Practice begins in April for our younger
athletes approximately, 5-12 years of age, in the primary grades up to about
6th grade. In April and May, while our high school and middle school
athletes are still competing for their school teams, the club’s younger
athletes, those in primary, sub-bantam, bantam, midget, and youth
categories (see age-group categories below) compete in the United Age
Group Track Coaches’ (UAGTCA) Developmental Meets. These meets are held
on the weekends.
Summer In June, July, and August, when we
have our full roster after the PIAA State Championships, our athletes compete
in AAU and USATF Junior Olympics. They also compete at UAGTCA
Invitational Meet and the Philadelphia Masters All-Comers meets at
Henderson
High School. The AAU and
USATF Meets take place on weekends beginning in June and ending in late
July or early August. (See our 2008 schedule in the index at the left of
this page.)
Athletes advance by qualifying in AAU and USATF Junior Olympics from
the Area Championships to the Association Championships or District
Championships to the Regional Championships to the National
Championships. Qualification is based on placing in the top 6 places at
the area meets, top 4-6 places at the association or district meets, and
top 3 places at the regional meets.
The culmination of these meets is qualification to participate at the National
Championships.
Cross
Country
The West Chester Track Club offers a
Cross Country program in September and October for athletes in 4th through
8th grade. Athletes in grades 9 through 12 may participate if they are not
on their school Cross Country Team. Masters athletes may also participate
since the oldest division of the Cross Country Meets at
Fairmount
Park
is the Open Division. Practices are held at various public venues in
Chester
County. Meets are held at
Fairmount
Park's Belmont Plateau on Saturday
mornings.
Indoor
Track
From November to early March, the club offers an
indoor track and field program for youth athletes (K-8) and Masters athletes. We
participate in the Mid Atlantic USATF Youth Athletic Meet series held at
Lehigh
University. This
series culminates in the MAUSATF Indoor Championships in March. We also
participate in the Philadelphia Masters Indoor Track Series and the UAGTCA Indoor
Developmental Meets. These Masters Meets are held at
Haverford
College,
Swarthmore
College,
Widener
University,
Ursinus
College,
and
Albright
College.
Junior Olympic Program
This is the group whose primary sport or secondary sport is track and field. This group continues their track and field experience directly from their middle school and high school programs. This group is committed to compete in the National Junior Olympic Programs for either or both USATF and AAU. However, athletes usually choose either the USATF or AAU path to the Junior Olympic Nationals. This group is willing to travel to the Area, Association, Regional and National Championship Meets regardless of the location. The National Meets for both AAU and USATF rotate yearly between the western states, the midwestern states, the southern states, and the eastern states. This requires much commitment and dedication from the athletes and parents.
Developmental Group
These athletes will participate in the National
Junior Olympic Meets but might not advance at the area, the
association, or regional levels either because they do not qualify or choose
not to advance. Athletes from this group are encouraged to participate in
UAGTCA Summer Classic and All-Comers meets. Besides qualification
factors, this group may not be as committed to travel as the Junior
Olympic Group. However, the Developmental Group receives the same quality
level of coaching as the Junior Olympic Group. No distinctions are made.
Our Developmental Group is essential for our club especially at practices where
they enhance our training program and form the core developmental group of
athletes for the future.
Our members come from all over Chester County, including West Chester, Downingtown, Coatesville, Great Valley, Tredyffryn-Eastown, Phoenixville, Kennett Square, and Avon Grove.
