----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, September 19, 2004
10:04
Subject: [USMA:31133] 10 mile run in
Amsterdam
I regret to have to report that this afternoon a
run has taken place in Amsterdam which would have done the BWMA proud and
which fully deserves the Inch Perfect Award: the 10 mile Dam to Dam Run. This
is the twentieth run; for a few years they ran the half marathon,
but, I do not know why, they reverted to 10 miles.
I put the following message in their guest
book:
De British Weights and Measures Association
(BWMA) houdt van evenementen op het Europese continent waar Engelse maten
worden gebruikt. Ze heeft de Inch Perfect Award voor individuelen en
organisaties, die het gebruik van Engelse maten en gewichten propageren. Omdat
de Dam tot Dam Loop het meten van afstanden in Engelse mijlen (Weten jullie
hoeveel yards een Engelse mijl is?) in plaats van in kilometers binnen
Nederland propageert, zou ik als ik de BWMA was, deze manifestatie de Inch
Perfect Award met alle stemmen toekennen. Maar ik ben niet de BWMA, ik ben fel
gekant tegen het gebruik van Engelse maten in metrieke landen. Ik heb in
Ierland meegedaan een een vierdaagse waar afstanden in mijlen werden gemeten,
maar dat was daar de afstandseenheid; in landen die het metrieke stelsel
gebruiken zal ik nooit aan niet-metrieke wandeltochten etc. meedoen.
Translated:
The British Weights and Measures Association (BWMA) truly loves events on
the European mainland in which British units are used. It has the
Inch Perfect Award for any indvidual and organisation which promotes the use
of British weights and measures. As the Dam to Dam Run promotes the use
of English miles (do the organisers of this run know how many yards in a
mile?) instead of kilometres as units of distance in The Netherlands, I
would, if I were the BWMA, give the Inch Perfect Award to this event with all
votes in favour. However, I am not the BWMA, I am deeply opposed to the
use of British units in metric countries. In Ireland I have taken part
in in a Four Days Walk where the distances were measured in miles*,
but that did not matter to me as the mile was the common unit of
distance; in metric countries I will never, ever take part in
non-metric events.
*The Castlebar Four Day's Walks have been metric for several years
now.
Han
Historian of Dutch Metrication, Nijmegen,
The Netherlands
