I remember the old days of Golden West & Keebler were around the same time. While I am glad the company's are putting on these meets, how about allowing more kids the opportunity to compete against each other instead of having to chose one or the other
I remember the old days of Golden West & Keebler were around the same time. While I am glad the company's are putting on these meets, how about allowing more kids the opportunity to compete against each other instead of having to chose one or the other
It's just a cash grab at this point. Does there need to be 22 heats of the middle school girls 400 meters at a "national championship"?
2023 New Balance Outdoor was the worst run meet in the history of the sport. I will avoid the meet this year like the plague. It was everything that is wrong with HS track and field.
I remember the old days of Golden West & Keebler were around the same time. While I am glad the company's are putting on these meets, how about allowing more kids the opportunity to compete against each other instead of having to chose one or the other
It's just a cash grab at this point. Does there need to be 22 heats of the middle school girls 400 meters at a "national championship"?
There isn't a "National Championship", especially since Canadians also attend. These are just invitationals with good quality in both meets (same as outdoor which also has Brooks PR - which has a more limited restriction akin to a National Champ - but with no direct qualifying from State champs. Until there is at least a regional qualifier (much like NCAA) there will never be a National HS Championship. With 50 States of unequal population and performance levels, there could not be a direct qualifier from each State.
2023 New Balance Outdoor was the worst run meet in the history of the sport. I will avoid the meet this year like the plague. It was everything that is wrong with HS track and field.
New Balance indoors, Nike outdoors, that's the way to go.
2023 New Balance Outdoor was the worst run meet in the history of the sport. I will avoid the meet this year like the plague. It was everything that is wrong with HS track and field.
Obviously, you could never have a "true" national HS championship like you can at the NCAA level, simply because college and university programs basically accept a calendar that is geared toward the championship and high schools don't. You would never, ever have a world where all 50 states would follow anything like that. State associations get nothing out of trying to coordinate like that with each other. Therefore, you will always have states like Florida starting and ending their seasons very early and the colder weather states starting and ending 4-6 weeks later.
But when NSAF and other bodies started trying to have "national championships," one idea was to at least wait until the weekend after the final state meet in the country. That way, everyone at least has chance. Now, do Florida kids want to train 5 or 6 more weeks after their state meet? Very few do. It's much more ideal for those with state meets at the end of May or beginning of June.
As far as Nike and NB having meets the same weekend, there's a LOT of backstory regarding the history of competing national meets, but one thing that holds true is that the later you wait into June to have a nationals, the less likely you'll get good participation for all the obvious reasons. But if you go earlier, you leave out states, like New York and others.
Oh yeah, and Nike and New Balance people HATE each other and want to beat each other head to head, so there's that.
The bottom line is that it is what it is, and will always be imperfect. But these meets are still fun and worthwhile for many, as long as you take them for what they are and accept the limitations.
p.s. Now XC is somewhat better, because seasons start and end closer together and you're not facing the end of the school year and graduation. Nike is pretty close to a national championship and it's nice that it's not the same weekend as Foot Locker. Obviously, there's entanglement with the qualifying meets and it would be great if they somehow merged. Unlikely to happen, though. Foot Locker has a LONG tradition and Nike has become pretty entrenched as well.
Couldn't agree more - last year NBN was totally brutal. The new meet director cares more about posting flashy videos and getting IG followers than......for example this indoor meet...... posting actual updated information on the meet website. wth
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