World Masters Athletics
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Predecessor | World Association of Veteran Athletes |
---|---|
Founded | 1977 |
Type | Masters athletics |
Focus | athletic competition, senior sports |
Area served | Worldwide |
Website | world-masters-athletics |
World Masters Athletics (WMA) is the worldwide governing body for the sport of masters athletics – which includes track and field, cross country, and road running events – as participated by people over 35 years of age.
As the need became apparent, the organization started under the name of World Association of Veteran Athletes (WAVA), [1] founded August 9, 1977, at the second World Association of Veteran Athletes Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden. In 2001 the name was officially changed to World Masters Athletics and its championship is now called the World Masters Athletics Championships . The organization sanctions worldwide events, provides the age inspired specifications for rule modifications (a supplement to the rules of the sport by its worldwide governing body, World Athletics).
Prior to that, the sport was organized under the auspices of more localized bodies where the first official competitions were held, like the Interessen-Gemeinschaft Älterer Langstreckenläufer (IGÄL) formed in 1968 in
At its founding, WAVA's mandate was initially to cover male athletes over the age of 40 and Female athletes over the age of 35. The younger women were invited to participate as their numbers were lower and it was observed younger wives might be excluded. The WMA World Outdoor Championships included the M35 division for the first time in 2005.
World Masters Championships were first held outdoors in 1975, and continued
The first non-Stadia events were the World Road Running Championships in
WMA has been working to coordinate its outdoor championship schedule with the International Masters Games Association, which holds the multisport World Masters Games every four years.
Each individual country governs its own affairs with an organizational governing body that is an affiliate to WMA.
Regional Championships
In addition to world championships, regional competitions are held in several major areas around the globe. These are usually biennual competitions held in alternation with the WMA Outdoor Championships. [8]
See also
World Records
- Current Masters World Records
- In the 1970s World Records started being kept, with Peter Mundle acting as Chair
- Masters shot put
References
- ^ "WORLD MASTERS (VETERANS) CHAMPIONSHIPS (MEN)". gbrathletics.com. Athletics Weekly.
- ^ "Newsletter" (PDF). www.mastershistory.org. 1970. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
- ^ National Masters News, Oct 2005, Page 17. [1] Retrieved Feb 7, 2021
- ^ 2003 Meet Results, M40 plus, Masters History. [2] Retrieved Feb 7, 2021
- ^ "HOME". World Masters Athletics.
- ^ "WMACI Toruń, Poland". World Masters Athletics Championships Indoor 2019. 2019-04-23. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
- ^ "World Masters Athletics Championships 2020 Cancelled". Master Athlete. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
- ^ "Regions". WMA.