I've been attending the circuit of U.S. based pro meets for the past dozen years or so (since graduating college and seeing my own competitive days disappear). My daughter is now 4.5 years old and I figured she could handle being at a meet for a few hours without being too bored. So off we went to the 2nd day of Indoor Nats @ The Reggie (I went the 1st day by myself). Here's what happened...
I knew going in the whole experience could go downhill real fast. I loaded up on snacks and a few treats just in case. We got there just as the women's Pole Vault got going. We were able to sit in the 2nd row on the back stretch to watch the Vault up close (our seats were on the home stretch - but no one seemed to mind that early in the day). My little one loved watching the Vault and was really getting into it as the ladies made clearances.
After watching the Vault for a bit, the seats were starting to fill in so we made our way to section 9. The first running race we saw for the day was the men's mile. The crowd was into the race and I explained the tactics of the race. She loved it. After the race, she saw the older kids (and some adults) getting autographs and taking pics with the athletes. While not really my typical thing, she wanted in on the action. So off we went to get some pics. Centro came down the line and we got our picture. He was very nice and even thanked us for coming.
As the other races continued, we kept on going down to meet the athletes and get pictures (including, Robbie Andrews, Cas, Jordan, Rowbury). Shannon even put her medal on my daughter for the picture. Really cool of her!
By the end of the meet, she was asking when the next track meet is. Who would have thought a track meet would be that exciting for a little one!? Can't wait to take her to another meet!!