Tables

The World Masters Athletics (WMA), formerly World Association of Veteran Athletes (WAVA), Age Graded Tables first published in 1989 and updated in 2006 and 2010, provide the basis for comparing athletic performances for different ages, genders, and between different events.

These tables are based on the world best times or distances either actually recorded or calculated for each age between 8 and 100 years for every recognised track and field and road race event.

Because they provide a world standard for each event at each age they enable each performance by an athlete, male or female, junior or senior, to be compared with the recognised world best for their age and expressed as a percentage.

For example, a 17 year old male sprinter runs 13.5s for 100m and the Age Graded Tables give the world best time as 10.16s for this age. The age graded percentage is calculated as 10.16/13.5 x 100% or 75.3%. We as a Club use these tables for calculating the Grand Prix scores for our three Grand Prix competitions – Junior GP, Road Race GP and Senior Track & Field GP.

There are now on-line calculators for calculating a WMA score for any performance. The link below takes you to the one we use, instructions are provided – all you need to do is select the event, enter your performance, gender and age and the calculator will provide your % score.

Here is a link to the WMA on-line calculator of age graded scores. All you will need to do is enter the event, your age and performance.

Sevenoaks AC also has its own (road only) calculator.

Well here they are - the results of the club Grand Prix competitions. Below are three tables, one giving the Track & Field results, one giving the Road Race status for individuals, and one giving the Road Race status for the teams. For those not familiar with how Grand Prix scores work or are calculated an explanation can be found on this website at the "GP Tables" tab.

Track & Field GP

1st        Geoff Kitchener        271.4 points
2nd       Paul English              243.3 points

Most Improved:        David Simpson            34.8 points improvement over 2011

I'm not sure how many years Geoff Kitchener has been winning this competition but ever since he discovered his ability to sprint well he has become untouchable in terms of the GP scores he can achieve with 3 scores in excess of 90% last year all over 50 or 60m during the indoor season. He's untouchable during the outdoor season as well.

In second place in the competition was newcomer Paul English who has proved an excellent addition to the Vets T&F team delivering some winning performances in the M35 sprint events.

In the Most Improved category David Simpson was streets ahead with all his performances in Field events.

Road Race GP  - Individual

1st        Pauline Dalton                    479.1 points
2nd       Geoff Vine                         477.7 points
3rd        Richard Pitcairn-Knowles      469.4 points

Most Improved:        Sally Shewell        30.4 points improvement over 2011

Pauline is a first time winner of this competition and has had an excellent year exceeding 80% for the first time and on three occasions. Throughout the second half of the year she has been under constant threat from Geoff Vine as he improved but has thwarted every move.

In second place Geoff Vine has had his best year for a long time and also exceeded 80% for the first time on two occasions pushing Pauline all the way to the final race of the year.

Our 2011 winner Richard P-K was third this time and although not at the level of the previous year it is still a superb performance for someone who reached 80 years old in Dec.

In the Most Improved category Sally Shewell made a major improvement from the previous year having learned to better handle the impact of allergy problems on her breathing.

Road Race GP - Team

1st        Chris Desmond, Ron Denney and Paul Tabor            424.6 points
2nd       Richard P-K, Steve Seagrove and Happy Fisher        419.3 points

This is a fun event with teams drawn from 3 seeded groups and Chris, Ron and Paul have been at the top of the table for sometime.

Prizes will be awarded at the AGM in April.