Nationals Meet Logistics

Friday

  • 1pm course walk through at Blue River Cross Country Course (725 Lee Blvd. Shelbyville, IN 46176). We suggest getting there early if you also want to purchase meet hoodies, t-shirts, etc. The lines can get long! We do not yet know where our tent is, but when we get that info we’ll send it out. And if we don’t get it in time, we’ll pick another meeting location. Athletes please wear running shoes for a short shake-out run after the walk through.

  • Dinner on your own. Unfortunately, we’re too big a group for anything near our hotel. There are a lot of restaurants nearby, just nothing with an available room for 60+. Please link up with other families for a more manageable reservation, if desired. The hotel will be our home base, with time in the pool for the kids.

Saturday

  • 9am arrival at the course. By this time we’ll know where our tent is, and we’ll meet there.

    • Parking MUST be paid ahead of time: Eventlink. If smaller groups want to carpool, it would save money!

    • NO dogs allowed at the course.

  • Coaches will get kids warmed up and to their check-in on time. Here are the race times:

    • 7-8 Boys 9:40a

    • 9-10 Boys 11:00a

    • 11-12 Girls 11:40a

    • 11-12 Boys 12:20p

    • 13-14 Girls 1:00p

    • 13-14 Boys 1:45p

    • 15-18 Boys 3:15p

  • Weather will change, of course, but right now it’s looking like ~40-50F and possibly rainy in the afternoon. Please plan ahead with clothing, umbrellas, Hot Hands, etc. Our tent won’t hold everyone at once, but people will be coming and going. Please make sure the athletes are able to get in, prepare for their race, and warm up afterwards. And if there’s room, warm up (we’ll bring a heater).

  • Please cheer on all the athletes throughout the day!



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 Regional meet, and then to the National meet. 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 Cross Country Meets:

Junior Olympics (JO) Series

  • Niagara Association JO Championships are November 10 in Fairport NY. Athletes must attend this to qualify in for Nationals.

  • USATF National JO Championships are December 14 in Shelbyville, IN.

In order to compete in Nationals, your athlete MUST 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.