Thursday, August 20, 2015
by Western Washington Univ. Athletics Communications

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Long-time Western Washington University assistant cross country and track and field coach Bill Roe won a position on the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Cross Country Committee in an election conducted this week at the 50th IAAF Congress being held in Beijing, China.

The president of USA Track & Field (USATF) from 2000 to 2008, Roe was one of the founders of the North America, Central America and the Caribbean (NACAC) Cross Country Championships in 2005. He has been an international team leader or coach for the United States at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships nine times, and also was a U.S. delegate to the IAAF Congress in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007.

The 65-year-old Roe is beginning his 30th year as an assistant coach for the WWU cross country and track and field programs. He also directs all the Vikings’ home meets, including the NCAA Division II West Regional Cross Country Championships which WWU played host to in 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2010.

Roe was on the Games Committee for the NAIA National Outdoor Track & Field Championships from 1992 to 1998 and served six years as meet announcer. He directed the NAIA national meet hosted by Simon Fraser at Abbotsford, B.C., in 1992 and 1993.

Roe served as a national officer of USATF from 1988 to 2008, including eight years as vice-president (1988-92, 1996-2000), four years as secretary (1992-96), and eight years as president.

Roe has participated as a coach, manager, team leader, or mission chief on over 40 USA international teams since 1977, including nine world cross country championships. USATF team travel has taken him to 23 countries on all continents.

Roe founded Club Northwest in 1972, and still manages its events, including a series of Seattle-area summer all-comers track meets he has directed since 1969. He has never missed the Lilac Bloomsday Race in Spokane and has been the primary starting line announcer and elite race scorer.

A graduate of Nathan Hale High School (Seattle) in 1968, Roe earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Washington in 1973 in general studies-sports programs administration and received a teaching credential from WWU in 1989. He worked on the staff at WWU’s Woodring College of Education from 1989 to 2002.