Weaver Named Meet Director Of The Year
Dec. 5, 2005
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
The United States Meet Director’s Association named the University of Kansas’ Tim Weaver the 2005 Meet Director of the Year. Weaver was honored for his leadership of the Kansas Relays, an annual event that in 2005 saw an attendance of 24,619, the second-largest turnout in its history. At the event last spring, Weaver introduced the popular GOLDZONE, a three-hour meet-within-a-meet featuring 33 Olympians and an additional 42 world or national champions. The 78th edition of the event saw over 5,500 competitors from 19 states and 23 nations represent 614 teams in Memorial Stadium, all record highs. The meet was broadcast live on the internet and covered by media worldwide, including newspapers in Australia, England and France.
“This is a tremendous recognition for the hundreds of volunteers who have labored since the event’s revival in 2000 for a return to prominence,” said Weaver. “I would be remiss not to share this award with Lew Perkins in particular. Without his vision and support, the successes of 2005 would not have been realized.”
“Few meets in the United States have ever undergone the transformation recently seen in the Kansas Relays. Tim Weaver and his staff have brought innovation and excitement to this very important venue,” US Meet Directors president Bill Clark said. “Tim developed new marketing and recruiting formulas that have attracted the best athletes in the sport of track & field. In the end, success was reflected in new attendance records and a winning presentation that values the fan first and foremost.”
“It is fitting that Tim received this award,” KU Athletics Director Lew Perkins said. “His hard work and dedication helped produce one of the best-ever Kansas Relays this year. I stress constantly that if we’re going to do something, we’re going to do it right. Tim did the Kansas Relays right in 2005.”
Weaver is in his 11th year with the Jayhawks and his sixth year as meet director for the track and field program. In past years, Weaver served as a track and field assistant coach, working with multi-event athletes, throwers, sprinters and hurdlers for the University of Kansas men and women. Active with USA Track and Field on the international level, Weaver served as head manager of the men’s team at the 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, England, where team USA won 17 medals, including 12 gold, to retain its rank as the world’s number one team. He was also head manager for the men’s team that competed at the 2004 Team Challenge in Munich, Germany. This was the final warm-up meet before Athens for the U.S. Olympic team. There, the American squad handily defeated the German and French national teams. Weaver was the US Team Leader for the 2005 Pan American Junior Games in Windsor, Canada. He was also recently selected to serve on the men’s staff for the 2006 World Cup.
The United States Meet Director’s Association (USMDA) is a membership group of USA Track & Field, the governing body for the sport as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and the International Association of Athletic Federations. The USMDA represents the directors of athletics meets in the United States at all levels.
