JUNIOR OLYMPICS AND

HERSHEY COMPETITION

In addition to our local meet schedule, many of our runners choose to compete in larger meets against young athletes from around the region.  In the past, these meets were perceived as a “post-season” and interested only our team members at the highest level of competition for their respective age groups.  We continue to put these events on our team schedule and hope that an increasing percentage of FPYC runners at all eligible age and ability levels choose to participate.

The first round of both the Junior Olympics and Hershey series of meets are open to ALL athletes – there are no qualifying standards and these events attract athletes exhibiting a wide variety of competition levels in all age groups.  The second and higher rounds of competition are eligible only to those who place at or near the top of their age and gender division at the first and each succeeding round of competition (the number of qualifiers differs with each series, event, and level).  We encourage our runners to fully incorporate these events into their season schedules and not think of them as “bonus” or “higher level” meets.  Not surprisingly, FPYC competitors have done very well at these meets.  While a select few have advanced to national competition, most use these events to put forth their best efforts of the season, helping many to reach or go beyond their individuals goals.

Registration information for all competition will be shared as we receive it.

JUNIOR OLYMPICS (JO)

The Junior Olympics are sponsored by USA Track and Field (USATF), and are run by the local affiliations and clubs belonging to that organizing body. USATF is the governing body for most all things running in the United States, from local clubs and meets to the Olympic Trials and stewardship for elite world class athletes.   USATF organization is administered at the state or designated area level by its Associations.  FPYC Running is a USATF-affiliated club.  In northern Virginia, we fall into the Potomac Valley Association (PVA), which includes northern Virginia, the state of Maryland, and the District of Columbia.  The Potomac Valley Association is within the larger Region III, which includes the states of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, ‘Virginia’ (the remainder of Virginia outside of northern Virginia), and PVA.

Junior Olympics competition is open to all runners through age 18.  However, competitors must be a member of USATF, which does require an annual membership fee.  The families of athletes are responsible for that cost, but FPYC or PVA will cover all meet registration fees.  For all JO competition, athletes are classified as the age that they will be on December 31 of that calendar year, which is not always their age on race day.  For more on this, please see the link on our web page Age Groupings for Practice and Competition.  You can find much more information on Junior Olympic competition at the USATF website:  http://www.usatf.org/groups/Youth/programs/JuniorOlympics/

JO Spring Track and Field

In the spring season, traditionally the first Sunday in June, Potomac Valley Association holds four “local” meets as the first level of spring JO competition.  The top performers advance to the full Association meet championships, which have traditionally been held on the third weekend in June.  Top performers at the Association meet advance to the Region III championships, and the top performers at the Region III meet advance to the National Championship meet.

JO Fall Cross Country

There is one less level of competition for the fall Cross Country season.  There is no local feeder meet, so the first round of competition open to ALL runners is the PVA Association meet.

HERSHEY TRACK AND FIELD PROGRAM

The Hershey Track and Field Program is sponsored by the Hershey snack food corporation, a private benefactor of youth track and field for decades and now an official partner with USA Track and Field (USATF). 

Participation in the Hershey program does not require membership or registration fees.  It is run at the local levels by county or municipal governments and their recreation departments.  In Fairfax County, the local meet is run by the county Department of Community and Recreation Services.  For all Hershey competition, athletes are classified as the age that they will be on December 31 of that calendar year, which is not always their age on race day.  For more on this, please see the link on our web page Age Groupings for Practice and Competition.  You can find much more information on the Hershey Track and Field program at their website:

http://www.hersheystrackandfield.com

The Hershey program is spring track and field program only.  Fairfax County traditionally hosts its meet on the second or third weekend in May.  The top performers advance to the District championships, which include athletes from Arlington to Loudon counties.  The top performers at the district championships, usually held the second weekend in June, advance to the State championships, and the top competitors at the state championships will be seeded against those from other states in the Southeast region (Region 8, which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia) to see which select few will advance to the Hershey North American Championship meet (no head-to-head competition between top performers of states within Region 8).