Hoosier Sports Corporation sports director Eric Marvin does a good job of summarizing how the city of Bloomington will treat hosting this summer’s USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
“This is our super bowl,” he said. “And I say that with pure honesty.”
It all started in 2008. Indiana University (IU) and the Hoosier Sports Corporation in Bloomington, Ind., began discussions with USA Track & Field on the prospect of hosting select national championships in Bloomington. It didn’t take long for the idea to pick up speed. If the initial plan was to host a single championship, plans managed to triple over the next four years.
IU will play host to a trio of USATF championships this season, which will be highlighted by the city’s “super bowl,” the Junior Outdoor Championships June 15-17. Also finding a 2012 home in Bloomington are the USA Indoor Combined Events Championships, which will be held in Bloomington for the second consecutive year, and the Masters Indoor Championships, which each took place in March.
“We are fortunate we have the infrastructure to manage these events,” Marvin said.
Initial talks began including Marvin, IU Director of Operations for Track & Field and Cross Country Jay Arther and USATF. From that point, an organizing committee was formed and plans to bid for the USA Junior Championships were made and the other two indoor championships quickly followed suit.
BENEFITS AROUND
The initial goal was to host the USA Junior Championships. However, the prospect for additional events was too attractive to pass up.
The IU campus and city of Bloomington is a one hour drive from Indianapolis, which is where USA Track & Field’s offices are located. This, combined with the university’s facilities, was difficult to overlook.
With the location appealing, the facilities adequate and the obvious economic attraction, it was a benefit for IU, USATF and the city of Bloomington to proceed. It helped out IU with the simple fact that prospective college athletes are coming onto campus and for the city the event draws around $1 million, according to Marvin.
“It is as big as it gets for us,” Marvin said. “The Junior Outdoor Championships is going to be our marquee event. We certainly hope USATF continues to consider Bloomington as an option. We hope people see the opportunity.”
“This is huge for the program itself,” Arther said of its benefits toward IU. “Every meet has a different effect and impact. That meet is important for the simple fact they will be collegiate athletes. They are the best of the best that aren’t in college yet. It will be great for those athletes and parents can see the university.”
THE FIRST OF MANY “SUPER BOWLS”?
Assuming all operations are smooth for all three meets in 2012, it then raises the question if the city of Bloomington will continue to go after specific track and field events. The support is clearly there to continue to pursue hosting championships.
“We would love to have any events here that we can,” Marvin said. “We are going to be aggressive in going after those. We would start with talking about the USA Outdoor Championships and ultimately we would love to see something of that caliber.
Indiana University THREE USATF CHAMPIONSHIPS IN 2012 9