When Whisper was formed in 2015, there was no intention of forming a cross country (or track and field) team, much less running Junior Olympics. The original intent with Whisper was to provide a training platform for local youth (middle school) runners. Quality assessment came in the form of returning runners - if the kids enjoyed the training and felt growth, they’d return.

This November, Whisper will participate in the 2024 Junior Olympic Association and Regional meets presented by USA Track & Field. Since 2017, Whisper has raced in the three rounds of USATF races - Associations, Regionals, and Nationals.

• ASSOCIATIONS: The first JO meet on Saturday, November 16, is called the Association Meet. To advance from Associations to Regionals, runners must finish in the top 30, or be part of a team that finishes in the top 5.

• REGIONALS: The second JO meet is Saturday, November 23, is called the Regional Meet. To advance from Regionals to Nationals, runners must finish in the top 35, or be part of a team that finishes in the top 5.

• NATIONALS: Historically, USATF cycles the national XC races between the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, and Western states. However, COVID put a damper on the USATF search for race venues, and because of that, JO Nationals has been held in Kentucky for the fourth time since 2020.

Rather than travel to Kentucky (again), Whisper will pivot from tradition, and come December, the team will race in the AAU Junior Olympic National Meet at McAlpine Creek Park in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday, December 7. Since there are no AAU qualifying rounds in our region, Whisper has received the green light to participate in the AAU National meet!

The reason for USATF participation in November? To keep the kids sharp! If a runners last meet is the Stumptown Championship on Sunday, November 3, it’ll be five weeks between races, which is far too long. To keep the focus and hunger alive, Whisper will run in the USATF Association meet on Saturday, November 16. If a child qualifies for Regionals, they may race on the 23rd. If they do not qualify for Regionals, they may still run Nationals in Charlotte, on December 7. If a child/family does not or cannot race in the USATF (November) meets, they may still race at the AAU National Meet in Charlotte.

For more information pertaining to our season and Junior Olympics, join us for the Sunday, October 20, 8pm Zoom call. Please share this information with families who might be interested. Thank you!