2004 World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships

48.715955°N 8.983662°E / 48.715955; 8.983662 (Glaspalast Sindelfingen)

2004 World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships is the first in a series of World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships (also called World Masters Athletics Championships Indoor, or WMACi) that were held following the success of both stadia and non-stadia World Masters Athletics Outdoor Championships, ^[2] This inaugural WMA Indoor Championships took place in Sindelfingen, Germany, from 10 to 14 March 2004. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

The main venue was Glaspalast Sindelfingen, ^{[6]: 1  [7]} which has a banked four-lane indoor track, ^{[6]: 1 : 16} where the turns are raised to neutralize the centrifugal force of athletes running the curves. Supplemental venues included Floschenstadion for throwing events and the tennis hall in Sportwelt VfL Sindelfingen for warming-up purposes. ^[8]

This Championships was organized by World Masters Athletics (WMA) in coordination with a Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the German Athletics Association (German: Deutscher Leichtathletik-Verband, DLV) and Karl-Heinrich Lebherz. ^{[1] [6]: 24}

The WMA is the global governing body of the sport of athletics for athletes 35 years of age or older, setting rules for masters athletics competition. ^[9] The starting age had been 35 years for women and 40 years for men in previous editions of the Outdoor Championships, but the men minimum age was reduced to 35 at the General Assembly of the 2003 Outdoor Championships. ^[10]

A full range of indoor track and field events were held. ^{[11] [12]} In addition to indoor competition, non-stadia events included Half Marathon, 8K Cross Country, ^[13] 10K Race Walk, and Weight Throw. In addition, Hammer throw, Discus Throw and Javelin Throw were offered as exhibition non-stadia events for this inaugural Indoor Championships. ^[6]: 22