The United
Age Group Track Coaches Association, Inc. (UAGTCA) was conceived
in the autumn of 1976 after a meeting of area track club representatives held
at the Cliveden House, an auxiliary building of the Mallery Recreation Center
in Philadelphia, PA. The outgrowth of that meeting was the formation of a
relatively small organization, with an ambitious agenda and a goal, “To
provide a quality, organized track and field program for the youth of the area”.
The group held its first meet in the Spring of 1977 and for over 30 years this
has remained the primary focus of the UAGTCA. The group was formally
incorporated as a Pennsylvania not for profit organization in October, 1977 and
received favorable determination of its exempt status as a 501 (C) (3)
organization effective February of that same year.
Philadelphia area athletes, in order to compete
effectively, had to travel great distances in order to participate in
competitions that could very easily be conducted in our local area.
Lacking only the organization, a concept was born and embraced enthusiastically
by a few energetic men and women on behalf of their organizations.
The
‘Brainchild’ of George Anderson, founder of the Mallery Challengers
Track Club and a supervisor at the Mallery Recreation center, the UAGTCA
offered very few benefits to its charter members, only the opportunity to work
hard with the knowledge that 'failure was not an option’.
Perspective
members were asked to make an initial financial commitment of fifty dollars per
team in order to cover initial startup expenses. This requirement limited
the initial membership greatly. The charter members, the Mallery
Challengers Track Club, Oak Lane Youth Association, Philadelphia Express Track
Club, Morris Estate Track Club, Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, Gazelle-Striders
Track Club and the Mt. Airy Track Club were all Philadelphia based
organizations which unfairly gave the impression that other groups were
prohibited from joining. The later addition of the Wilmington Track
Club, Camden City Track Club, the Perkiomen Valley Striders, Delco Stallions,
Delaware Diamonds and the Willingboro Track Club helped to resolve the
Philadelphia only perception. The UAGTCA was born.
There were
not many great facilities available to the group in the beginning but the
completion of ‘Marcus Foster Stadium’ in 1979 would allow our athletes the
opportunity to train and compete in a state of the art facility. There would be
no stopping us now. The support of the Philadelphia Department of Recreation
and many others, allowed the UAGTCA to flourish through the many
difficult times of those early years.
The group
sponsored a series of competitions in the spring of 1977 that was effective,
organized and quickly became accepted as the best youth developmental series
available in the area. The group has been a constituent member of USA
Track & Field and its predecessor The Athletics Congress (TAC) since its inception. The
numbers, in the beginning, were modest with meets averaging between 200 - 300
athletes. The organization continued to enhance its’ reputation for staging
quality competitions by hosting the 1981 TFA/USA National Age-Group
Championship and the 1985 *TAC National Age Group Championship. The
UAGTCA was one of the first youth groups to use a computerized system to score
a major competition, the UAGTCA quickly became a recognized leader in
youth meet organization. The Spring meets have continued, uninterrupted
since that inaugural series and have enjoyed their greatest success in the new
millennium. We now draw more than 1,000 athletes to our developmental
meets and athletes from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and New
York compete on a weekly basis. The Philadelphia area athletes no longer
suffer the expense and inconvenience of exhaustive travel. They are now
the hosts and enjoy the benefits of great local meets with excellent
competition. The UAGTCA has seen the growth and development of
many fine athletes and lists, a virtual who’s who, of track and field stars
amongst it alumni.
We
inaugurated our first Youth Invitational track meet in 2006. The meet was
modeled after the 'East Coast Invitational' a highly regarded youth track
meet that had become a national model for youth summer track and field meets.
The UAGTCA Youth Invitational is a similar three day celebration that affords
many athletes from the USA and abroad an opportunity to compete with other high caliber athletes at the
peak of their season's conditioning. Many athletes use it as a springboard to
National Competition. The UAGI is now broadcast live via the internet.
We have
continued, undeterred, into the new millennium and It is our hope to
provide this very vital service to the youth track and field community for as long as our resources permit. We believe that our goal, though
difficult, is achievable as long as we continue to receive the help and support
of our many friends.
New members
are accepted each year with sponsorship by an existing member organization.
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* The
Athletics Congress (TAC) was the predecessor of USA Track & Field (USATF)