Colorado Association Newsletter - September 2014
Athletes in Action at National Championships
In June, three Colorado athletes won 1st place at the USATF Open Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Colorado Springs resident and current American Record holder, Kara Patterson, won her third National title in the Javelin.
Emma Coburn, of Boulder, also won her third National title in the Steeplechase. A few weeks later Emma broke the American Record with a time of 9:11.42. Emma now owns six of the seven fastest Steeplechase times ever by an American.
Another Boulder resident, Jenny Simpson won the 1500m. On August 28th Jenny won the IAAF Diamond League Final and Series Championship to go with her World Championship Gold and Silver Medals of 2011 and 2013. There is now talk of Jenny being the number one ranked 1500m runner in the World for 2014.
In addition to Kara, Emma and Jenny, there were at least 26 other Colorado athletes at the USATF Open Outdoor Championships. If you add in the Colorado participants and Champions from the Youth, Junior Olympic, Junior and Masters National Championships it starts looking like Colorado has a lot of good Track and Field athletes.
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President’s Corner
The current administration was elected in the fall of 2012. While we haven’t been moving very fast, we have been able to implement some improvements for the Association. The Association has a Budget and Finance Committee for the first time. We have approved Budget, Finance and Travel policies, all of which should help us keep better control on our funds and assets. We have a Grievance Panel; hopefully we won’t need to use it. A contract has been implemented with, Megan Greene, our Sanction and Membership Chair. An Ethics policy, dealing with conflict of interest issues, is nearing completion.
Some parts of the Association are doing well and there are many areas where we need to do better. I believe we need to make sure we don’t hinder the things we do well and at the same time allow ourselves to develop our weaker areas. As much as we might like to, we can’t take on all the issues at once.
Two related areas I’d like to focus on, in the near future, are newsletters and keeping our website up to date. Another area I think needs to be improved is opportunities for post collegiate athletes in track and field. Long distance running in Colorado seems to thrive with or without USATF Colorado. Post collegiate track and field is a different story. The Association is not required to put on track meets, we are required to see that programs are developed for all constituencies.
We’ve had a small group of a few die hard volunteers trying to do too much for many years. We can use some help. If you would like to help with newsletters, website, track and field or anything else please let us know. A way to let us know is to come to our Annual Meeting on September 14th.
Thanks to everyone that has been helping and giving input.
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Association News & Upcoming Events
Ø Our Colorado Association Annual Meeting will be conducted on Sunday, Sept 14th, at 2:00 pm, at the Highlands Ranch Library, 9292 Ridgeline Blvd, Highlands Ranch, in the Shea “A” Meeting Room. All members are welcome and encouraged to attend.
Ø Financial statements for the Association for the current and past years can be found on the Association website at this link.
Ø Thanks to Cathleen Campbell Cawley for being an At-Large Board member. Cathleen has resigned as she and her husband Tim Cawley have moved to Idaho to work with the University of Idaho track program. Cathleen was always willing to be involved in discussions and give good counsel. She helped us see things we might have otherwise missed.
Ø From the latest Youth Committee report – “Hosted best ever region 10 Junior Olympic championship at USAFA 7/3 – 7/6, with 1800 athletes and 2500 spectators in attendance.
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Level I Coaching Clinic in Denver
There will be a USATF Level I Coaching Clinic in Denver at Johnson and Wales University, November 21st – 23rd. Information about the clinic can be found at http://www.usatf.org/Resources-for---/Coaches/Coaching-Education/One-Box.aspx
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Memberships & Sanctions
For about a year now Individual and Club Memberships and Sanctions have been almost entirely online. Early in the conversion to the online process there were some difficulties, but overall the processes seem to be significantly better than the old paper method.
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Date of Birth Verification
All USATF athletes who plan to compete in any USATF age group competition are required to have their date of birth verified by USATF prior to registering for any meets. To check if your date of birth has been verified, please log into your USATF membership profile here. Once verified, your DOB will remain verified in the USATF membership system as long as you are a USATF member and renew every year. If an athlete needs their DOB verified, please send a copy or photo of a legal document clearly showing date of birth with the athlete's 2013 USATF membership number to Megan Greene at .
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Upcoming USATF Colorado Championships
10k Race Walk Road Championship, September 20th, Broomfield, CO
Open and Masters ½ Marathon Championships, October 5th, part of the Boulder Marathon
Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships, November 8th, DeKoevend Park, Centennial, CO
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Good reading
For more information about Emma Coburn and Jenny Simpson check out this great article in Newsweek, http://www.newsweek.com/great-jenny-simpson-and-emma-coburn-steeplechase-rivalry-266801.
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Looking for answers? A good place to start is colorado.usatf.org