (including voting on Rule changes) and to honor its most outstanding contributors both on the track (and in the field) and within the organization itself. The Masters Track & Field Committee has important business to conduct, including:
- Electing the MTF Active Athlete Representative
- Selecting the sites of future national championships
For more registration and other information about the Annual Meeting click here.
Election of Active Athlete Representative
Since 2020, the MTF Active Athlete Representative is elected at the Annual Meeting in even numbered years and serves a 2-year term. Colleen Barney is the current MTF Active Athlete Representative on the MTF Executive Committee. Her current two-year term expires at the Orlando Annual Meeting in December. The election for the Active Athlete Representative will take place during the virtual meeting prior to the Annual Meeting during which the Active Athletes signed up for the meeting select the Active Athlete Delegates. That meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 29. More information on the Active Athlete Process is available on usatfmasters.org.
Proposed Rule Changes
2022 is a “Rules Year” for USATF, meaning a year in which changes to the Rules of Competition are considered by the USATF Rules Committee, with input from the other committees most affected by the proposed changes. This year there are several changes are proposed of direct interest to Masters track & field, though most are editorial in nature. The three substantive changes that will be discussed at the Annual Meeting are:
- Reverting back to the 60 second time limit for attempts in the throws and horizontal jumps (this change was adopted by WMA at the General Assembly in Finland and now must be changed in the USATF Rules of Competition as well)
- Permitting W70+ and M80+ athletes to run alone in the 200m hurdles and set records (also adopted by WMA in Finland in recognition of the fact that at many meets there may only be one person contesting the 200m hurdles)
- Eliminating preliminary races at national championships in the long hurdles and 800m
Bids for Future USATF Masters Championships
Bids are now open for future USATF Masters Championships. At the Annual Meeting in Orlando in December 1-4, delegates to the Masters Track & Field Committee will vote on bids for the following upcoming Championships:
- 2024 Indoor (to replace Spokane)
- 2025 Indoor
- 2025 Outdoor
The bid documents can be found here.
In Search of a Few Good People
MTF needs a few good people to serve the Masters community in the following capacities:
- WMA Delegate – Effective in 2023, MTF’s delegates to the WMA General Assembly are the MTF Chair, MTF Vice Chair, and a third person appointed by the Chair with the approval of the MTF Executive Committee. This year, Carroll DeWeese’s four-year term as a WMA delegate is ending, and so a WMA Delegate needs to be appointed.
- Northwest Region MTF Coordinator – Effective the end of the 2022 outdoor season, George Mathews, long time Northwest Region Coordinator is stepping down after many years of dedicated service to MTF in a number of different capacities (including six years at MTF Chair). Information about the roles of the MTF Regional Coordinator may be found in the MTF Operating Procedures beginning on Page 26.
- USATF Diversity and Leadership Development Committee Representative from MTF – Several months ago, Gigi Melichar announced that they are stepping down as our representative on this USATF Committee. This is an appointment made by the MTF Chair, with the approval of the MTF Executive Committee.
If you are interested in any of these positions or want to nominate someone, please email MTF Chair Jerry Bookin-Weiner at mtfchair@usatf.org. You may use this form to submit an application. There also will be an interview process beginning in late September.
