 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(April 2015) |
The AAU Junior Olympic Games are the pinnacle competitions held annually by the US Amateur Athletic Union.
| This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(April 2015) |
The AAU Junior Olympic Games are the pinnacle competitions held annually by the US Amateur Athletic Union.
The AAU Junior Olympic Games are known as the largest national multi-sport event for youth in the United States. It has become the showcase event of the AAU Sports Program. Recent hosts include Des Moines, Iowa; Greensboro, North Carolina; Hampton Roads, Virginia; Houston, Texas; and Detroit, Michigan in 2017.
The AAU is one of the largest, non-profit, volunteer sports organizations in the country. As a multi-sport organization, AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. The AAU philosophy of “Sports for All, Forever” is shared by over 500,000 members and 60,000 volunteers nationwide. Over 34 sports are offered in the 57 AAU Districts. Programs offered by the AAU include AAU Sports Program, AAU Junior Olympic Games, AAU James E. Sullivan Memorial Award, and the AAU Complete Athlete Program.
The AAU was founded in 1888 to establish standards and uniformity in amateur sports. During its early years, the AAU served as a leader in international sports representing the United States in the international sports federations. The AAU worked closely with the Olympic movement to prepare athletes for the Olympic games. After the Amateur Sports Act of 1978 and the establishment of the United States Olympic Committee, the AAU has focused its efforts on providing sports programs for participants of all ages beginning at the grassroots level.
The AAU Junior Olympic Games originated from 'telegraphic' state track and field competitions. National Champions were determined through telephone and/or mail entries instead of head-to-head competition. In 1949, the AAU conducted its first 'live' national meet in Cleveland, Ohio – giving birth to the AAU Youth Sports Program. Because of the success of the national track and field head-to-head competition, AAU leaders solicited support from the business and corporate sectors. The Chevrolet Division of General Motors Corporation and the Quaker Oats Company assisted the AAU in their vision of the number of youngsters that could be helped.
As the popularity of the AAU Youth Sports Program increased, the AAU leaders decided to conduct two national championships simultaneously. The idea came to fruition when Vice-President Hubert H. Humphrey proclaimed the first AAU Junior Olympic Games open on August 21, 1967, in downtown Washington, D.C., at the Departmental Auditorium on Constitution Avenue. Five hundred twenty-three athletes competed in the inaugural AAU Junior Olympic Games that year. National champions were determined in swimming and track and field. Eighteen AAU records in swimming and three in track and field were established.
Since its beginning in Washington, D.C., the AAU Junior Olympic Games have been conducted in 19 states and 30 cities across the United States. The state of Tennessee leads the way with six AAU Junior Olympic Games to its credit. "There's nothing junior about it" has become the theme of the AAU Junior Olympic Games while growing to over 16,000 participants in over 20 sports. The Game's popularity has exploded to now represent all 50 states and several United States territories.
The following is a list of sports that currently take place at the Junior Olympic Games.
Previously, a version of floor hockey whose rules were codified by Canada's Sam Jacks during the Great Depression in Toronto, Ontario, was a part of the games. In 1947, Jacks became the head coach of the Canadian Floor Hockey Team which competed in the AAU Junior Olympic Games in the USA where the Canadian team finished in third place. [1] Two years later in 1949, the AAU conducted its first 'live' national meet in Cleveland, Ohio, giving birth to the AAU Youth Sports Program. Today the floor game is no longer a part of the Junior Games, but influenced the creation of a floor hockey variant which now exists as a part of the Special Olympics. Jacks would eventually go on to create the winter sport of ringette in 1963.
Bodybuilding was considered an appropriate sport to be judged in the AAU due to its focus and "good moral values to athletic youth." It is divided into four classes: Teen (ages 14–18), Collegiate (19-28), Women's, and Men's Natural. As of 2011, there has been no notice of how the sport's admission to the event line-up will be viewed by audiences. Because the sport is not "athletic" in its competitive sense, contestants will have to do the following: do a posing routine with including the required poses in three stages (preliminary, solo, and final posedown), and they will have to submit a video essay on the sport and its effects on their lives, including nutrition, exercise, and the bodybuilding lifestyle. It is important to note that the Teen Bodybuilding event will take place at a local high school to promote the sport among the youth and popularize it with worried parents. Bodybuilders will be judged on the following: overall mass, symmetry, aesthetic presentation, posing routine, submitted video essay, and inquiry. Any contestant found to be using illegal substances will be automatically disqualified, without opportunity to qualify in future AAU events.
| Year | Site | Sports | Athletes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Washington, D.C. | 2 | 523 |
| 1968 | Knoxville, TN | 4 | 690 |
| 1969 | San Diego, CA | 4 | 600 |
| 1970 | Knoxville, TN | 5 | 600 |
| 1971 | Colorado Springs, CO | 6 | 650 |
| 1972 | Spokane, WA | 6 | 675 |
| 1973 | Ann Arbor, MI | 6 | 700 |
| 1974 | Lincoln, NE | 8 | 1519 |
| 1975 | Ithaca, NY | 8 | 2095 |
| 1976 | Memphis, TN | 8 | 2300 |
| 1977 | Lincoln, NE | 7 | 1700 |
| 1978 | Lincoln, NE | 8 | 1763 |
| 1979 | Lincoln, NE | 7 | 2349 |
| 1980 | Santa Clara, CA | 7 | 2000 |
| 1981 | Winston-Salem, NC | 8 | 2351 |
| 1982 | Memphis, TN | 13 | 3229 |
| 1983 | Notre Dame, IN | 15 | 4829 |
| 1984 | Jacksonville, FL | 15 | 3460 |
| 1985 | Iowa City, IA | 15 | 3300 |
| 1986 | St. Louis, MO | 15 | 4848 |
| 1987 | Syracuse, NY | 14 | 4159 |
| 1988 | Lawrence, KS | 14 | 3949 |
| 1989 | San Antonio, TX | 14 | 5200 |
| 1990 | St. Petersburg, FL | 14 | 5447 |
| 1991 | Tallahassee, FL | 13 | 5866 |
| 1992 | Rochester, MN | 14 | 5937 |
| 1993 | Knoxville, TN | 16 | 5937 |
| 1994 | Space Coast, FL | 21 | 8902 |
| 1995 | Des Moines, IA | 27 | 8734 |
| 1996 | New Orleans, LA | 23 | 9862 |
| 1997 | Charlotte, North Carolina | 24 | 12,388 |
| 1998 | Hampton Roads, VA | 24 | 11,355 |
| 1999 | Cleveland, OH | 26 | 12,661 |
| 2000 | Orlando, FL | 24 | 13,227 |
| 2001 | Hampton Roads, VA | 24 | 13,282 |
| 2002 | Knoxville, TN | 23 | 13,657 |
| 2003 | Detroit, MI | 21 | 12,224 |
| 2004 | Des Moines, IA | 23 | 10,747 |
| 2005 | New Orleans, LA | 25 | 18,051 |
| 2006 | Hampton Roads, VA | 25 | 13,609 |
| 2007 | Knoxville, TN | 22 | 13,167 |
| 2008 | Detroit, MI | 20 | 12,852 |
| 2009 | Des Moines, IA | 19 | 11,836 |
| 2010 | Hampton Roads, VA | 17 | 14,740 |
| 2011 | New Orleans, LA | 19 | 15,727 |
| 2012 | Houston, TX | 20 | 14,252 |
| 2013 | Detroit, MI | 18 | 12,569 |
| 2014 | Des Moines, IA | 18 | 12,030 |
| 2015 | Hampton Roads, VA | 18 | 14,636 |
| 2016 | Houston, TX | 18 | 14,274 |
| 2017 | Detroit, MI | 20 | TBD |
| 2018 | Des Moines, IA | 20 | TBD |
| 2019 | Greensboro, NC | 20 | TBD |
| 2020 | Brevard County, FL | TBD | TBD |
| 2021 | Houston, TX | TBD | TBD |
| 2022 | Greensboro, NC | TBD | TBD |
| 2023 | Des Moines, IA | TBD | TBD |
| 2024 | Greensboro, NC | TBD | TBD |
| 2025 | Houston, TX | TBD | TBD |
Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers of players, apparel, and playing surface, they share broad characteristics of two opposing teams using a stick to propel a ball or disk into a goal.
Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold areas during winter, but artificial snow and artificial ice allow more flexibility. Playing areas and fields consist of either snow or ice.
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has more than 900,000 members nationwide, including more than 100,000 volunteers. The philosophy of the AAU is "Sports for All, Forever."
Samuel Perry Jacks more commonly known as, "Sam Jacks," was a Canadian soldier in World War II, inventor, military and civic recreation director, sports coach, creator of the Canadian sport of ringette for girls and the creator and codifier of the first set of rules for floor hockey in 1936. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1915 and became a Canadian citizen after his parents had immigrated to Canada in 1920. Jacks died from cancer in 1975, at the age of 60.
USA Track & Field (USATF) is a United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running, and racewalking. The USATF was known between 1979 and 1992 as The Athletics Congress (TAC) after its spin-off from the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), which governed the sport in the US through most of the 20th century until the Amateur Sports Act of 1978 dissolved its responsibility. Based in Indianapolis, USATF is a non-profit organization with a membership of more than 130,000. The organization has three key leadership positions: CEO Max Siegel, Board of Directors Chair Steve Miller, and elected president Vin Lananna. U.S. citizens and permanent residents can be USATF members, but permanent residents can only participate in masters events in the country, and they cannot win USATF medals, prize money, or score points for a team, per World Athletics regulations.
Street hockey is a collection of team sport variants played outdoors either on foot or with wheeled skates, using either a ball or puck designed for play on flat, dry surfaces. The object of every game is to score more goals than the opposing team by shooting the ball or puck into the opposing team's net. All games are derivatives of either the sport of ice hockey, floor hockey, bandy, and/or field hockey.
An ice rink is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ice skating during the 1800s marked a rise in the deliberate construction of ice rinks in numerous areas of the world.
Floor hockey is a broad term for several indoor floor game codes which involve two teams using a stick and type of ball or disk. Disks are either open or closed but both designs are usually referred to as "pucks". These games are played either on foot or with wheeled skates. Variants typically reflect the style of ice hockey, field hockey, bandy or some other combination of sport. Games are commonly known by various names including cosom hockey, ball hockey, floorball, or simply floor hockey.
USA Roller Sports (USARS), formerly the United States Amateur Confederation of Roller Skating, is the national governing body of competitive roller sports in the United States. It is recognized by the International Roller Sports Federation (FIRS) and the United States Olympic Committee.
Sports in Canada consist of a wide variety of games. The roots of organized sports in Canada date back to the 1770s, culminating in the development and popularization of the major professional games of ice hockey, lacrosse, basketball, baseball, soccer, football and cricket. Canada's official national sports are ice hockey and lacrosse. Golf, baseball, tennis, skiing, ringette, badminton, cricket, volleyball, cycling, swimming, bowling, rugby union, canoeing, curling, squash, and the study of martial arts are widely enjoyed at the youth and amateur levels. Great achievements in Canadian sports are recognized by Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, while the Lou Marsh Trophy is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete by a panel of journalists. There are numerous other Sports Halls of Fame in Canada.
Ringette is a non-contact winter team sport played on an ice rink using ice hockey skates, straight sticks with drag-tips, and a blue, rubber, pneumatic ring designed for use on ice surfaces. While the sport was originally created exclusively for female competitors, it has expanded to now include participants of all gender identities. Although ringette looks ice hockey-like and is played on ice hockey rinks, the sport has its own lines and markings, and its offensive and defensive play bear a closer resemblance to lacrosse or basketball.
The Amateur Sports Act of 1978, signed by President Jimmy Carter, established the United States Olympic Committee and provides for national governing bodies for each Olympic sport. The Act provides important legal protection for individual athletes.
Sports in Saskatchewan consist of a wide variety of team and individual games, and include summer, winter, indoor, and outdoor games. Saskatchewan's cold winter climate has ensured the popularity of sports including its official sport, curling, as well as ice hockey, ice skating, and cross-country skiing. The province also has warm summers and popular summer sports include baseball, football, soccer, basketball, track and field, rodeo, horse-racing, and golf.
Mirl Arthur "Red" McCarthy was a Canadian sportsperson, sport and recreation administrator, ice hockey player, founder and co-inventor of the sport of ringette, and for a time, a professional skating star and barrel jumper. He was inducted into the Ringette Canada Hall of Fame as a Founder in 1998.
The history of Canadian sports falls into five stages of development: early recreational activities before 1840; the start of organized competition, 1840–1880; the emergence of national organizations, 1882–1914; the rapid growth of both amateur and professional sports, 1914 to 1960; and developments of the last half-century. Some sports, especially ice hockey, lacrosse, curling, and ringette enjoy an international reputation as particularly Canadian. Although typically thought of as American, the origin of the sport of baseball began the Canadian town of Beachville, Ontario, and American football was initially developed by Canadians at McGill University before two different playing styles emerged, American football and Canadian football. Canadian sports attract large numbers of participants and huge audiences; hockey, played by 1.4 million Canadians, has become part of the national identity.
The World Ringette Championships (WRC) is the premier international competition in ringette and is governed by the International Ringette Federation (IRF). Unlike most international competitions, all of the WRC's elite athletes are female rather than male, one of the sport's distinctive features. Competing nations include: Canada, Finland, United States, Sweden, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, with Team Canada and Team Finland having emerged as the sport's top two competing nations. The 2023 World Ringette Championships were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and was the sport's 60th anniversary.
The USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships, also known as the USATF Junior Olympics, is an annual track and field competition for American athletes between the ages of seven and eighteen. It is organised by USA Track & Field and features six different age categories, each covering two years. Qualification for the competition is dependent upon performances at the preliminary, association level, then the regional championships; the top five of each event at regional level earn the right to compete at the national competition.
William Alexander Fry was a Canadian sports administrator and newspaper publisher. Fry founded the Dunnville Chronicle in 1896, managed local hockey and baseball teams in the 1910s, then served as president of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) from 1922 to 1924. At the national level, he was president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) from 1928 to 1930, was a Canadian Olympic Committee member and British Empire Games committee member from 1927 to 1938, and served as president of the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada from 1934 to 1936.
Ringette in Canada began in 1963 when it was first conceptualized by Sam Jacks of North Bay, Ontario, in West Ferris. The sport of ringette is played in all 10 Canadian provinces and the Northwest Territories and involves an average of over 31,000 registered players every year. Canada is the location of ringette's origin where it is also recognized as a national heritage sport. The sport is governed nationally by Ringette Canada. Canadian provinces and territories have their own individual governing bodies in their respective jurisdictions.
