2002 USA Club Track & Field Championships

July 20, 2002
Billy Hayes Track, Haugh Track and Field Complex - Bloomington, IN

As part of the its club revitalization efforts, USA Track & Field is proud to announce that the second annual USA National Club Track & Field Championships will be held on July 20th in Bloomington, IN. Track and field fans will have an opportunity to see this groundbreaking event that features competition for national club championship titles for open-aged athletes. The event is being hosted for the second year by the Indiana Invaders.

The inaugural championships brought together 21 clubs representing a membership base of over 12,000 from communities in 16 states. An exciting final event showed the potential in true team competition with of Nashville Elite edging Maryland Elite's 4x400 relay by 0.10 seconds to win the men's team title. Nashville edged Maryland by 4 points, 92 to 88. The Indiana Invaders won the women's championship.

The men's champions, Nashville Elite, were among four clubs that were founded in 2001 because of the opportunity to compete in a team championship. The Indiana Invaders, founded in 1998, won the overall Club Championship (men and women combined) with a total of 252 points.

Indiana Invaders Team Director Greg Harger said, "We look forward to taking another modest step forward in the development of this event." Added Harger, "This is a critical element of any plan to grow a club system in this country and it is an honor for us to host this event again."

$500 will be awarded to the winning men's club and the winning women's club. Additionally the winning clubs at each of three regional meets (West - July 6; South - July 6; East - July 7) will earn $500 in travel stipends for travel to the National Club Track & Field Championships meet.

The Haugh Track and Field Complex has 3,100 permanent seats, with additional lawn seating, and was the site for the 1997 NCAA Division I Championships.

The Indiana Invaders will host the USA National Club Track & Field Championships again in 2003.