Gary Snyder

Margit Jungmann will succeed Stan Perkins as WMA prez (in my vernacular), but with a true electoral mandate.

International September 8, 2018

Margit Jungmann, beating Yank and Finn, becomes first female WMA president

Margit Jungmann of Germany, a former high school teacher and coach, schooled her competition Saturday and easily won election to the presidency of World Masters Athletics, becoming the first woman in that role in the body’s 43-year history. Margit won 110 votes — ahead of American Gary Snyder’s 12 and Finland’s Vesa Lappalainen with 19. (Corrected vote from original post.) The former WMA Vice President succeeds Australia’s Stan Perkins, who must be envious (since he won his first election by one vote, albeit under fraudulent circumstances.) The German masters website says she had given up her position as chairperson of…

At Malaga, Spain, delegates to the General Assembly on Sept. 8 will elect a new WMA president from these candidates: Margit Jungmann, Vesa Lappalainen and Gary Snyder.

International August 5, 2018

Read ’em and vote: Interviews with candidates for WMA president at Malaga worlds

Who will succeed Australia’s Stan Perkins as WMA president? Will the General Assembly in Malaga downsize itself — by limiting each nation to a maximum of three delegates instead of five? Will the Age-Graded Tables be updated for single-year use instead of the current five-year groupings? Those questions will be answered the first Saturday of the world meet, under way in a month. Also up for a vote — eliminating the office of women’s representative. (The WMA Council, which made the proposal, said: “Over time the composition of the Council and the Committees of the Council have changed so that…

Vesa Lappalainen makes it two European candidates for WMA presidency, upping the odds for USA's Gary Snyder.

International June 18, 2018

Vesa Lappalainen of Finland throws hat in ring for WMA presidency

On Father’s Day, I sent email to two candidates for WMA president, seeking responses to two dozen questions. Not sure of my email address for Germany’s Margit Jungmann, I CC’d current prez Stan Perkins of Australia. Soon I got a note from Stan: “Are you aware that Vesa Lappalainen from Finland is also a candidate for the Presidency?” Oops, nope. Turns out Vesa is a recent entry — perhaps the last couple weeks. This helps U.S. candidate Gary Snyder, since the European vote could be split, giving our former national masters chair a better shot in voting at Malaga’s General…