Cross Country Club Championship To Draw The Top 20 Boys And the Top 20 Girls Teams from Around the Country
BEAVERTON, OR - Cross country runners across the country are preparing for the 2005 XC season and return of the Nike Team Nationals, on Saturday, December 3, 2005 at the Portland Meadows race track. Following its inaugural year, the Nike Team Nationals stands as the only national XC team championship offering USA Track and Field-registered clubs composed of the best high-school-age athletes and younger to compete against each other in a team setting.
Created to celebrate cross country as a team sport, the Nike Team National is a non-for-profit event and collaborative venture between USA Track & Field, Nike, Foot Locker and the National Scholastic Sports Foundation.
In 2004, the Nike Team Nationals hosted a crowd of more than 5,000 to the Portland Meadows thoroughbred racetrack to see the Kroy XC Club of Elmhurst, Illinois win the boys race and Kinetic XC Club of Saratoga Springs, NY win the girls race.
Following in the tradition of European cross country meets, the event will again feature a multiple loop race course with man-made obstacles built on the inside of the horse race track. Spectators will be able to enjoy a continuous live view of the race from the venue\'s enclosed 3,000-seat grandstand. This year the Nike Team National event is providing spectators and coaches handheld computer devices, utilizing FinishLynx tracking technology, to see team scores posted to a live leader board every kilometer. The technology was first introduced in the races\' inaugural year and provides instant feedback on a teams\' position in the race allowing coaches to adjust strategy in the midst of the event.
Created specifically for Nike Team Nationals by Lynx System Developers, Inc., the TrackerLynx integrated real-time athlete tracking and scoring system is a unique, one-of-a-kind technology that has never been duplicated anywhere in the world.\" In addition to real-time race tracking, event data is then transferred to www.niketeamnationals.com following the completion of the race so spectators, participants and coach can replay the race of select teams and/or individuals exactly how it was run.
\"The original idea for the Nike Team Nationals grew out of Nike\'s long passion for running and our commitment to provide the highest platform for team cross country competition,\" said Joaque Hidalgo, VP of US Marketing. \"As with last year\'s event, our goal for the invitational is to celebrate cross country as a team sport while recognizing the country\'s top youth runners.\"
The Nike Team Nationals is a part of the larger Nike Nationals championship series which includes the Nike Outdoor Nationals and Nike Indoor Nationals. The series of events was established in 2004 to help strengthen the national circuit for high school cross country and track and field competition. Twenty girls and twenty boys clubs, comprising 320 runners will be invited to this year\'s event. Teams are invited based on regional rankings, which are derived from a combination of competition performances at USATF events, affiliate high school competitions, and other non-sanctioned events.
Teams competing in the Nike Team Nationals will reign from regions across the country including: Northeast, Southeast, South, Midwest, Heartland, Southwest, Northwest and California. The top two boy\'s teams and the top two girl\'s teams form each region, plus for four at- large selections each for boys and girls will make up the 20-team field. The final selection of teams will be made throughout the month of November.
In addition to earning a spot to compete for the national title, runners will have the opportunity to experience a weekend of events related to the sport both on and off the course including educational seminars and activities. Athletes will be given the opportunity to learn about career options, speak with NCAA representatives about college opportunities and rules, learn from world renowned coaches and athletes, and interact with other runners from around the country.
For more information, go online to www.niketeamnationals.com.