Brockport Hall of Fame
Barbara J Palma
Class of ‘58
Induction Class of 2018
Barbara J Palma
SUNY College Brockport – 1958
Undergraduate Major: Health, Physical Education & Recreation
University of Arizona – 1964
M. Ed. Teaching Assistant Women’s Physical Education
Ithaca College – 1968
Certificate as Athletic Director
Palma has dedicated her life to the education and guidance of students and athletes. Throughout her career she has coached and taught at six different high schools and colleges across the country. In the 1960’s and 70’s, she played ASA and Professional softball in both Albany, N.Y. and Tucson, Ariz. Not only did she excel on the field but continued to spread her knowledge of women and sports through literature, publishing two articles for the DGWS Track and Field Rules Committee, issuing a softball chapter in Physical Education for Women by D. Thomas, and writing for “Women and Sports”, a weekly column for the Albany Knickerbocker News.
Barbara is a staple in a number of athletics communities. She represented Brockport in softball for Sportsdays at Oswego State in addition to playing basketball in a Rochester Recreation League where she competed with other Brockport athletes. At the University of Albany, she started the women’s track and field team in 1971, where she coached two All Americans in cross country and three of her freshman cross country athletes won the US 30K Jr. National Championship in 1978. During her time with track and cross country at the high school, collegiate, and national level, she produced several conference, regional and national championships.
She would later go on to host the first NYSAIAW Track and Field Championship in 1979. Palma then took her talents to the Olympic level, where she was a part of a group of women who worked to have women’s long distance running events included internationally, at the Olympics and in World Championships. She officially became a USATF certified official in 1984 and was later named the USA Chef de Mission for the 1993 World Indoor Championship as well as the Coordinator of the first USATF Women’s Marathon Trials in 1984. Post certification she officiated several Track and Field Olympic trials, the 1996 Olympics and numerous meets in Australia, England, Italy and South Africa. Later coached and managed several USA international Track and Field distance teams in Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Finland, Germany, Japan, Italy, Russia and Sweden.
Palma’s accolades only continued, as she became the first elected National Chairperson of the AAU/USATF Women’s Long Distance Running committee in addition to serving on the NYS Speakers Task Force for Sport and Fitness. She served on numerous committees throughout her career, including the Director of Track and Field at the Empire State game for 10 years and the Title IX advisor in the NYS Capital Region from 1973-75.
Her career has since been honored in her induction to a number of Hall of Fame’s including the Fort Plain High Athletic HOF, the USATF Inaugural National Track and Field Officials HOF, the University of Albany’s Track and Field Wall of Fame Inaugural Class and the Greater Capital Region (NYS) Track and Field Inaugural HOF.
