Sacramento launches wma2011.com for 2011 WMA Championships

With preparations for the 2011 World Masters Athletics Championships ramping up, the Sacramento Sports Commission launched the official Web site that will be the local organizing committee’s primary means of communicating event information to athletes around the world.

The 2011 WMA Championships will be held July 7-17, 2011 in Sacramento. The event attracts between 5,000 and 7,000 masters (ages 35 and up) track and field athletes in odd-numbered years. In terms of participation, the WMA Championships are one of the biggest sporting events in the world.

The online tool, www.wma2011.com, was launched this week. The site currently features information on facilities, housing, transportation, visa requirements and popular California tourist attractions such as Lake Tahoe, San Francisco and the Napa wine country. The site will be expanded as more information, including a finalized schedule and entry procedures, become available in coming months.

To accommodate the international audience, information is presented in four languages: English, French, Spanish and German.

“The more we can get in front of our potential audience, the more successful our events will be,” said John McCasey, executive director of the Sacramento Sports Commission. “The bulk of WMA entries typically come from the European countries, so we need to reach out to them. But we’re also making a concerted effort to attract as many U.S. athletes as possible.”

Sacramento will also play host to the 2010 USA Masters Outdoor Track and Field Championships (July 22-25, 2010). To help market the upcoming Sacramento events, several members of the local organizing committee attended the 2009 U.S. event in Oshkosh, Wisc., and will also have a presence at the 2009 WMA Championships in Lahti, Finland, and the Summer National Senior Games in Palo Alto, Calif.

Online registration for the 2011 WMA Championships will begin immediately after the WMA Council visits Sacramento next summer.

Hornet Stadium will be the primary WMA venue. Sacramento City College’s Hughes Stadium will be the secondary venue, with American River College’s Beaver Stadium serving primarily as the practice facility.