The Coquitlam Cheetahs Track and Field Club provides programs for both track and field events. All programs are categorized according to the age division in which the athlete will compete. The programs provided by the club are as follows and are described in further detail below:
- Junior Development Training – Ages 9-13
- Development Training - Ages 14-39
- Midget – Age 14-15
- Youth – Ages 16-17
- Junior – Ages 18-19
- Seniors – Ages 20+
- Cross Country
Please see the BC Athletics Track and Field Events and Technical Specifications for Athletics to see what specific events are available to what age groups. Please see our practice schedule (or the Parent's Information Manual) to see what events for which our club offers coaching, training, and development.
Junior Development Training – Ages 9-13
The Junior Development Program is commonly referred to as JD’s. Outdoor training for the JD's usually begins in April and continues until the end of July. During this period practices are held Monday to Thursday. Track competition meets are usually held on Saturday and Sunday. In some cases, particularly the larger track meets, these can be three-day meets starting on Friday evening. Athletes are encouraged to participate in as many meets as they wish, and need not participate in events on all days of a meet – tailor your child’s schedule as you wish.
Junior Development Awards (9 to 12 year-olds)
If an athlete competing in this age category meets the BC Athletics criteria of:
- Attending 3 recognized BCJD meets (where at least one must be the JD Championship Meet or JD Pentathlon)
- Participating in a throw, jump, and run/walk event, and
- Achieves a published standard
Junior Development Awards (13 to 14 year-olds)
If an athlete in the 13 to 14 year age category meets the BC Athletics criteria of:
- Attending 3 recognized BCJD meets (where at least one must be the JD Championship Meet or JD Pentathlon), and
- Meets the published standard
Junior Development Crests
JD Crests are awarded to all athletes who meet the published BC Athletics standards for their age categories in three events. All Performances must be attained at track and field meets recognized by the BCJD Committee. Parents are encouraged to review the standards, and keep track of their child’s results to see if they qualify for crests (use the Track Meet Record Keeping form available in the Reference section). Results are calculated automatically by BC Athletics to determine crest winners.
An athlete must meet the standard for the award applied for in at least three events. For example, if an athlete achieves a gold standard in two events and a bronze standard in the third event, then the crest will be bronze.
Development Training – Ages 14+
Athletes aged 14 and older participate in a different training program than the Junior Development athletes. Where the Junior Development program encourages athletes to train and compete in a number of different events and only train from April to July, the club training program for athletes in the older age groups (Midget, Youth, Junior, and Seniors) is different in a number of ways.
Development training for athletes aged 14-39 takes place year round:
- Base training: October - December (3 weeknights, Saturday morning)
- Pre-competition training: January - February (3 weeknights, Saturday morning)
- Competition training: March - July (4 weeknights)
- Rest break in August
- Cross country training: September (two afternoons, Saturday morning)
We dovetail our development training in April through July with the Junior Development program so athletes can train in the event(s) they wish to during competition season. Athletes working to compete at the national level, or athletes simply wishing to stay involved in track and field, may find our development training program effective for their needs.
Midget – Age 14-15
This age group (14 and 15 year olds) compete together. The provincial championship meet that they attend is the BC Midget, Youth, Junior, and Senior Championships. However, only the 15 year old age group is eligible to be selected for the BC Legion Provincial Team.
BC Summer Games
Every two years 14 and 15-year-old track and field athletes are eligible for BC Summer Games based on qualifying standards at designated track meets.
The Track and Field competition is for 14/15 year old athletes only competing in one age class (Midget). Athletes are selected for 8 Provincial Zone teams. The Games were held annually until 1998 and thereafter every 2 years (2000, 02, 04, etc.). Refer to the BC Summer Games Handbook for details on the Games and the Track and Field competition.
Youth – Ages 16-17
Athletes in these categories attend all major meets in BC. Also, for those who qualify, athletes may attend meets in the U.S. and other Canadian Provinces.
Youth athletes compete in the BC Juvenile Championships to qualify for the BC team to compete in the National Legion Camp.
Junior – Ages 18-19
Junior athletes compete in the BC Junior Championships to qualify for the Canadian Championship. Athletes achieving the established standard are selected to compete in international meets.
Seniors – Ages 20+
Senior Athletes follow a similar program to Juniors. In their case the goal is to make the team competing in the Commonwealth Games, Pan Am Games and the Olympic Games to name a few.
Cross Country
The Cross-Country season begins in September and continues through the fall. Athletes competing in cross-country can be named to the BC teams.
