MESSAGES

The Region of Piedmont is honoured to be hosting the IV WORLD MASTER, at one of the venues where the 2006 Winter Olympic Games will be held. We are also proud that for the fifth time, an Italian town has been chosen as the setting for a competition with such a high profile from the sporting, environmental and moral point of view.
The considerable number of teams and athletes expected from all over the world gives us the confidence that the event will be a great success both technically and in media terms.
We all know that these will be very challenging competitions, and because of this the number one priority is the health of the athletes, along with the importance of keeping drugs out of sport, which as a region we support with promotional campaigns aimed at the younger age groups and in schools, as well as during many sporting events.
All that remains is to hope that all the participants do well in the World Masters in Sauze d'Oulx, and that the IV edition of World Masters goes down as an event which played a part in raising the profile and awareness of the Olympic Mountains during the summer months, the sunny "green" side of the bright "white" world of snow and skiing.

Enzo GHIGO
Piedmont Region President




The demand for competition from older (master) athletes grows year by year. The World Masters Association (WMA) organise track & field and out of stadium events on alternate years that attract thousands of competitors. However, when it comes to the specialist athletic activity of mountain running WMA preferred that the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) take on the responsibility.
Adopting the same general principles as WMA and the same age groups, the WMRA mountain running championships, in the space of a few short years, has become a major event in the annual endurance running calendar with as many as 500 athletes, men and women, taking part.
In 2004 the event will take place in the beautiful mountain town of Sauze d'Oulx. There you will enjoy traditional ItaIian hospitality, magnificent scenery, reasonably priced accommodation, and competition on a testing, but safe mountain running course.

Danny HUGHES
President World Mountain Running Association.