USATF Masters Cross Country Survey Report

Transcription

1 USATF Masters Cross Country Survey Report Cross Country is basically a team sport. USATF Competition Rules, Rule 250.2, pg. 132 I intend to live forever, or die trying. Groucho Marx Executive Summary: Bill Quinlisk, the USATF Masters Long Distance Running Committee s Representative to the Cross Country Council developed and instituted a survey of approximately 400 USATF Master runners selected at random who had participated in at least one national master s cross country championship in the past year. The survey was sent out via e- mail in mid-november, Runners were asked their opinions on several proposals suggested by the Cross Country Council. The survey results revealed an almost even divide in the respondents opinions of the proposals. Recommendations: The following recommendations are made to the USATF Cross Country Council: 1. That no changes be made to the 2015 USATF Masters 5 km Cross Country Championships scheduled for October 18 th in Saratoga Springs, NY. 2. That the 2015 USATF Club Cross Country Championships scheduled for December 12 th in San Francisco, CA, divide the Master Men s race into two races. One race would be a 10 km race for Master Men individual age groups 40-44, 45-49, and and Master Men team divisions 40+ and 50+. The second race would be an 8 km race for all other Master Men individual age groups (60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79, 80-84, , 95-99, 100+) and all other Master Men team divisions (60+, 70+, 80+ and 90+). Any Master Men ages 60+ who chose to represent a team in a younger division (40+ or 50+) would not be eligible for individual awards within their age group. Masters Women would continue to schedule one race at the 6 km distance. 3. That no changes be made to the 2016 USATF Cross Country Championships scheduled for February 13 in Bend, OR. 4. That the Cross Country Council examines the results from the 2015 USATF Club Championships to determine if the 2015 Masters Men changes be carried over to 2016 and beyond. 5. That the Cross Country Council develops Regional Masters Championships Cross Country programs. 6. That the Cross Country Council develops Masters Championship Cross Country programs in all USATF Associations.

2 Survey Background: In early 2014, the Masters Long Distance Running (LDR) Committee established an ad-hoc Athlete s Advisory Committee which generated suggestions and guidelines for future Master LDR Championships. Currently there are 11 master LDR national championships scheduled each year including three master s cross country events. It was suggested that the Cross Country Council update the three masters national cross country championships looking to integrate the goals the ad-hoc committee had suggested. Primary goals were to increase masters LDR membership and participation, and to establish a more equitable distribution of championship events throughout the Masters LDR Championship calendar year. At the same time the Cross Country Council was looking at record entry numbers at the 2014 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Bethlehem, PA. The record numbers, while welcome, brought subsequent logistical problems. It was recommended that the Masters LDR Cross Country Representative poll master cross country runners to determine support for several proposed changes. Survey Information: The distances run by Masters at USATF National Cross Country Championships are not listed in the USATF Rules of Competition nor are they listed in the USATF Operating Regulations. The distances have been determined by the Cross Country Council as part of their Championship Operating Procedures. Thus, they are subject to change by the Cross Country Council upon recommendation from the Masters Long Distance Running Committee s Cross Country Representative. There are three national Masters Cross Country Championships each year. One is a stand-alone Masters Championships (5k in Oct. /Nov.) and two are held in conjunction with Open National Championships (USATF XC in February and Club XC in December). Masters Men race 5k, 8k and 10k. Masters Women race 5k, 6k and 6k. Masters Men have comprised over 71% of the master finishers in these championships since The highest Masters Women participation rate was in 2014 at 28.7% of all masters. (See Appendix A for data from the three master cross country races from 1998 to the present date.) The following information and instructions were part of the survey introduction: USATF Masters National Cross Country Championships Current Events and Distances: Event Date Master Men Master Women USATF XC February 8k 6k 5k XC Oct. /Nov. 5k 5k Club XC December 10k 6k Note: - At Club XC: Open Men run 10k, Open Women run 6k - At USATF XC: Open Men run 12k, Open Women run 8k, Junior Men run 8k, Junior Women run 6k The following proposals have been suggested to the Cross Country Council. We are asking your opinion and we are interested in your suggestions. Send your completed survey to: Bill Quinlisk, USATF Masters LDR XC Rep. at: billqxc@verizon.net Thank you for your interest and support.

3 Survey Tallies: Below are listed the responses to the proposals that were presented in the survey. Proposal #1 had four options possible. Proposal #2, #3 and #4 had four different options possible. Respondents were permitted to check more than one option. 126 separate responses were received. Not all respondents answered all of the questions. 3 surveys were blank or unreadable. Respondents replies are tallied below in RED. USATF Masters Cross Country Survey Proposal #1 - New Masters Cross Country Championship distances Event Date Master Men Master Women USATF XC February Change from 8k to 6k Change from 6k to 4k 5k XC Oct. /Nov. Stay at 5k Stay at 5k Club XC December Change from 10k to 8k Stay at 6k Your opinion (check all that apply) 41 I agree with the proposed new distances 16 I do not agree with the new distances 46 Keep things the way they are now 19 I don t like things the way they are now and I don t like the new proposal. Here are my suggested distances: Master Men Master Women USATF XC February k k 5k-2,6k-6,8k-20,10k-1,12k-1 4k-1,5k-3,6k-13,8k-9, 10k-1 k XC Oct. /Nov. k k 4k-1, 5k-24, 8k-3 4k-1, 5k-21, 6k-2 Club XC December k k 6k-1,8k-24,10k-7,12k-1 6k-17,8k-12,10k-2 Additional comments and suggestions are welcome: See Analysis section for a summary of comments.

4 USATF Masters Cross Country Survey Proposal #2 USA XC February Combine Master Men and Master Women into one race with no team scoring. The event title would be USA Masters Individual Cross Country Championships. 27 I agree with Proposal 2 53 I don t agree with Prop. 2 Proposal #3 5k XC Oct. /Nov. Eliminate this event from the Master National Championship schedule and replace with Masters Regional 5k XC Championships using the current race format. 34 I agree with Proposal 3 46 I don t agree with Prop. 3 Proposal #4 Club XC December Separate the Master Men s race into 2 races: Race #1 M40 s run 10k, Men 50+ run 8k Master Women would run either 6k or 8k. 39 I agree with Proposal 4 37 I don t agree with Prop. 4 Here are my suggestions: USATF XC: See Analysis section for a summary of comments. 5k XC: See Analysis section for a summary of comments. Club XC: See Analysis section for a summary of comments. Additional comments and suggestions are always welcome: See Analysis section for a summary of comments. Completed surveys were sent to and tallied by: Bill Quinlisk, USATF Masters LDR XC Rep. at: billqxc@verizon.net

5 Analysis and Summary of Comments Masters Cross Country presents several interesting organizational conundrums. While cross country is basically a team sport, no one lives forever. By nature, there are a diminishing number of participants in the older age groups of Masters cross country. Historically, the ratio of master women to master men who participate in cross country is low. And while we believe that women and men, young and old, are fully capable of competing with equal ability and at equal distances, the team participation numbers were negatively affected when these principles were applied. The Cross Country Council has developed the current Masters National Cross Country Championship schedule and distances over almost two decades of competition. Changes have been made when necessary to drive participation and to ensure fairness. These Masters cross country survey results show an almost even division of opinion between those who do not want change and those who do. Change is not indicated by the majority. Yet, something has to happen. The massive entry numbers at the 2014 Club XC Championships in Bethlehem, PA have driven the Master Men s race capacity to the breaking point. There are not that many cross country courses in the country that can safely put over 600 runners on the starting line. Case in point is the course at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, the site of the 2015 Club XC event. Options facing the Cross Country Council include limiting entries, holding qualifying races and/or splitting the field into two races. Additional races will significantly impact the length of the race day time schedule if distances remain the same. Data from the 2014 Club XC event shows 40 of the 84 Masters Men teams were in the 40+ division. Over 40% of the Master Men s field was between ages 40 to 49. A whopping 77% of the Master Men s field was between the ages of 40 to 59. If the Master Men s race needs to be split into two races, then there is no point of division that will allow for an equitable division by total numbers and at the same time satisfying the team distribution needs. There were 41 runners ages 50+ who dropped down to compete on a 40+ team in of those older runners actually scored for their 40+ team. Whereas there were only 7 runners age 60+ who dropped down to run for a 50+ team. Only 5 scored for those teams. None were in the top 10 finishing teams. If we must establish two races for Master Men at the 2015 Club XC then the only logical split to maintain competition and team integrity would be at age 60. That would allow for all men ages 40 to 59 to compete in one race with 2 team divisions and 4 individual 5-year age groups. (Team: 40+ and 50+; Individual: 40-44, 45-49, and ) This would be a very large race. Using the 2014 totals, the race would include 458 runners or ¾ of the entire Master Men s field. The second race would be for all runners age 60+. The decision to drop the M60+ race distance from 10k to 8k derives from two concerns. One is the time schedule for race day. The other is the diminishing numbers of both individuals and teams as the older age groups race at longer distances. Conclusion: See Executive Summary and Recommendations at the beginning of this report. Appreciation is given to all who took the time to reply to this survey. Your opinions matter.

6 Additional Comments: Comments from respondents pertaining to the survey proposals: - Do not shorten the distances. Travelling a long way just to run a 4k or 5k is a waste of time. - Shorten the distances in February. It s hard to train for the longer races in the winter weather. - I like the current set-up. It offers options in distances and locales. - 10k is too long for older age groups. - Let Men 40+ run the 10k at Clubs. Then the Men 50+ can run 8k. - Let Men 40+ and 50+ both run the 10k at Clubs. Then the Men 60+ can run 8k. - Why run 6k? It is such an odd distance. - Asking 60+ runners if they want to run shorter distances is like asking hockey players if they want to wear helmets. - What year is this? Men and Women should be running the same distances. Women are as capable as men in competing at longer distances. (Note: there were many variations on this same opinion.) - Replace the Masters 5k with an ultimate challenge trail event. - Do not make changes to the Club meet. Why mess with success? - Short distances in cross country are pansy-ass. - Shorter distances mean more teams. - Younger Men (40 and 50) want at least one longer cross country race each year. At least 10k or even 12k. - Do not lower race distances. Our club will not attend. - Men and Women races should always be separate in cross country. - Only run one race for all Masters (M/W combined) at the USATF XC in February. - Keep team scoring at all 3 events. - No team scoring at USATF XC in February. It should be an individual Championship only. - Since Masters have no World XC to qualify for, the February race should have team scoring. - The October 5k seems like a weird stepchild event. - If the Club gets too big, then use Regionals as qualifiers. - Divide the Masters Men only when the course can t handle a big race. Off-topic miscellaneous comments: - Use bigger loops on courses. - Only accept bids from sites that are destination locales and have family activities. - More National XC in the Midwest please. - Combine the Club XC and Winter XC into one meet like it used to be. - Please separate the Masters Championship schedule. The Fall is too crowded. Events should always be at least 2 or 3 weeks apart. - No more Bend, once is enough. - Hold only one National XC race in a region each year. Spread them out around the country. - Hold the races on Sunday to allow for travel and less time away from work. - Altitude races suck. Submitted: March 29, 2015 by Bill Quinlisk, USATF Masters LDR, Cross Country Representative billqxc@verizon.net