October 2005
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Roger Pierce:
USATF-NE Athlete of the Month
This is part of the image projected on the wall
at the USATF-NE Annual Meeting this past September when
Roger Pierce was named June, 2005 - Athlete of the Month
Fellow sprinter and USATF-NE Vice President John Oleski makes the presentation to Roger
in front of a crowded room which included Roger's wife and children.
There was a good turnout of Master sprinters at the awards presentation. Unfortunately we
weren't able to remain for the annual meeting because we had already made plans to attend the
"first annual Mass Velocity Track Club meeting" seen here:
Here we are around the conference table at the temporary Mass Velocity headquarters.
Seen (left to right) are Larry Libow, Roger Pierce, Bob Segal, Ralph Souppa, John Saxelby
and Warren Graff. Arriving late and not in the photo was Carroll Blake.
A motion was passed ... or at least something was passed. It might have been one
of those fruit-flavored beers come to think of it. Hopefully we'll have more of
you at the next gathering.
We have just learned that Roger Pierce was just selected as the USATF-NE
Athlete of The Month for September!
This is the first time any athlete has been selected twice in the same year
and the only repeat winner - ever!
Roger says "I really don't know what to say about this except that I am truly
honored and incredibly humbled. I feel as blessed as I ever have in my track career."
Beyond the usual congrats for Roger, I think an even better way to show him
how much we appreciate his extraordinary talent is to help him become the
Michelob Ultra GeezerJock of the Year.
Roger's resume is far more impressive than the three pre-selected nominees.
It might be difficult for a write-in candidate to overcome the GeezerJock pre-selected
candidates but I urge each and every one of you to immediately click on this link:
http://www.geezerjock.com/ultra.cms
and fill in the form.
Roger's category is M60-69, he lives in Essex, MA. You'll need to provide his phone number
and Roger is okay with that. It's 978-768-7056. His 2005 accomplishments to be listed are:
200m National Indoor Champion
Penn Relays 100m Champion
National Senior Games 100m, 200m, 400m Champion (400m Record)
USATF New England 100m, 200m, 400m, Champion (all Records)
400m World Champion San Sebastian, Spain
Ran legs on Winning US 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m Relay teams at World Championships.
USATF-NE Athlete of the Month for June and September (First-ever two time winner)
(Any one of us would probably love to have the above-listed feats as having
been accomplished in our lifetime. This list is just Roger's 2005 achievements!)
Indoor Season Coming Soon
It's only about 8 weeks before the first indoor event - The Harvard Invitational on Sat., Dec. 10th.
No entry forms are available yet and as soon as they are, the link will be posted on the MV site.
Likewise for the Greater Boston Track Club Invitational, which is set for January 22nd. Let's hope
it doesn't get canceled due to bad weather like it did last year.
If anyone is aware of dates and locations of upcoming indoor meets - especially if you've got the link
to the web site or entry form - please send it to Mass Velocity so we can post it.
Can You Answer This Question?
I think we can all answer that question fairly easily. Now we have a few other
questions we'd like you to answer. It's the Mass Velocity Mini Bio.
It's about time we learned more about our fellow Master sprinters and
the answers to the questionnaire will become part of the About Us section and
attached to your photo. It shouldn't take more than a few moments to fill it out and just about
every question other than your name and city are optional.
This is not just for Mass Velocity members, it's for everyone in our entire community
of sprinters. Even if we don't yet have a photo of you, please fill it out. If you have a
photo you'd like us to use on the web site, send a digital photo or scan the image
and attach it to an e-mail. Too old to know how to do that? Okay,
mail us the photo with a SASE. We'll scan it and mail it back to you.
Click on Mass Velocity Mini Bio (below) To Fill Out Your Questionnaire:
Looking for Massachusetts Senior Games
Board Members
A few years ago I walked into the Massachusetts Senior Games office and
volunteered my services to re-do their web site.
It wasn't long afterwards that I was invited to join the Board of Directors.
The current Board has many members who have served for 10 to 15+ years. They're getting
ready to leave the direction of the Mass. Senior Games to a new crop of volunteer Board members.
I am hoping that amongst our community of Masters we can find one or two of you that might be
willing to invest a small amount of your time to help shape the future of the Mass. Senior Olympics.
The Board meets about four times a year, usually in North Attleboro, Franklin or Worcester, Mass. with one meeting, usually around the time of the Summer Games, held at Springfield College. The current
Board is not much of a "working Board" and we need some new, younger (imagine - you're being
referred to as younger) people with fresh ideas and a willingness to help implement them.
If you might be interested in exploring the possibilities, please get in touch with me (Larry)
either by e-mail or just call me at 413-739-3087.
Question: What is meant by "getting Ralphed" and what are its origins?
Answer: According to Warren Graff:
"Ralph Souppa (pronounced Soo-pay), is in the M55 group, and is one
of those sneaky runners who catch you at the end of a 200 or 400,
hence the phrase "I got Ralphed" (by Ralph himself or anyone who does that)."
Join Mass Velocity Track Club
With the Indoor Season fast approaching, the Mass Velocity Track Club wants to
become recognized as one of the top Masters track clubs. If you've been thinking
about joining, now is a great time to do so. Annual dues are a mere $15.00 and
although there are few perks now, as the club grows we'll be able to offer you more.
With the National Masters Indoor Championships to be held in Boston this coming March,
and with the growing number of sprinters joining MVTC, we should be able to secure a
substantial number of team points and turn some heads. We'll have some cool singlets
and speedsuits by then as well. So hop on over to:
http://www.massvelocity.org/mvmembership.htm
and join the team!
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