USATF is the national governing body for all US track & field, cross country, and road running. In addition to managing the Olympic teams, they also manage the Junior Olympics. Athletes of all ages can compete in the local Association meet, and anyone 7 years old and older who qualifies in their race can move on to the National meet. The top 15 individuals and top 2 teams will qualify. Age groups are determined by birth year, and are in two year increments: 8U, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, 17-18.
SOAR has a tradition of traveling to these meets for the competition, the experiences, and the team building. With very few exceptions, we have at least one experienced coach make the trip, with coordination for lodging, team meals, and meet day logistics.
Here are the 2024 Outdoor Track Meets:
Junior Olympics (JO) Series
Niagara Association JO Championships are June 22 at Roberts Wesleyan University (Rochester). Athletes must attend this to qualify in their event(s) for the next meet.
Region 2 JO Championships are July 12-14 in Jersey City, NJ. Qualifiers from this meet move on to Nationals.
USATF National JO Championships are July 22-28 in College Station, TX.
Youth Outdoor Championships are at Icahn Stadium in New York City July 26-29. No qualifying required - this is an open meet to all USATF youth athletes.
In order to compete in any of these meets, your athlete will need to have a current USATF membership. The instructions to complete that are below.
And if you have any problems, hit the big “Help!” button at the bottom and send an email to Coach Steve.
Register with USATF. Go to the USATF Connect Login. If you’ve had a membership in the recent past, you should be able to log right in. If you’re completely new to USATF, create a new individual membership. When you get to the Club Affiliation option, find “SOAR Running Club (NY-04-1125)” in the drop down.
And you will need to complete a Date of Birth verification, which requires you to upload a scan or photo of a birth certificate. This is a one-time requirement, but it is a real requirement for all USATF youth meets. And the verification portion can take a few days, so don’t wait! Once the membership is set, you’ll see a menu of options to the left. You should see “Athlete Verifications” on that list. That’s where you’ll need to add a Date of Birth Verification.
