USATF/IAAF Seminar

I may have been a bit unclear about who all is invited to this Seminar. Anyone is welcome. While this seminar won't generally be an instructional day, it will provide opportunity to get together, measure, and talk course measurement for all measurers.

Is there any chance that, with Bernie there, attendees may become eligible to become IAAF Grade B measurers, if so recommended by Gene? How about current Grade B measurers becoming elevated to Grade A, if they satisfy Bernie's criteria, and receive a recommendation from Gene?

We need more IAAF measurers for verifications, I believe.

Duane, this will not work for several reasons.

1. We only get one or two "A's" per year. Hence, we must be very selective.

2. I find that it's best to look first at a need in a specific State. Some States have more than one and it is more important to promote one from a State with none.

3. Now, if we could get those "B's" to come that would be great. I have asked a couple to come. So we will see what happens.

4. There is more to becoming an "A" than understanding the process. By this, I mean a close look at there background over the years is also important. Some of our B's were appointed without any recommendations and I have found some of these not doing a very good job.

Thanks for your comment.

My premise for this Seminar was to get Bernie involved with US "A"&"B" measurers in hopes there would be more opportunity for new "B" measurers and hopefully an increased number of "A" promotions.

With Jim Gilmer's input and aid, there will be an objective method of assessing measurement skills. Something that doesn't exist today. Actually the credit for this goes to Jim Gilmer.

Granted in the past there have been a limited number of IAAF "A" appointments. That may stay the same even if there is a standard method.
In any event, a standard evaluation with quantifiable results indicates a measurer's abilities for IAAF approvals.

Might this be a chance to create a process of our own, that can be distributed to any of us "A"'s who might be called upon to do an evaluation of a measurer? It might be good to have a check list of things we can "grade" a measurer's performance on, like a report card. Something that can be submitted to Bernie, as part of the report he uses to determine a measurer's readiness.

Toni, Good question.
Currently there is no quantifiable standard for grading measurers.
If this is successful, a method of grading measurers against a standard could be implemented.
I do not believe geography has any bearing on whether an accomplished, knowledgeable measurer who is capable shouldn't be acknowledged.
Under the current IAAF system, good measurers are not accredited and some measurers might not measure up.
This may be an unpopular view , like standardized testing in schools but shouldn't all approved measurers be able to display some standard of excellence?

Interesting questions and discussion. I'm thinking we might learn how measurers are rated in countries where they do that-- maybe Mike Sandford could shed some light, and Bernie too from his international knowledge.

I've always thought our system works pretty well by allowing anyone to measure a course, but always with the "threat" that some experienced measurer may put us to the test by means of a validation measurement. These days I wonder if we actually do enough validations to make that an effective means of enforcing quality.

In the meanwhile we are left with looking at submitted calculations, discussions, and maps. Still, someone who does the math perfectly and produces a good-looking map, may or may not do a great job of measuring the SPR on the course. I always hope that they at least do a "good enough" job of measuring, and I'm confident that measurers who keep at it will to some degree compete with themselves to improve.

Bob,
In years gone by there were more opportunities for measurers to come together and learn from the experience. Olympic Trials measurements were a big deal and were often team measured by a group of several measurers.
Today there is less emphasis on getting groups of measurers together and the certifier is more important for training purposes.
So far there are about 20or so interested measurers coming together in August. This will be a good size group and I hope to see it double as the Seminar grows nearer.
Having that many measurers together will make for a genuine learning opportunity for everyone.

As an update and answer to a few queries I have received. The RRTC/IAAF Seminar is still open to measurers.
Any measurer is welcome and invited to attend. For all from the most experienced to novices it will be a fun day to get together, do some measuring and socialize after

The IAAF-USATF/RRTC Seminar was a great success. The report is complete and work has begun for subsequent Seminars in the future.
PDF copies of the Report are available upon request to Mike@Coursemeasurement.com