Can someone please describe to me the differences or relationships (if there are any) between the national track & field organizations? I am particulary confused with the difference between AAU & USATF and Junior Nationals & Junior Olympics (are they the same event?).

 

Also, what are the advancements within each? State, Area, Association, District, Region, Jr. National, Jr. World, Jr. Olympic…I’m Confused!

 

I know that they are not State High School affiliates but why does Qualifying in KHSAA State Meets serve as a Qualifyer for these other organizations events sometimes?

 

Just trying to gain a better understanding of the big picture.

They are different organizations. The USATF is the governing body for track and field in the United States.

 

http://www.usatf.org/about/

 

The AAU is the Amateur Athletic Union.

 

http://aausports.org/default.asp

 

An athlete has to join the organization that governs the events he or she plans to compete in. That athlete can belong to both if they want to.

 

I'm a little bit more familiar with the USATF since I used to be a sanctioned official and coach. This was when my daughter was competing.

 

She won 100m dash one year in her age group and then she competed in the National Championships that were held in Illinois that year.

OK, I think I got it figured out...

 

AAU = District (also called State) - Regional - Nationals (also called Jr. Olympics)

 

USATF = Association (also called State) - Regional - Nationals (also called Jr. Olympics)

 

These are the individual qualifying rounds in order to advance to the two separate "Jr. Olympics." Besides this both have their own National Club Championship that is open to ANY registered club within each organization, no qualifying necessary.

 

Now, outside of this there is the...

 

USATF Youth Outdoor Nationals (Compete in Age Groups)and the USATF Junior Outdoor Nationals (Compete in 1 pool of 14-20yr. olds)...These events both require entrants to meet Qualifying Event Standards in order to be accepted into the meet.

 

After these, the top 10 performances in each event pulled from the three USATF Jr. Olympics, Youth Nationals, or Junior Nationals qualify for the IAAF World Youth Championship selection pool. The top marks at the Youth Worlds qualify for the IAAF World Jr. Championships.

 

By competing in USATF & IAAF Youth and Junior events one can be Invited to compete in or enter "Non-Youth" or Professional Meets with Qualifying Standards (some will take entrants as young as 14) but the standards are Olympic Caliber. Many have the A & B Standards used for the Olympic Trials Qualifyers.

 

Does anyone have experience with these organizations and their events/programs and have an opinion on which is better for what type of athlete? It seems to me that USATF offers more opportunity, but may be more difficult to advance or stand out in than AAU.

 

They all need more creative names for their meets...I was totally confused. :confused:

OK, I think I got it figured out...

 

AAU = District (also called State) - Regional - Nationals (also called Jr. Olympics)

 

USATF = Association (also called State) - Regional - Nationals (also called Jr. Olympics)

 

These are the individual qualifying rounds in order to advance to the two separate "Jr. Olympics." Besides this both have their own National Club Championship that is open to ANY registered club within each organization, no qualifying necessary.

 

Now, outside of this there is the...

 

USATF Youth Outdoor Nationals (Compete in Age Groups)and the USATF Junior Outdoor Nationals (Compete in 1 pool of 14-20yr. olds)...These events both require entrants to meet Qualifying Event Standards in order to be accepted into the meet.

 

After these, the top 10 performances in each event pulled from the three USATF Jr. Olympics, Youth Nationals, or Junior Nationals qualify for the IAAF World Youth Championship selection pool. The top marks at the Youth Worlds qualify for the IAAF World Jr. Championships.

 

By competing in USATF & IAAF Youth and Junior events one can be Invited to compete in or enter "Non-Youth" or Professional Meets with Qualifying Standards (some will take entrants as young as 14) but the standards are Olympic Caliber. Many have the A & B Standards used for the Olympic Trials Qualifyers.

 

Does anyone have experience with these organizations and their events/programs and have an opinion on which is better for what type of athlete? It seems to me that USATF offers more opportunity, but may be more difficult to advance or stand out in than AAU.

 

They all need more creative names for their meets...I was totally confused. :confused:

USATF has more opportunities. They also have more elite meets and the chance to compete on the US Junior teams. In the Junior Olympic meets however both can be great experiences. AAU offers an Olympic type experience. Their national meet also includes Basketball, Swimming, Field Hockey and gymnastic competitions. Clubs and kids decide on the meets they run at by the location of the National meet or who they feel may be there. Nice cities (Fla. Cali) or meets that are close are usually the deciding factor. A lot of kids run both meets. Nationals are very seldom on the same weekends in July or August. AAU also has more age groups (younger) for kids to compete in. Both are great meets but USATF is the sports governing body. Their National Meet is Track only. It willoften be at a great facility and have the best officials. I dont think you can go wrong with either meet