All,

Here is some news and updates for Monday June 4 [Week 8 of 16]

DEXTER-ANN ARBOR RUN — THANKS TO ALL THE VOLUNTEERS

I want to thank the following club members who volunteered at the Aid Station for the Dexter Ann Arbor Run yesterday:

Wanda Brann
Ashton Brann
Braxton Brann
Kim Tanana
Sydney Cunningham
Lori Robinson
Mackenzie Robinson
Tim Harris
Maria Rollins
Fabian Rollins
Olivia Rollins
Maya Rollins
Kayla Rollins

In addition to the portion of the race proceeds the Youth Division always receives each year towards our annual budget, our Youth Division will also be awarded additional funds for volunteering at the Aid Station. There was a contest between all the Aid Stations along the course, and the amount of this award we receive will depend on how we compared against the others.

Again — thank you to all these volunteers !!

NEXT TRACK MEET

Our next track meet is the annual “Kankakee Track Club International Invite”, which will be held this coming Saturday June 9. Please note that the meet has been moved from Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais IL (which is where it was held last year) back to Kankakee High School in nearby kankakee (which is where it was held the year before) — five miles from Bourbonnais. This year’s meet will have an international flavor, so it was renamed from the “Just Kickin’ Invitational’ to the Kankakee Track Club International Invite”. The Kankakee Track Club is still the host club organizing the meet, like last year.

The meet information is here:

http://www.eteamz.com/admin/sitez/download.cfm?id=2554821&site=5372405 ;

NOTE: I have to register all athletes competing in this meet by this coming Thursday morning June 7. So please let me know by Wednesday if your kids are competing. I’ll take care of the rest and handle the registrations (neither AAU or USATF memberships are required).

So far I have:

Robert Lamb
Imani Blair
Mya Georgiadis
Kamari Ronfeldt
Sunil Dhakal
Buturo Bartolomei
Gabriela Anderson
Chase Lockhart
Braxton Brann
Ashton Brann
Mackenzie Robinson
Eric Rodwell
David Smith
Joline Letang-Newman
Bella Williams

I have reserved 15 rooms in the following hotel:

Hampton Inn Bourbonnais Kankakee
64 Ken Hayes Drive, Bourbonnais, IL 60914
T: 1 815-933-3800

Each room has two (2) queen beds, for check-in Friday night June 8 for 1 night (total: $98.12 including tax).Breakfast is included.
Just as in the case with the Columbus meet, the club will pay for the coaches’ rooms. Everyone else has to pay for their own. Some of the rooms have been set aside for the coaches — the rest will be assigned to families on a “first come, first serve” basis.

So far, I’m holding rooms for the following families (in addition to the coaches):

Lamb
Georgiadis
Ronfeldt
Winkler/Dhakal
Anderson
Williams
Smith

So if you need a room, please contact me. Kankakee is roughly a 4.5 hour drive from Ann Arbor, so it’s best for all athletes and their families to drive in the night before the meet, regardless of what events they have.

NUTRITION AND TRACK SPIKE PINS

I understand some of the new families in the club are not sure what refreshments to bring to track meets, or what size track spike pins to use in their kids’ track spike shoes. Refreshments are discussed in the “Nutrition” section in our “Club Handbook”, which is available online in the “Team App”, or at: https://aatcyouth.teamapp.com/documents/462621-club-handbook. And it states: “A well balanced diet with at least 6 servings of fruits and vegetables, 4 servings of proteins, and 10 servings of carbohydrates per day”. And plenty of water. Since the weather at track meets is going to be pretty hot (and humid) in June and July, plenty of “Gatorade” or other similar sports drinks is recommended to have on hand at meets as well to replenish electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium) and other essential minerals that are lost through sweat. And by the way: parents, small children and other spectators should make sure they are well hydrated and nourished as well (not just athletes), especially during extreme hot and humid weather.

In terms of the track spike pins: The standard size pins to use for indoor and outdoor track meets is 1/4 inch “pyramid” pins (these aluminum pins are shaped like pyramids). So if you are buying new track spike shoes at running stores or online, they normally come with a packet of 1/4 inch pyramid spike pins, but check with the store assistant or the website you are buying the shoes from to make sure. Some indoor track meet directors may require 1/8 inch pyramids, but that is the exception, not the rule. The coaches always take a supply of 1/4 inch pyramids and spike wrenches to track meets in case an athlete is missing a pin or two in their track spike shoes, or if theirs are dull.

SCHOOL TRACK SUCCESS STORIES

A number of our athletes are running track for their respective middle-schools and high-schools. I would like to hear how their school track seasons are going. So please feel free to share your kids’ success stories and reply to my e-mail, or you can share them on the Team App.

TRACK PRACTICES MOVING TO PIONEER HIGH SCHOOL ON WEDNESDAY

We will move track practices from the old University of Michigan outdoor track (Ferry Field) to the Pioneer High School track, starting this coming Wednesday, June 6. Track practices will still start at 6:30 PM (for two more weeks). We will have the use of the Pioneer High School high jump equipment as well as their hurdles. Pioneer High School is just 1 mile southwest of Ferry Field. The track is located off Main Street, about 1/2 mile south of Stadium Blvd, just to the west of (and behind) the football stadium. There is plenty of parking — the visitor parking lot is also off Main Street, right near the football stadium and the track. There is also plenty of bleacher seating at the Pioneer High School track.

Please note we will shift the practice start time 1/2 hour later beginning Monday, June 18. So track practices for the Rec & Ed group will then be from 7-8:30 PM, and track practices for the Travel Team will then be from 7-9 PM.

PARTICIPATION FEE REDUCTION FOR NEW AND RETURNING HIGH-SCHOOL ATHLETES

For those high-school athletes returning to the club this month, and for those who are new: The participation fees have been reduced from $185 to $135. The mew fees will cover coaching, track rental and meet entry fees for the rest of the spring/summer outdoor season. You can either pay by check or cash — checks can be made payable to “AATC”.

You can also pay online: http://www.aatrackclub.com/youth/signup.php. Please note that the $135 option will state FP-FIRST KID Rec & Ed.
Please use that same option anyway for any high-school age athlete who joins in June.

If you have a second or a third high-school athlete joining in June, the fee will be just $110. Again, you can pay by cash or check. Or you can pay online — use the $110 payment option that states FP-ADDITIONAL KID Rec & Ed

LOST AND FOUND

A pair of pink and white track spike shoes was found on the track near the 100-dash start-line last Wednesday night, after track practice ended early due to the rainstorm.I’m generally the last to leave track practice every night, and I keep a plastic tub in my car containing items left behind.

AAU JUNIOR OLYMPICS

Qualifying for the “AAU Junior Olympics” starts with the “District Championship” that will be held the weekend of Saturday-Sunday, June 16-17. This meet is already on our Team App calendar. In fact, all the meets this season are now on the “Team App” calendar (including the date correction for the “Rush USA Athletics” meet on July 21). I have to register all athletes for this meet by Monday June 11. Every athlete MUST have a 2018 AAU membership since this meet is sanctioned by AAU and is also a Championship meet. AAU memberships MUST be purchased online, but it takes less than an hour for new athletes and takes less than 30 minutes to renew AAU memberships for athletes who already have AAU memberships from prior years. Please take care of this by the end of this week, then let me know that your kids are competing. And I’ll take care of their meet registrations. The meet registration fees are included for all athletes on the Travel Team, and high school athletes. I have attached instructions on how to purchase the AAU memberships online.

Ron Beasley (734-330-7931)
Ann Arbor Track Club — Youth Division Director
youth@aatrackclub.org