Selection Procedures

Last Updated: May 9, 2011

USA Track & Field (USATF) will field a partial team to represent the United States at the 2011 IAAF World Youth Championships (the “Team”). The team size will be determined by USATF in its sole discretion, but will include no more than 40 athletes who meet the criteria listed below.

An athlete who is one of the two highest placing finishers in an event at the 2011 USATF World Youth Track & Field Trials (Trials), scheduled for June 28-June 29, 2011 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, will be eligible for selection to the Team if:

1. He or she has met the qualifying standard and entry guidelines set by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) for the 2011 World Youth Championships. Please note that wind-aided marks in the 100m, 200m, 100m Hurdles, 110m Hurdles, Long Jump, and Triple Jump will not be accepted for purposes of meeting the qualifying standard, and all international qualifying standards must have been met during the period between January 1, 2010 and June 20, 2011. Standards met at the World Youth Trials in Myrtle Beach will NOT be eligible for qualifying for the World Youth Championships because of deadlines set by the IAAF. Only athletes who have already achieved the IAAF qualifying standard prior to competing in the World Youth Trials will be eligible for the team.
2. He or she is eligible to represent the USA in all levels of international competition based on the Competition Rules of USATF and the IAAF.
3. He or she was born in 1994 or 1995 (age 16 or 17 by December 31, 2011).
4. He or she presents to the team processing staff before 8:00 pm EST on June 29, 2011 his or her current passport valid until at least January 15, 2012 (or a copy thereof).

At the completion of the World Youth Trials, the Selection Committee will evaluate the performances of all athletes who meet the above criteria, and will, in its sole discretion, select up to 40 athletes from among this group. In addition to the order of finish at the Trials, the Selection Committee will consider fitness, injuries, conditioning, projected ability to finish in the top 8 at the 2011 IAAF World Youth Championships, and any other factors the Committee deems relevant or instructive.

Information Related to Obtaining a Passport

1. The new passport rules for minors make processing more difficult than before. For more information on acquiring a passport, please visit http://travel.state.gov or your local post office.
2. 2. USATF will NOT assist the athlete by:
   1. Paying passport fees
   2. Paying passport expedition fees
   3. Traveling to a passport office to assist an athlete with obtaining a passport
   4. Paying for passport photographs
   5. Paying for an athlete's transportation to a passport office