FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
February 15, 2010
Contact: Kenny Morton President Mason-Dixon Athletic Club (502) 396-1999
Jerry Maurice, Mason-Dixon Games Hall of Fame Chair (502) 939-4890
The Mason-Dixon
Athletic Club will host its 50th Annual Mason-Dixon Games on March 5-6, 2010, at Broadbent Arena at the
In conjunction
with the 50th Annual Mason-Dixon Games, the Mason-Dixon Athletic
Club will be inducting eight individuals and into the Mason-Dixon Games Hall of
Fame and honoring two distinguished supporters
for the past 50 years of the Games. A banquet will be held in their
honor on Thursday, March 4, 2010 at the Wildwood Country Club,
2010 Mason-Dixon Games Hall
of Fame inductees are:
Robert “Bob” Beamon …former Mason-Dixon Games participant; 1968 Olympic Gold Medalist, World Record Holder in Long Jump whose 29 feet 2 ½ inch jump bettered the existing record by 21 ¾ inches and remains the Olympic record to this day.
Richard “Dick” Bealmar …Former Trinity HS grad and co-captain of the 1958 KHSAA state cross country team championship; Bellarmine track & cross country athlete; teacher, coach and guidance counselor at Trinity and JCPS; Bellarmine men’s track & cross country coach from 1983 to 1992; long time supporter of the Mason-Dixon Games.
Gordon Bocock …Long track
& field coach from
A.B. “Happy” Chandler…Former Kentucky Governor and Commissioner of Major League Baseball whose support made it possible for the Kentuckiana Cinder Club (later renamed the Mason-Dixon Club) to acquire state funding to purchase a banked board indoor track on which the Mason-Dixon Games started in 1961 and is currently still utilizing.
Richard “Dick” Fosbury…former Mason-Dixon Games participant, 1968 Olympic Gold Medalist in High Jump; member of the US Olympic Hall of Fame; revolutionized the high jump by clearing the bar backwards.
James “Jim” Gatewood …former
U of L quarterback who followed Johnny U nitas;
teacher, track & football coach, principal and administrator in the
Dr. Burch Oglesby…Western Kentucky University head track coach from 1967 to 1971 wining OVC track championships all of those years; WKU professor and department head in the Department of Physical Education and Recreation; member of the WKU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994; early supporter of the Mason-Dixon Games with his WKU teams.
Richard “Rozie” Rozell…longtime and former Freedom Hall, Broadbent Arena and Mason-Dixon Games overhead scoreboard and clock operator; longtime Mason-Dixon AC member, track & field official and official of the Games.
Distinguished Service Award Honorees:
Dr. Rudy J. Ellis Sports Medicine Center
50th Mason-Dixon
Games Honorary Meet Official
Kevin Young…1992
Olympic Gold Medalist, World Record Holder in the 400 meter
Hurdles
Friday evening, the middle school athletes compete along side the Masters and Open athletes. Masters and Open events begin at 4:30 PM with the middle school events beginning at 5:15 PM . Approximately 800 athletes from over 40 schools will compete for the middle school indoor state championship.
Saturday events start at 8:00 AM with the Class A division where 600 athletes from over 30 schools will compete. Between the Class A and Class AA Division a USATF Racewalk competition will be held.
Class AA events begin at 12:00 PM with over 800 athletes representing over 30 schools.
At 5:00 PM, the Class AAA events will start with approximately 1,000 athletes from over 40 schools will be competing.
All classes will be competing for the high school indoor state championship.
Admission to the Games is $5.00 each day for all ages.
As a community service project, the Mason-Dixon Games will again be collecting canned goods and non-perishable items for the Dare to Care Food Bank. The M DAC and Games Committee initiated this project during the 47th Mason-Dixon Games and over 2,300 pounds of canned goods and non-perishable items were collected. The request was included as part of the entry information to the middle and high schools, Masters and Open athletes and officials. The goal for this year is to double or exceed the previous collections.