Junior Olympics serve as a place where youth runners may extend their fall cross-country season along with other runners from around the region. As local middle and high school XC seasons conclude around the middle of October, club racing continues their sport into the latter fall months. Once November arrives, it’s Junior Olympic season!
Junior Olympic meets go in the following order:
PNW Association meet at Magnuson Park in Seattle on November 14, which includes all club teams in western Washington. Any team affiliated runner may participate in Associations. To advance to Regionals on November 21, runners must place in the top-35 or be on a top-5 finishing team in their age and gender division.
Region meet at the Pasco Sports Complex on November 21, which includes club teams from Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. To race in this meet, runners must have finished in the top-30 in their age bracket at Associations, or been on a top-5 placing team in their age bracket at Associations.
National meet at Moncus Park in Lafayette, Louisiana, on December 12, which includes teams from around the United States. To race in this meet, runners must have finished in the top-30 in their age bracket at Regionals, or been on a top-5 placing team in their age bracket at Regionals.
If your child would like to take part in the USATF Junior Olympic series, they will need to have a USATF membership. To register with USATF (Whisper Team code #36-0310 - $40/year, click here. Upon registering, age verification is mandatory if your child would like to participate in USATF meets in November. To verify your child’s age, select “Athlete Verifications” and upload a copy of their birth certificate or passport. Once USATF registered, their USATF membership will sync with their preferred teams ahtleitc.net roster, and the coach (Dave) will perform the actual registration into the meet(s).
COURSE WALKTHROUGH, TRAVEL, LODGING
On the Friday’s before JO meets, course walkthroughs will be provided. Coach Dave will communicate a time to meet so that your child can see the park, walk/jog on parts or all of the course, and visualize their race plan. It is completely understandable that meeting for Friday afternoon walkthroughs means kids will miss part of school, and parents will likely have to take time off from work. If you cannot make it to the walkthrough, join us for dinner, or stay overnight prior to a JO meet, it is okay. However, if your child is racing JO’s, it is expected that if the team qualifies for Regionals and/or Nationals, that your family will be committed to going all the way.
While the Calendar offers hotel suggestions, families may stay in hotels that better suit their lifestyle and needs.
Nationals - travel, length of stay, team fun
To best acclimate to the environment, it is encouraged to travel to Louisiana on Thursday, December 10, and return home on Sunday, December 13. We will have a course preview on Friday, December 11, along with a team dinner. Families who aim to travel to Louisiana on Friday and return home after the race on Saturday may certainly do so, but we (“We” as in Carly, Marsha, and Crystal) often plan team/family functions so the kids can make even greater memories. More to come on this topic!
Whisper has been fortunate to field teams and individuals at the national meet since 2017, and we hope your child can join us in our pursuit of another year of great competition in a positive and inspiring atmosphere - USATF Junior Olympics! See our Join the Team page for more information and to get started.
To see details about lodging, pre-race dinners, course maps, and general meet information, click on the meet dates located on the Calendar page. As meet information becomes available, the Calendar pages will be updated. As always, you can contact Coach Dave Caldwell with questions.
Thank you!