March 2020 Contents
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March 2020 Track and Field Contents Writers of P. 1 President’s Message America P. 3 2020 TAFWA Awards (Founded June 7, 1973) P. 4 Track & Field Links P. 5 Prefontaine Classic - Tom Jordan PRESIDENT Jack Pfeifer P. 6 Dick Bank, Voice of Epic Billy Mills Olympic Upset Call, Dies at 90 2199 NW Everett St. #601 P. 7 For Luddites Only Portland, Oregon 97210 Office/home: 917-579- P. 9 News Links 5392. Email: P. 10 Coach Derek Thompson, Star Runner Ajee’ Wilson are Winning Partnership [email protected] P. 11 News Links SECRETARY- P. 14 Book of the Year TREASURER Tom Casacky P. 15 Catching Up With ... Ashton Eaton P.O. Box 4288 P. 17 News Links Napa, CA 94558 Phone: 818-321-3234 P. 18 2020 NCAA Indoor Schedule Email: [email protected] P. 18 2020 World Athletics Outdoor Schedule P. 19 2020 NCAA Outdoor Championships Schedule FAST Dave Johnson P. 20 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials Standards Email: P. 21 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials Schedule [email protected] Phone: 215-898-6145 P. 22 2020 Olympic Games Standards P. 23 2020 Olympic Games Track & Field Schedule WEBMASTER Michael McLaughlin P. 24 Catching Up With ... Chris Miltenberg, UNC Email: P. 29 Statistics Publications 2019 Combined Events [email protected] Phone: 815-529-8454 P. 30 2020 Fixtures List NEWSLETTER EDITOR Shawn Price Email: President’s Message - March 2020 [email protected] Coronavirus Phone: 979-661-0731 As we write from the disease-free TAFWA HQ in NW Portland, no track meets to our knowledge have been called off indoors or out. That includes the New Jersey and New York state high school indoor championships, the various NCAA Championships, and the venerable IC4A, being held as we speak at BU. Included in that list is the hugely popular national high school indoor championships (now called the New Balance Indoor Nationals), held at the steamy, jampacked Armory in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. The sponsoring NSAF issued a lengthy, detailed explanation of the precautions being taken for the event, including the ready availability of hand sanitizers and advisories regarding personal hygiene and sanitation. This seems like a good model for such large events. Will this hold up in the outdoor season? With the sudden and dramatic cancellation of the huge South By Southwest music festival in Austin, what are the fates of the Texas Relays, scheduled for later this month, and the outdoor NCAA meet, also scheduled for Austin, in June? It appears that the mayor of Austin made the call on canceling South-By. Could the Texas Relays be his next target? Does the University of Texas have a say in this, and what is its position? We don’t intend to be alarmist here, just on top of fast-moving developments. But if the Texas Relays, one of the country’s largest and signature meets, are in jeopardy, what would be next and what effect could that have on the overall outdoor track season? The 800-pound gorilla in the room is of course the Summer Olympics, scheduled for Tokyo in July. While the IOC, World Athletics and the host Japanese remain steadfast that the Games Will Go On – a position with which we concur – there is clearly the possibility that they could be in jeopardy if conditions in Japan or elsewhere worsen. The Summer Olympics have been called off three times, all because of the world wars – 1916, 1940 and 1944. The NCAA Championships, which began in 1921; the Penn Relays, which began in 1895, and the IC4A, which began in 1876, have never been called off. (In December, 1941, large gatherings were banned on the West Coast after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Rose Parade was canceled, but the Rose Bowl game was preserved, by playing it in Durham, N.C.) If the Summer Olympics are delayed, possibly by a year to the summer of 2021, what would happen to the upcoming Olympic Trials and the 2021 World Championships, both of which are scheduled for Eugene? Newsletter format We have made some changes to the TAFWA Newsletter. We hope they represent an improvement. Only a few articles will now appear at full length. Those will include writing by members, a monthly “Catching Up With” feature, and those that seem especially appropriate, such as Death Notices in this issue of two stalwart members of the national track community, Dick Bank, who passed away in Los Angeles at 90, and Bill Roe, who died suddenly in Victoria, B.C., at 69. We have added a one-page list of prominent online T&F Links and other electronic sources, and have expanded the Calendar. Additions welcomed. These will appear every issue, along with schedules for prominent upcoming meets and the Olympic qualifying standards. There is also a recollection in this issue by Tom Jordan, the venerable meet director of the Prefontaine Classic and a past winner of TAFWA’s Sam Skinner Award. Note that the intro points out that Tom has decided that this will be his final year running the Pre meet, an event he has made into the best invitational meet in the world. The purpose of the changes is to streamline the newsletter – cut down on the word count while providing links – and add more user-friendly items. We hope it helps. Dues, Awards Another reminder that it is that time of year to pay the annual dues of $30 to Treasurer Tom Casacky, by check or Paypal. Two months remain for nominating yourself or others for the 2020 TAFWA Awards. A description appears in this issue along with a list of the Leading 10 Books from 2019, as determined by our book maven, Peter Walsh. HIGH SCHOOL TRACK 1940 Jack Shepard, boys HS editor for Track & Field News and editor/publisher of the High School Track series (since 1980), along with Bob Jarvis, FAST Award winning statistician, have spent decades gathering data to continue High School Track back into the pre-1950s. The first of this historic series covers the year 1940. The booklet contains 30-deep yearly lists, with meet/site/date, along with the then HS records and 10-deep all- time lists. [26 8½” x 11” pages] Send a check or money order for $20, made payable to Jack Shepard, 14551 Southfield Dr., Westminster, CA 92683. Postage is included in the price for North America. Add $2 for foreign TAFWA Membership Dues for 2020 TAFWA dues for 2020 will remain at $30, and will buy you a series of excellent newsletters, the 2020 FAST Annual, and privileged entry to special TAFWA social events at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene (our yearly breakfast with athletes and coaches). Don’t miss out! You can send a check, payable to TAFWA, to PO Box 4288, Napa, CA 94558, or use PayPal, to the ad- dress [email protected]. TAFWA Newsletter - Page 2 - March 2020 2020 TAFWA Awards Recognizing excellence in track & field journalism, announcing, photography, film & video, websites, broadcasting, writing, and cooperation with the press. Presentation TAFWA’s 2020 awards will be presented June 26, 2020, in Eugene, Ore., during the Olympic Trials. Self- nominations are allowed. Include the nominee’s name and contact information. James O. Dunaway Memorial Award For excellence in track and field journalism, in print or online, during 2019 Award Chair: Jack Pfeifer ([email protected]) Nomination Deadline: May 1 Sam Skinner Memorial Award For ongoing cooperation with the press Award Chair: Walt Murphy ([email protected]) Nomination Deadline: May 1 Submit name of nominee and a brief narrative Announcing Awards For excellence in track and field announcing Scott Davis Memorial Award presented to a current announcer Pinkie Sober Award presented to a retired announcer or posthumously Award Chair: Dave Johnson ([email protected]) Nomination Deadline: May 1 Photography Awards For excellence in track and field photography Rich Clarkson Award presented to a current photographer Award Chair: Kim Spir ([email protected]) Nomination Deadline: May 1 Note: Submit an electronic portfolio Manning Solon Award For a career of excellence in track and field photography Award Chair: Steve Sutton ([email protected]) Nomination Deadline: May 1 Bud Greenspan Memorial Film & Video Award For excellence in track and field/running film & video production Award Chair: Nancy Beffa ([email protected]) Nomination Deadline: March 1 Note: This award will recognize outstanding achievement in film or video on track and field or running during 2019 Criteria: Contact Nancy Beffa for details • Submissions will be judged on innovation, impact and content • Entries must have been released, televised or copyrighted in 2019 • Must be at least 25 minutes in length • Please submit 2 DVD copies of the film or a link to the work online Adam Jacobs Memorial Award for Online Excellence For excellence in online personal writing on track and field, cross country or running in 2019 Award Chair: Paul Merca ([email protected]) Nomination Deadline: May 1 Coogan’s Track & Field Book Award For the leading book published in 2019 on track & field, cross country or running Award Chair: Peter Walsh ([email protected]) Nomination Deadline: February 1 Note: Please submit three copies of the book for review to Peter Walsh, Coogan’s Restaurant, 4015 Broadway, New York, NY 10032 Cordner Nelson Memorial Award For a body of work writing about track & field and running Award Chair: Jack Pfeifer ([email protected]) Nomination Deadline: May 1 H. D. Thoreau Broadcasting Award For excellence in track & field broadcasting Award Chair: Jack Pfeifer ([email protected]) Nomination Deadline: May 1 TAFWA Newsletter - Page 3 - March 2020 Track & Field Links Websites Athlerecords.net Michel Saint-Raymond Trackandfieldnews.com Bible of the Sport Tilastopaja.eu