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January 12, 2024
Montana Welcomes New Clubs 24'
With the beginning of 2024, the USATF Montana Association ushers in eight new USATF sanctioned clubs to Big Sky Country. Member clubs are at the heart of USA Track & Field. They provide much needed support to athletes in the form of coaching, financial support, and athletic satisfaction.
The focus and goals of each club are as unique and diverse as the athletes who compete for them. Some clubs focus primarily on elite development, while others specialize in youth or masters' programs, or the many other disciplines of USATF. Whatever the case may be, each club is vital to the sport's future in the United States.
A big “Welcome” to the following new clubs of the USATF Montana Association:
Yellowstone Rapids
– Billings, MT.
Mercury Mission Mountain
–
Polson, MT.
Electric City Track Club GF
–
Great Falls, MT.
Indigenous Trail Running Club
– Crow Agency, MT.
Crazy Mountain Running Club
– Big Timber, MT.
Broadus Speed Goats
- Broadus, MT.
Stumptown Track Club -
Whitefish, MT,
Bitterroot Valley Junior Olympics Track Club
- Hamilton, MT.
Likewise, our most recent club, the Bitterroot Valley Junior Olympics Club, serves as a focal point for outlying communities in the surrounding area. Our goal being to offer access to smaller communities with a regional hub serving as a USATF club in their region.
Coached by Steve Gideon who teaches in Darby, MT he has been working with student athletes for 28 years in cross country and 25 years in track & field. He truly enjoys the transition from teaching in the classroom to working with student athletes in indoor/outdoor track meets; as well as, duathlons and triathlons to road and trail races.
Steve notes, "that I can safely say that I have adapted my entire lifestyle
around giving kids opportunities to compete and be successful students not just in High School, but for those I work with in Junior Olympics, the majority go on to compete in college. It is these experiences outside of the classroom that he notes, " These are the relationships I will treasure for the rest of my life".
A veteran track athlete himself, who still competes in events ranging from trail and road runs to triathlons and Masters track notes, "The best way I can put the Junior Olympic experience is to say that as a coach, you get a lot back from students who REALLY WANT to be there during the off season".
As new sanctioned clubs, the USATF Montana Association offers grants to interested individuals wishing to start a new program in their area. Our Association is currently in the process of implementing our 2024 Grow to Impact Grant to help with starting more new clubs, while also assisting current clubs to enhance their existing resources.
If interested in applying for a Grow to Impact Grant, contact Dave Skelton, Clubs Membership Chair at
bztkclub@gmail.com
or Greg Mohl, President, USATF Montana Associon at
mohlgb@gmail.com
for more information.