Frequently Asked Questions
What is your coaching philosophy?
Our athletes are given the opportunity to develop their skills as related to track and field events in a positive, supportive, and encouraging environment. In addition to offering competitive opportunities for our track and field athletes, our season is also focused on friendly competition, foundational skills and elements of fun for all of our participants.
What age do you have to be to participate in your competitive club program?
In general, our athletes' age range is 7-18 years old. We do work with kids who are younger than 7 years old, and we always have a conversation with their parents ahead of time to ensure being part of the team will be beneficial for our youngest athletes. We do also have an elementary Kids Camp program available throughout the summer season (please see the section below regarding the Kids Camp for more information)
What days and times do you practice?
We are excited to offer two different practices times to help accommodate our athletes/families! We will practice Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, with a morning practice at 10:00-11:30am and an afternoon practice at 3:00-4:30pm. Based on the intensity of practices or weather conditions, there are some days that practices could end on the earlier side. You are always welcome to come out to watch practices. Please note that you can bring your own chair or sit in the grandstands, but please be mindful of summer conditions for protecting yourself and your athlete.
Where do you practice?
For the 2023 season, we will practice at Lake City High School located at:
6101 N. Ramsey Rd, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83815
How much does Club registration cost?
The fee for the competitive club is $375.00 which will help offset coaching fees, facility fee, and equipment rental.
For those athletes who choose to be involved in our competitive program, additional fees will apply for uniforms, meet entries, family travel expenses and coaches travel expenses for Association meets (based on a pooled account). If our families choose to do fundraisers, monies generated through fundraising will be used to help our athletes travel to meets or be able to fund coaches’ travel to National JO meets. Please contact us through our email address if there is a financial hardship at: [email protected] to see if there are full or partial scholarships available to help. We are a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and happy to accept donations for our club, providing a receipt for tax purposes.
How do I know if practice is canceled in the event of poor weather conditions?
Families are asked to check our website at www.niblaze.com regularly to access all information about practices, meets, etc. We will host a practice in rainy conditions, although if it is heavy rainy conditions especially if lightning is present, the Coaches or Club Administrator reserve the right to cancel or postpone practices. When temperatures exceed above 90* during practice times, practices could be moved to later in the evening hours at the Coaches or Club Administrators request.
What events does your club offer?
We offer a variety of track and field opportunities for our athletes including sprints (100m/200m/400m), mid and long-distance track running events (800m/1500m/3000m), relays, hurdles, and field events such as long jump, triple jump, high jump. We currently have a coach for throwing events and pole vaulting who is willing to work with athletes on one designated weekday. Arrangements will be made prior to the start of the season with an additional cost for the pole vaulting and throwing program. If an athlete is interested in any throwing events specifically, we encourage them to visit Ironwood Throwers Club in Rathdrum for more information.
What are the age groups for competition?
Age groups are determined based on birth year, not actual age or grade in school. For an entire calendar year, an athlete’s age is considered whatever age he/she will be as of December 31 of that year. Age groups are as follows:
8 and Under (must be at least 7 years old in the calendar year to compete at a national meet)
Ages 9-10 Ages 11-12 Ages 13-14 Ages 15-16 Ages 17-18
Why do I need to have a USATF youth membership? Can we come practice to try it out before signing up?
To practice with the team and for liability purposes, you need to sign up for a Youth USA Track and Field membership, which costs around $27.00/year, renewable on a yearly basis. If you already signed up for a membership previously with our club, please make sure it is renewed by the first day of practice.
**If you have a USATF membership through a cross-country (XC) club, your athlete can attach themselves to our track and field club for the summer season by emailing: [email protected] and letting them know you are attaching to North Idaho Blaze (35-0247) for the summer track season. Following the track and field season, you will have to re-attach yourself back to your previous XC club if you will be running/competing with a fall cross country (XC) club. According to the INW By-Laws, since our club only offers track and field events and not cross-country events for competition purposes, there is NOT a 90-Day Cross-Over Rule that would apply between clubs. If you have any questions regarding this Cross-Over Rule, please email Heather Cotton, Youth Chair, INW Assoc at: [email protected] .
IF YOU ARE NEW TO OUR CLUB, you can sign up for this membership at the USATF Connects platform at: https://www.usatf.org/home/top-utility-nav-content/membership/individual-youth-membership. **GO TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE AND CLICK “JOIN TODAY”.** You can create your own account that will walk you through obtaining a youth membership for your athlete. You will have to do a birth date verification process which may take time to complete, so you will want to complete this process as soon as possible at the start of the registration season for our club. Please “attach” your youth athlete to our North Idaho Blaze T&F Club with the following Team/Club code: 35-0247 (Inland Northwest Association).
****Your membership will NEED to be established before you can practice with us and you cannot participate/sign-up for any meets until your membership/birthdate verification is complete and uploaded through the secured Athlete Verification section of your USATF membership. ALL ATHLETES WILL NEED TO COMPLETE THIS VERIFICATION REGARDLESS IF YOU ARE COMPETING IN MEETS OR JUST COMING OUT FOR TRAINING.
***The reason for this is that we guarantee to USATF and the facilities we use that all participants are USATF members for insurance purposes. Without a USATF membership, athletes are not covered under our insurance. Anyone is welcome to come watch a practice to see what it is like.
Once you are attached to our club, AND YOU ARE CHOOSING TO COMPETE IN THE JUNIOR OLYMPIC MEETS, (Please see the section below regarding meet information) you can also sign up for an account with the platform that hosts meet through Athletic.net https://www.athletic.net . This will allow for your athlete to “track” their stats/PR’s recorded from season to season with each of their associated events. You can attach yourself to our club through Youth Clubs >> Region 13 >> Inland NW >> North Idaho Blaze with entering -- Team Code: ZL9VXS8UJ. Through this account, the Club Administrator will be able to attach JO meets to our team site in order for our athletes to be able to register for meets.
Do I have to compete in meets or Junior Olympic competitions?
This is a choice an athlete/families need to decide upon – it is NOT required. Those athletes who chose to be a part of our competitive club program have the understanding of extra financial costs with purchasing uniforms, meet entrance fees, travel costs to/from meet venues and coaches travel fee’s from a pooled account that they will incur. We are hoping with the generosity of sponsorships and with fundraising opportunities to off-set some of these costs as our club grows.
How many meets are there?
We compete in three core USA Track and Field Junior Olympics meets per season: an association Qualifier meet with top 8 advancing to on for each age group/event (fairly local, usually an area of Washington); a Pacific NW Regional meet with top 5 advancing on for each age group/event (alternates between Oregon or Western/Eastern Washington), and a National meet (anywhere in the country that rotates each year from the West/Mid-West and Eastern region). The meets are progressive, meaning an athlete needs to compete in one to qualify for the next. We add additional meets to our calendar if they become available and at the interest of our athletes.
Can I continue practicing if I don’t qualify for the next meet?
Yes! We welcome and encourage all our athletes to continue working out with us through the end of each season regardless of whether they are competing or did not qualify for the next rounds of meets.
Do you offer any elementary programs for your club?
Yes, we will be offering some 4 days/week (Monday-Thursday) programs throughout the summer (June/July/August) for elementary aged athletes who want a shorter track and field experience, and do not want to compete through our competitive club. Kids Camp (Age 5 (K) - Grade 6) info with dates/times will be posted on our website once available. Registration will be open in March, until the end of the camp season.
***Participants in our Kids Camp DO NOT have to sign up for a USATF membership, but families will need to provide medical insurance information for a medical release form as well as sign a liability waiver for participation through the registration form.