8th Annual and Final Jimmy Carnes Indoor Track and Field Meet to be contested in the O’Connel Centerl

Dec 09, 2014

The 8th Annual Jimmy Carnes Indoor Track and Field meet will be contested in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Friday, January 23, and Saturday, January 24. This will be the last track meet contested on the storied 34 year old O’Dome track which has seen numerous World, USA professional, high school, and age group records and national leaders. Later this year, the O’Dome renovations begin which include removing the track.

“Former Gainesville Sports Commission Executive Director, Jack Hughes [who died a week after last year’s event] started out hoping this meet would be a staple on the track and field calendar,” said Larry Holsey, meet director. “We’ve tripled the number of entries from 600 to 1900 in eight years so we’ve accomplished more than Jack could have ever imagined. It is sad to see the meet end in the O’Connell Center, but we hope we can contest something else on the outdoor facility to replace it. We would like to see former UF Head Track and Field Coach Jimmy Carnes’ legacy continue on.”

The meet was named after Jimmy Carnes, the 1980 U.S. Olympic track & field team Head Track Coach, Head Coach of the Florida Gators track and field team from 1965-1976, the founder of the Florida Track Club, member of the U.S. Track & Field Hall of Fame, co-founder of the Athletic Attic running store chains, President of TAC (now USA Track and Field), Board member of the International Special Olympics, and pioneer in track and field who passed on March 5, 2011.

Friday’s competition will feature over 500 athletes ages 19-80 years old from Universities and track clubs throughout the southeast. Registration for the University/ Open divisions can be found on Direct Athletics onTuesday, Dec. 9, 2014. http://www.directathletics.com/upcoming_meets.html

Saturday’s competition will have over 1, 300 athletes from ages 5 to 19 years. Registration for Saturday’sYouth competition is currently open at Coach O. https://coachoregistration.com/dbi-bin/meetinfopage.pl?Web_Site_Id=fl_gsc&Meet_Id=jimcarindi1402&Team_Id=& Youth entrants are asked to pay particular attention to this year’s entry deadlines. Early Entries will close for online registration at 11:59pm on 1/14/15and will be $25 fee for up to three events. Late Entries will be accepted between 1/15/15-1/19/15 @ 11:59pmat a cost of $50 for up to three events. No entries will be accepted after 1/19/15 @ 11:59pm.

A new format will be used for the Youth competition. The shot put and long jump for those 14 and under will be held in the morning on the basketball level while the track events for the 15 and older competitors will be held on level 2. In the afternoon, the age categories will switch places. The pole vault will be contested for ages 13 and up beginning at 8:30AM.

“In past years, coaches, athletes and fans have let us know they prefer to divide the elementary and middle school aged kids from the high schoolers,” said Holsey. “We’ve listened! We think this format will help things run smoothly and won’t keep the athletes at the meet for the entire day.”

The Youth 3000 meter run will be contested on Friday after the University/Open division races finish too.

“We think that this will reduce the time for Saturday’s competition and give the distance runners some rest if they want to double.”

In addition, the vendor area will feature The Runner’s Space who will have the latest track spikes and running equipment http://www.therunnerspace.com for the upcoming high school season and LifeSouth Community Blood Centers who will be having a blood and bone marrow drive with activities and recognition items.

Admission is $5 for spectators for each day and can enter at Gate 1 of the O’Connell Center. Parking is free at the O’Connell Center Parking lot.

More detailed information can be found on the Gainesville Sports Commission site at http://www.gainesvillesportscommission.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/GSCJimmyCarnes2015Indoor.pdf

Live meet results will be posted at halfmiletiming.com. Meet updates will be posted twitter account @RickyQuintana, #JimmyCarnes and the Gainesville Sports Commission Facebook page.

A full schedule follows:

Open / University/Master (Friday, January 23)

9:00am Women’s Pentathlon, Weight Throw (W followed by M)

10:00am High Jump (Men Only)

11:00am Long Jump (W followed by M)
Pole Vault (W followed by M)
High Jump (Women Only)

11:00am 55m Hurdles (W-M) – PRELIM

11:30am 55m Dash (W, M) - PRELIM

12:30pm 55m Hurdles (M-W)-FINAL

12:50pm 55m Dash (W, M)-FINAL

1:20pm 1 Mile (W, M)

2:00pm 400m Dash (W, M)

2:00pm Shot Put (W followed by M), Triple Jump (W followed by M)