A busy past few days, with M80 team of Tom Durcan, Dick Mullins, Michael Kiely & John Mac Dermott setting a World Masters 4 x 800m relay record (subject to ratification) with a time of 13:48, taking over 13 seconds of previous time set by a German team back in 2013 at Dublin Graded meeting in Santry on Wed 5^th Aug.  A Men’s M60 Team of Michael Cornyn, Francis Fleming, Diarmuid Doyle & Michael Counsel also set an Irish 4 x 800m record.

Next up was the AAI Masters T & F Champs which took place over 2 days last weekend also in Morton Stadium. Many fine performances over Fri evening & Sat, with the sunny weather helping, though the wind conditions did not favour the Sprinters.  Ronan Gately will be working through all the results & updating any Masters records set.

A big thank you to all the AAI Officials who ensured that all ran smoothly over the weekend. Vast majority of those had a very busy weekend, as they were also in attendance on Sunday for the conclusion of the National League finals. However, must highlight again the problems that arose with a small number of Athletes checking in late. It was clearly advertised that Athletes must check in no later that 1 hour before the scheduled start of their event. This is a standard rule throughout. It then facilitates Officials to draw up heats where applicable or determines the number of races that have to be held over the longer distances, plus also the running order of Field events. Start sheets have to be drawn up & then handed out to the start  & finish Officials on the track plus also for the infield events. It also causes problems for fellow Athletes who are trying to prepare their warmup schedule. The majority of those that did turn up late were accommodated, but the patience of the Meet Manager was extremely tested as she endeavoured to re draft start sheets. Going forward, this will not be tolerated, so to those who were fortunate enough to have been allowed to compete this time, they will not be facilitated in future.

A word of thanks also to Avril, Kevin & Ronan who provided commentary for the online streaming of the Champs on Sat.

It was also very disappointing to hear back from Lucy, the small attendance of Athletes who logged in for her presentation on “Clean Sport” last week, which was facilitated by Weightlifting Ireland. We would encourage Athletes to please ensure that if they are taking any supplements, to check these out & ensure that the are not in breach of WADA rules. Even “over the counter” medications can contain banned substances, Remember the onus is on Athletes to be fully compliant. Master Athletes are not exempt from the Testers, indeed we have had some turn up at previous Masters Champs. Should you wish to seek any additional information, please visit Sports Ireland website @ https://www.sportireland.ie/anti-doping/athlete-zone/athlete-zone/how-to-check-your-medications

Michael Fennell        

IMAA Comm