NORFOLK, Va. – For the fourth time in its history, the AAU Junior Olympics held its track and field meet at Norfolk State University's William “Dick” Price Stadium.
The seven-city Hampton Roads area is one of the regular host sites for the AAU Junior Olympics. The event drew more than 15,000 youth athletes ranging in age from five to 17, competing in 20 different sports. By far the biggest attraction is the track and field meet, which accounted for roughly 80 percent of the Junior Olympics' athlete turnout this year.
According to the meet's organizers, the 2010 version was the most successful yet, as a meet-record 11,806 athletes competed and a total of 36 AAU Junior Olympics records were broken on NSU's brand new state-of-the-art track from July 31-Aug. 7.
Holding an event of that magnitude on a university campus presented its challenges, but NSU received high marks.
“This is the largest youth track meet in the world,” said Paul R. Campbell, chairman of the AAU Junior Olympics. “The NSU facility is the best we have on our circuit, and this new version is the best I've been involved with since I started working with the AAU in 1978. The University bent over backwards to make this event run smoothly.”
Those sentiments were echoed by Jack Ankerson, executive director of the Hampton Roads Sports Commission. The HRSC is responsible for attracting amateur athletic events to the area.
“There are a lot of moving parts involved with this event, but the cooperation between NSU, the AAU and the HRSC was wonderful,” said Ankerson, whose organization was in charge of planning and organizing the Junior Olympics in the Hampton Roads area. “For the athletes here, this is the best facility they have performed at and the biggest meet they have taken part in.”
The track Ankerson referenced is NSU's new BSS 2000 surface, which was installed earlier this summer at Dick Price Stadium. It is a class I International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) surface which is used at many of the top tracks in the world, including the University of Oregon's Hayward Field, site of the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships and the 2008 United States Olympic Trials. NSU also installed new shot put and discus areas adjacent to the stadium as part of a $550,000 renovation to the existing structure.
The track is one in a number of capital projects at NSU that were either recently completed or in progress. NSU's ever-evolving campus caught the eye of many long-time AAU staff members.
“I see a lot of progress with new buildings going up all the time,” said Janice Henderson, who has worked with the AAU's information and data support operation since 1996. “The campus has grown a lot, but it hasn't lost its friendliness.”
NSU athletics director Marty Miller said hosting the event is a win-win situation for the University.
“This is a significant event for our institution because it brings an enormous number of athletes, parents and volunteers here,” Miller said. “I think they have discovered that this is an outstanding institution with excellent athletic facilities. That will definitely pay dividends for the NSU community now and in the future.”
The AAU Junior Olympics are scheduled to return to the Hampton Roads area and Dick Price Stadium in 2015.
