Age Divisions by Birth Year
Flea: 2013 or 2014
Mosquito: 2011 or 2012
Bantam: 2009 or 2010
Gazelle: 2007 or 2008
Youth: 2005 or 2006
Intermediate: 2003 or 2004
Young Men & Women: 2001 or 2002
Practices
Practices will be held Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6:15 pm-7:30 pm at Queen Anne Bowl (2806 3rd Ave W.). Practices will start at the top of David Rodgers Park in the open field. Please have your child at practice on time to ensure proper warm-up and stretching. Let one of the coaches know if your child will regularly miss a practice due to other sports or on-going activities. Practices and meets are typically not canceled due to weather.
Meets
Your child will be asked to pick three events for each meet (either two field events and one running event, or two running events and one field event). Please refer to the FAQ for information about the relays, which can be chosen as a fourth event. Children will make their selections at practice, typically the week prior to the meet. Name tags will be distributed at the meet. If your child does not attend practice when events are selected, you will have a chance to fill out a name tag with your child's events at the meet.
Please refer to the meet schedule. Meets will either be at Nathan Hale High School or at West Seattle Stadium and usually run about 2.5-3 hours. Mid-week meets start at 6:00pm and Saturday meets may be in the morning or afternoon, depending on your child's age group. Please have your child to the meet 30 minutes early for warm-ups. Your child may leave the meet when s/he has completed all of his/her events. Please make sure that an adult accompanies your child to the meets, and let one of the coaches know when your child is leaving.
The City of Seattle requires spectators and participants who are waiting for an event to remain in the bleachers and off the track. Listen for your child’s event and make sure they line up when their event is called. Spectators are asked not to lean or hang on the railing of the bleachers, as doing so can interfere with runners on the track and also block foot traffic in the stands. Only athletes whose event has been called and the coaches are allowed in the "holding area" and on the field.
Your child will be given a slip of paper with their running time or jumping/throwing distances after each event. Your child may report her/his time or distance to the coach in charge of recording in order for us to track each individual's improvement over the season. Your child may also keep the slip of paper for recording results onto the back of her/his ribbon. (Note: ribbons for field events will be handed out at the following meet, ribbons for running events will be handed out at the end of the race.)
What to bring to practices/meets
Shoes: Proper shoes can help minimize or avoid injuries in track. Shoes with good support can prevent pain and injuries to the feet, lower leg, back, hips and shoulders. Be sure your child’s running or athletic shoes have adequate support in their soles and can absorb a decent amount of shock. If they complain about aches and pains, adequate and proper shoes are the first thing to check. Cleats are not necessary, particularly for the youngest age group, but do tend to improve performance; new youth-sized cleats can be purchased at Super Jock and Jill in Greenlake for about $65.
Water bottle: Very important! The kids will be working hard and even on overcast, misting days, they’ll need water to stay hydrated. Please always send a full water bottle with your child to practices and meets.
Clothing: Practices and meets will generally occur as scheduled regardless of temperatures or precipitation. Layering is the best way to be prepared for whatever the weather brings. Wear shorts and athletic T-shirts (preferably non-cotton) underneath a layer of sweats or warm-ups. Avoid: Jeans and other street clothes and shoes, wearing only shorts, only having a heavy winter coat, etc. For meets on cold rainy days, some children like to wear long underwear layers under their shorts and shirts. Please label all clothing and other items. Items that are left behind at practices or meets will be routed to the Queen Anne Community Center.
Every child who registers will receive a free T-shirt. Quicksters team T-shirts will be distributed prior to the first meet at practice. Your child must wear his/her Quicksters team T-shirt to the meets, and must have his/her name tag displayed with their events circled or highlighted. Jackets or sweatshirts cannot be worn over the T-shirt during events.
Other items: Bringing a cushion to sit on at the meets is recommended. Note that West Seattle Stadium has shelter over the stands, but Nathan Hale does not. Come prepared with an umbrella, blankets, hats, and warm jackets for you and your kids.
Food/refreshments for meets: We suggest that you bring fruit, power bars and healthy snacks in addition to water for keeping your runner’s energy up during meets. Spectators may want to bring picnic foods.
Other Places to Practice
If you want to get some extra practice, some great places to run (other than the QA Bowl, which has a dirt track) are SPU, Ballard High School, and Salmon Bay K-8 School. All three have rubberized, marked tracks and are great for running in cleats or shoes.
Injury Prevention: With the increase in physical activity, your child may experience some degree of muscle soreness or injury, or discomforts early in the season. There are a number of things parents can do to help keep these instances to a minimum.
Questions
Please review the link to the FAQ. Coaches like fan mail, but as registration has grown, it's hard to respond to everyone's emails in a timely fashion. After you have registered through SPARC, please make sure to subscribe (or unsubscribe) to receive updates, including emails from coaches (see the "Team Updates" page). These emails are the primary way families will receive updates throughout the season.
Flea: 2013 or 2014
Mosquito: 2011 or 2012
Bantam: 2009 or 2010
Gazelle: 2007 or 2008
Youth: 2005 or 2006
Intermediate: 2003 or 2004
Young Men & Women: 2001 or 2002
Practices
Practices will be held Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6:15 pm-7:30 pm at Queen Anne Bowl (2806 3rd Ave W.). Practices will start at the top of David Rodgers Park in the open field. Please have your child at practice on time to ensure proper warm-up and stretching. Let one of the coaches know if your child will regularly miss a practice due to other sports or on-going activities. Practices and meets are typically not canceled due to weather.
Meets
Your child will be asked to pick three events for each meet (either two field events and one running event, or two running events and one field event). Please refer to the FAQ for information about the relays, which can be chosen as a fourth event. Children will make their selections at practice, typically the week prior to the meet. Name tags will be distributed at the meet. If your child does not attend practice when events are selected, you will have a chance to fill out a name tag with your child's events at the meet.
Please refer to the meet schedule. Meets will either be at Nathan Hale High School or at West Seattle Stadium and usually run about 2.5-3 hours. Mid-week meets start at 6:00pm and Saturday meets may be in the morning or afternoon, depending on your child's age group. Please have your child to the meet 30 minutes early for warm-ups. Your child may leave the meet when s/he has completed all of his/her events. Please make sure that an adult accompanies your child to the meets, and let one of the coaches know when your child is leaving.
The City of Seattle requires spectators and participants who are waiting for an event to remain in the bleachers and off the track. Listen for your child’s event and make sure they line up when their event is called. Spectators are asked not to lean or hang on the railing of the bleachers, as doing so can interfere with runners on the track and also block foot traffic in the stands. Only athletes whose event has been called and the coaches are allowed in the "holding area" and on the field.
Your child will be given a slip of paper with their running time or jumping/throwing distances after each event. Your child may report her/his time or distance to the coach in charge of recording in order for us to track each individual's improvement over the season. Your child may also keep the slip of paper for recording results onto the back of her/his ribbon. (Note: ribbons for field events will be handed out at the following meet, ribbons for running events will be handed out at the end of the race.)
What to bring to practices/meets
Shoes: Proper shoes can help minimize or avoid injuries in track. Shoes with good support can prevent pain and injuries to the feet, lower leg, back, hips and shoulders. Be sure your child’s running or athletic shoes have adequate support in their soles and can absorb a decent amount of shock. If they complain about aches and pains, adequate and proper shoes are the first thing to check. Cleats are not necessary, particularly for the youngest age group, but do tend to improve performance; new youth-sized cleats can be purchased at Super Jock and Jill in Greenlake for about $65.
Water bottle: Very important! The kids will be working hard and even on overcast, misting days, they’ll need water to stay hydrated. Please always send a full water bottle with your child to practices and meets.
Clothing: Practices and meets will generally occur as scheduled regardless of temperatures or precipitation. Layering is the best way to be prepared for whatever the weather brings. Wear shorts and athletic T-shirts (preferably non-cotton) underneath a layer of sweats or warm-ups. Avoid: Jeans and other street clothes and shoes, wearing only shorts, only having a heavy winter coat, etc. For meets on cold rainy days, some children like to wear long underwear layers under their shorts and shirts. Please label all clothing and other items. Items that are left behind at practices or meets will be routed to the Queen Anne Community Center.
Every child who registers will receive a free T-shirt. Quicksters team T-shirts will be distributed prior to the first meet at practice. Your child must wear his/her Quicksters team T-shirt to the meets, and must have his/her name tag displayed with their events circled or highlighted. Jackets or sweatshirts cannot be worn over the T-shirt during events.
Other items: Bringing a cushion to sit on at the meets is recommended. Note that West Seattle Stadium has shelter over the stands, but Nathan Hale does not. Come prepared with an umbrella, blankets, hats, and warm jackets for you and your kids.
Food/refreshments for meets: We suggest that you bring fruit, power bars and healthy snacks in addition to water for keeping your runner’s energy up during meets. Spectators may want to bring picnic foods.
Other Places to Practice
If you want to get some extra practice, some great places to run (other than the QA Bowl, which has a dirt track) are SPU, Ballard High School, and Salmon Bay K-8 School. All three have rubberized, marked tracks and are great for running in cleats or shoes.
Injury Prevention: With the increase in physical activity, your child may experience some degree of muscle soreness or injury, or discomforts early in the season. There are a number of things parents can do to help keep these instances to a minimum.
- Provide proper footwear.
- Be sure your child stretches before and after every meet.
- Avoid big meals within 90 minutes before a practice or meet.
- Give injuries or pain, even very mild cases, appropriate attention (ice, etc)
- If problems or complaints become persistent, consider seeking the advice of your physician.
Questions
Please review the link to the FAQ. Coaches like fan mail, but as registration has grown, it's hard to respond to everyone's emails in a timely fashion. After you have registered through SPARC, please make sure to subscribe (or unsubscribe) to receive updates, including emails from coaches (see the "Team Updates" page). These emails are the primary way families will receive updates throughout the season.