January 10, 2021

News: Masters Track & Field

HAPPY NEW YEAR & WELCOME
Happy New Year everyone! While 2020 did not go as planned and 2021 looks to be off to a rough start, we're still holding out hope that a safe and successful outdoor season can be held here in Colorado and nationally. Before I get too far in this newsletter update, let me introduce myself. My name is Roman Marenin and I'm the newly elected chairperson for masters track and field for USATF Colorado. I've been competing as a masters athlete for about 3 years now and have been blown away by the folks I've met here in Colorado, nationally, and internationally. The community has been amazing and so supportive and that is why I wanted to help give back. My goal is to be proactive with communication regarding news, meets, and results in the association. During the competition season I will look to provide a monthly newsletter that will provide you an upcoming schedule of meets in the state, links to results for recent meets, and any other information that may be relevant to the masters track and field community.

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL REMINDER
Just a quick reminder that your USATF membership may have recently expired. USATF sent out several reminders at the end of 2020 to individuals whose memberships were expiring on December 31. We want you to be part of the journey in 2021, so if you have not done so yet, please consider renewing your membership here. If you need any assistance you may email the USATF Colorado membership chair.

NEW USATF COLORADO WEBSITE
I wanted to let everyone know that we're recently updated our website for USATF Colorado and all relevant information for masters track and field athletes can be found at https://colorado.usatf.org/information-for/sports/masters-track-field

There are also sections for long distance running (LDR) and race-walking if you are looking for some additional information on those sports.

Please take a moment to look at the site, and familiarize yourself with the sections (News, Upcoming Events, Results, etc.). All information will be posted to the site for upcoming events and results as they become available, so be sure to check back during the season!

USATF COLORADO SOCIAL MEDIA
If you are not following USATF Colorado on social media please consider doing so. We have one of most active social media platforms of all of the USATF associations and I will be working with our communications team to ensure all relevant masters track & field information is shared across our platforms. To join us on social media just click the links below and like or follow us.

STATUS OF UPCOMING EVENTS

The 2021 USATF National Masters Indoor Championship were cancelled for the 2021 season due to issues associated with the current Covid-19 pandemic. USATF is working on creating updated guidelines for the various associations with regard to hosting larger, masters-specific events as the recent vaccine becomes more readily available. These updates should be provided in the near future.

The USATF Mid-America Regional Masters Indoor Championship usually held at UCCS in Colorado Springs was also cancelled for the same reason.

The USATF Colorado All-Comer Meets typically held at the US Air Force Academy have been postponed at this time. There has not been word of a rescheduling of these meets, but if they are, the updated meet schedule will be posted on the website.

Clinics: We are tentatively looking at early June (state and local health restrictions pending) to hold technical clinics for association members for technical events they would like to learn, enhance their knowledge in, or try out. This will be open to all athletes from youth to masters and will include horizontal and vertical jumps, throws, (excluding hammer throw, weight throw, etc.), and race walk. We are still looking to confirm the date but it's tentatively planned for early June, so keep your eyes open for further news and updates on this.

USATF Masters Combined Events Championship: Talks are taking place to hold the USATF Masters Combined Events Championship in conjunction with the USATF Mid-America Region Outdoor Championship this coming August. This is still pending the security of the facility which is contingent upon the Covid-19 situation as we approach the summer months. Tentative dates are August 11-12 for the combined events championship and August 14-15 for the Mid-America meet. Details to follow.

TOWN HALL MEETING - USATF COLORADO MASTERS TRACK & FIELD
I'm hosting a Zoom town hall meeting on January 13th at 8 PM to discuss any issues that you'd like to see addressed at the association level or any other items that might be helpful to discuss at the national level that I can bring up. The zoom meeting link is below:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us05web.zoom.us/j/89685406001?pwd=aEVGbGZTdnpDblBQaTBBVlFLK0YvZz09

Meeting ID: 896 8540 6001
Passcode: j2zVQ6

IN CONCLUSION
That's it for this edition of the newsletter. As noted, the goal is to provide an update monthly (starting in May) once we have competitions so that a rolling schedule can be provided directly to you. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at masterstf@colorado.usatf.org. Thank you and stay safe and healthy out there!