The Education Amendment of 1972, most popularly known as Title IX, stated the following:
Section 1681. Sex
(a) Prohibition against discrimination; exceptions. No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance…,
In short, this Amendment allowed the same support for athletic and exercise programs for girls, as was provided for boys in the educational environment. As you have seen history unfold, it has changed Women’s Sports forever! The Constitution Classic of 2009 saw this played out in grand fashion, some to an interesting twist of “revenge” (see the pictures that follow). To start things off on the right foot, this Constitution Classic had more Open & Master’s Women competing than any Liberty Tour event in its history. One of the first women to “vault” into the record books is Jessica Sector (Pictured Above), who not only set the Young Women’s Pole Vault record for the Constitution Classic, but with a vault of 2.90m, shattered the previous Liberty Tour record by .50m.
In addition to vaulting, there were separate flights of Master’s Women competition in the Shot, Discus, and Javelin. “This is the story of the day”, exclaims Liberty Tour Executive Producer, Anthony Mills. He continues, “This level of participation by the ladies is unprecedented in the Adirondack Association of USATF and the Empire State Liberty Tour. They have now set the standard for future generations of Young Women and Master’s Women in Track & Field participation.” USATF Adirondack President Chris Rush adds, “USATF has a slogan that ‘Track & Field is A Sport for Everyone…A Sport for Life’ and these ladies are proving that to be quite true. As a Masters athlete at the age of 73, it is encouraging to see such an increase in the number of Master’s competitors.”
With the President’s Open (the host of the Empire State Track & Field Qualifying Trials for the Adirondack Association) coming up on Saturday & Sunday, June 13th & 14th, it appears that many athletes are taking advantage of the developmental meets as the precursor to their participation at the Qualifying Trials, as the Constitution Classic not only set a record for participation by Women at this meet, but also set a record for overall participation, with an increase of nearly 10% over it’s largest attendance back in 2007.
The 3rd leg of the Empire State Liberty Tour Track & Field Series will be the President’s Open which begins on Saturday, June 13th with competition in all of the combined events, some Master’s Throwing and Jumping events, as well as some of the distance races on the track, including the 10,000m Run. The full slated meet, and the second day of competition for the Heptathlon and Decathlon, will be Sunday, June 14th. Please note that this is the Adirondack Qualifying Trials for the Empire State Track & Field Championships set for July 24th – 26th in Queensbury, NY. There is Day of Meet Registration, but it is best to pre-Register online at www.EmpireLibertyTour.com. You may also phone in your Registration at (518) 877-0927, and ask for Meet Director, Lisa Mills. If you would like to fax your Registration, then fax to (518) 877-0929.
To view the Results from the Constitution Classic, click “Results” from the navigation bar. For all of the current Records for the Constitution Classic, or the Empire State Liberty Tour Track & Field Series, click “Records”. For more exciting pictures of Record Breaking Performances, just scroll down. Remember to join us on MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter.
Though they did not set a record in the 4 x 100m Relay, Riley Werner (Glencadia Bullets), who is on the receiving end of the baton, may have been the smallest lady competitor of the day.
Jean Juste (University @ Albany) shows near perfect blocking form, and sets a new Constitution Classic record in the 110m HH with a time of 14.60.
Competing in his first ever Empire State Liberty Tour event, Bruce Hardy sets a new meet record in the Master's Men Discus (55 - 59) with a hurl of 39.79m.
With relaxed form, Steven Dunn conserves much needed energy to set a new meet record and Liberty Tour record in the Master's Men (45 - 49) 200m Dash with a time of 25.88.
Probably one of the better performances of the day is the trifecta of records set by Judy Roehr (Master's Women 45 - 49), as she is seen here setting the Consitution Classic record and the Liberty Tour record in the Javelin Throw with a heave of 16.94m. Judy also set records in the Shot and Discus.
To prove that Track & Field is truly a "Sport for Life", the Great Grandfather of Track & Field, Bob Matteson, once again sets a new record in the Master's Men 100m Dash with a time of 22.40. He also set new records in the 200m Dash and 400m Dash at the age of 93.
One of the most thrilling competitions of the day was a three way race in the Master's Women 4 x 100m Relay. The ladies from the Glencadia Bullets won this first ever competition by outrunning the Lady Eagles (Country Mills Eagles), and the Averill Park Road Runners, with a time of 66.34.
Likely the most impressive performance of the Constitution Classic was that of Elliot Mason (Miami, FL), who ran a blistering time of 15:45.95 in the 5000m Run.
In an ultimate Title IX twist of "revenge", Country Mills Eagles sprinter Courtnee Richardson beats teammate Hezekiah Williamson in the 100m Dash, with a time of 12.77. Is this the new "Battle of the Sexes"?
In support of Title IX, Karen Luzinas (Averill Park Road Runners) shows her boys (Zak and Tyler) that Liberty Tour records are not just for men. Here she sets the Liberty Tour record in the Master's Women (50 -54) Javelin Throw with a toss of 16.29m. She also set records in the Shot and Discus.
No, this is not synchrinized 400m Hurdling, but it is a new Open Men's record performance by both James Robinson from Gloversville (left), and a new Young Men's record by Mike D'alberto of Kingston Track Club (right), as they finish with times of 60.29 and 60.87 respectively.
Is this a "Battle of the Sexes"? Not at all! But it is a Constitution Classic record for both Master's Women (40 - 49) Pamela Allie-Merrill with a time of 8:20.16, and Master's Men (65 - 69), Michael Rosenthal with a walk of 9:09.82.
In what was the most competitive Triple Jump competition in the Open Men's division of a Liberty Tour meet, Mike McCadney leaps to a new meet record and a new Liberty Tour record with this performance of 15.92m.
