FLYRA and flrunners.com are proud to announce that the Middle School Track & Field State Championship will have a new home this spring. The meet, which has become the highlight of the middle school season in Florida and a launching pad for future stars, will switch coasts after three years at Holy Trinity in Melbourne. The championship meet will take place on May 5, 2012 at Calvary Christian High School in Clearwater.
The $4.2 million dollar facility, nicknamed "The Rock," is literally brand new--completed in August of 2011. It has not yet even hosted its first meet, but it is already the envy of everyone in the Tampa Bay area.
Its synthetic grass surface is the same used by NFL teams such as the Baltimore Ravens, its weight room top notch and just steps from the track. Athletic Director Greg Thiel says the track itself is on par with any NCAA D1 school in the country with its wide radius that meets IAAF International standards and state-of-the-art rubberized surface. And Thiel should know, he is the former head coach at USF who helped them secure their new track facility in the middle of the last decade.
The track has eight 42" lanes that are able to run in multiple directions, two runways (four pits) for the horizontal jumps, shot put and discus are within the stadium, and it has all new international pits and hurdles. The scoreboard is a full-size Daktronics jumbotron display that allows for instant results to be posted. The climate-controlled 9000 square foot field house is just off the track with full glass-enclosed weight room, training, and 40-person locker rooms with HD TVs. And the stadium itself has seating for 1,400 people with plenty of room for parking, warm ups, tailgating, a children's playground, live events, and more. Five hotels sit less than a mile from the facility along with ample dining choices.
For obvious reasons, we are excited about having this wonderful venue become our new home. It should really help elevate the meet to first class championship status and make the young athletes feel really special. In a few weeks, we will head over to Clearwater and shoot some videos and photos to give you all a first-hand preview of the place.
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