February President’s Letter
Fellow USATF New England Members:
I hope everyone is having a great indoor track season so far. USATF-NE hosted the East Region & New England Association Masters Indoor Championships on January 27th. The meet had record athlete participation, further strengthening our reputation as a national leader in masters competition. I want to thank the meet director and founder Mike Travers as well as Steve Vaitones for organizing such a successful meet. The USATF-NE Indoor Points Chase is in its second year and has grown significantly with the addition of a masters category. Jeff Rockwood, our Track & Field Chair, has done a great job starting and growing the Points Chase. A special thank you to BEarFit Training Systems, who is sponsoring the Points Chase this season. I hope all of you can join us on February 17th for the USATF-NE Indoor Track & Field Championship at Harvard. The track at Harvard has been recently renovated and I expect record participation. Also, don’t forget our school vacation youth meet at Reggie Lewis on February 20th.
We have kicked off our Sixth Annual All-Terrain Racing (ATR) Series. As many of you know, participation in the ATR Series tripled last year and we hope that we can continue to grow it again this year. The ATR Series will have five races as it did last year, but the races will be shorter for most of the disciplines. As with last year, we are awarding hi-tech pullovers to members who complete 4 or 5 of the ATR races. I am excited that the series will include events in all four states in our Association!
The 2019 ATR Series will include the following races: * Track: Choice of - 1/28 USATF-NE Masters Indoor Championship 800M (RI), 2/17 USATF-NE Open Indoor Championship 800M (MA), OR 7/28 USATF-NE Championships 800M (MA) * Trail: 5/11 Ralph Waldo Emerson 3.9 Miles (NH) * Mountain: 6/8 Ascutney Run Up 3.8 Miles (VT) * Road: 8/10 Bridge of Flowers 8K (MA) * XC: 11/10 USATF-NE Cross Country Championships (MA)
If you would like to enter this year, please go to our website at: http://newengland.usatf.org/Events/2019/2019-USATF-New-England-All-Terrain-Runner-Series.aspx
As we head into spring, I want to share some important dates with you. The 2019 Road Race Grand Prix begins on March 17th at the New Bedford Half Marathon. The 2019 Mountain Running Circuit begins on April 20th at the Sleepy Hollow Mountain Race in Vermont.
As many of you know, I was elected to USATF’s Board of Directors at the 2018 Annual Meeting to fill the General Competition Board Seat, which represents Associations and Masters Track and Field. I am honored to have been elected and I will represent all of you when I cast my votes. With the USA hosting the 2021 IAAF World Championships and 2028 Olympic Games, we have enormous potential to grow our sport. My objective will be to focus the Board to take advantage of this once-in-a-generation opportunity.
As always, feel free to email me with any questions at president@newengland.org.
Chris Pasko
President – USATF New England