FloSports with its track & field vertical websites MileSplit.com and FloTrack.com has formalized an event live streaming and media coverage partnership with RADD Sports, the management company owning and operating track events at the brand new 200-meter banked indoor track & field facility opening in Gainesville, Florida this January 2023.
The Alachua County Sports Complex at Celebration Pointe located at 4870 Celebration Pointe Ave in Gainesville will be a Florida first in the state's only 200-meter indoor banked track facility that will host high school, collegiate, youth/club, and open events. The 142,000 square foot venue will be a hotbed for indoor track & field competition in not only Florida but beyond in the Southeast Region and nationally.
Scott Peters, known well in the Florida high school track & field community as the owner of Half Mile Timing, will be the director of Track & Field and head up meet management of all the RADD Sports owned and operated events in the venue.
The first event at the venue will be the Jimmy Carnes Invitational on January 13th-15th, which is a revival of the only indoor meet contested previously in Florida during a 9-year run from 2008 to 2016 being held at the University of Florida's Stephen O'Connell Center.
Registration for all the high school and college events can be found on DirectAthletics.com, while registration for all the youth/club events can be found on CoachO.Com.
The stream productions of these events will include multi-cameras including dedicated feeds to the field events along with archived race video coverage, photo galleries, and interviews with athletes and coaches.
The multi-purpose venue will be utilized for indoor track & field events during the months of January and February. There are hopes and discussions of an official FHSAA-sanctioned indoor season and state meet to become a reality in the future with the state finally having an indoor track facility to be able to host.
The FHSAA did start sanctioning out-of-state indoor meets for teams and athletes (Example: last year's and this year's VA Showcase) in recent years despite it not being an official sport in the state and there will be more discussion and FHSAA policy clarity in regards to the current status of indoor track and future as well to be had at the FACA Coaches Clinic on January 5th-7th in Daytona Beach.
Along with great speakers and other important topics on the table for discussion, another reason to attend the clinic is for high school coaches to get more clarification from the FHSAA on getting their athletes and teams involved with indoor track while following the eligibility rules.
There will be an "unofficial" state meet though in place until when or if indoor track becomes fully endorsed as an official sport by FHSAA in future years with the Florida Indoor Championships to be held on February 11th and 12th right before the 2023 outdoor season officially gets underway.
The track itself is still in the process of being assembled and coming along quickly each day with the oval nearly if not all already complete by this weekend and the sprint lanes straightaway and other infield areas to be added next week.
Below can find more information on each event being held during the 2023 indoor track & field season in Gainesville as well as hotel booking information for each event.