The venue at Balch Field House is unique, not to be missed, and perhaps a bit claustrophobic at points. Photo by Alan Versaw.
This Saturday marks the date of the USATF-Colorado State Indoor Championships at Balch Field House in Boulder. That would be the storied building directly behind the west stands of CU's Folsom Field.
If you're at the coaching clinic on Saturday morning and wondering where several of the faces are that you saw on Friday evening, it's a good bet they're Balching it with a few of their athletes at the state indoor meet.
Any time you attach the words "state" and "championship" to the title of a meet, you automatically up the ante. And, this meet would be no exception. That said, this meet does not, historically speaking, have quite the drawing power of other state championship meets, including the USATF-Colorado outdoor state championship meet.
The reasons for that seem fairly transparent. This meet is not a qualifier for a regional or national championship meet. Indoor track and field in Colorado still attracts only a small percentage of the participants in outdoor track and field. And, for crying out loud, there is a practical limit to how many athletes and spectators you can cram into the facility without violating every fire code on the Boulder County books.
But, it is still a state championship meet--and the only state championship meet in town. And several of Colorado's finest track and field athletes will be there for the elevated level of competition.
Participation in the meet is limited in a couple of key manners. Pay attention to the details that follow. All participants must be card-carrying USATF-Colorado members. No exceptions. All participants must register online through Coach O. All participants must pay a $5 per event entry fee upon registration. For more details, please check out the USATF-Colorado web site. Parking is always a little bit of an adventure on the University of Colorado campus, but look for lots without Saturday regulations.
Field events start at 8:30 AM, followed by the start of track events at 9 AM. Field events contested will include long jump, high jump, triple jump, and shot put. Track events contested will include the 60, 60 hurdles, 200, 400, 800, Mile, Two Mile, and 4x400. All the usual age groups will be there.
Results will be posted to this site as they become available. Colorado Track XC will have a reporter covering the meet, but it will not be me as I am tied to the CHSCA Track and Field Clinic for the day. Photos are a hit and miss (mostly miss) kind of proposition in a facility with as little light as Balch Field House. We hope to have photos to post, but we'll wait and see what happens before claiming anything.
Enjoy the meet!