CPRD COMMENTS June 14, 2007

CPRD HOSTS MONTANA HERSHEY GAMES STATE MEET THIS WEEKEND

Colstrip will be welcoming visiting athletes from all across the state for the Montana State finals for the Hershey Games Track and Field. There will be at least 300 athletes competing at the state finals representing as many as 40 communities large and small. This is the 4th year Colstrip has hosted this event. Rick Harbin is the State Chairman for the program.

There will be a barbecue and waterslide party held at Rye Park from 5:00 PM-9:00 PM on Friday June 15th. This event is free of charge for athletes, chaperones and track meet workers. State meet athletes arriving that evening can also pre-register at the barbecue and get their finals t-shirt required to be worn in the state meet.

The meet will be held on Saturday June 16th at the high school track. Onsite registration for the meet will be at 9:00 AM and the meet will begin at 10:00 AM.

At least five athletes who win their event will qualify to represent Montana in the Hershey North American Finals August 2nd -5th in Hershey, Pennsylvania. This trip is an all expense paid trip for those athletes accompanied by chaperones from the Billings airport to Hershey, PA and back.

DID YOU KNOW
This year marks the 30th anniversary for the Hershey Games program that was originally called the Hershey Track & Field Youth Program. The earlier meets were the finals for all 50 states and were held in Charleston, West Virginia. Now the meet is open to all 50 states and all the Canadian provinces and has been re-named the Hershey Games and the meet is called the North American Finals.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK (DOUBLE SWEET BONUS)
“The main thing is that it's nice to see these young people - 9 to 14 years old - take the opportunity to get more involved in their health and fitness. We need more kids to be more active.”- Rafer Johnson (1960 Olympic Gold medalist Decathlon, chosen to light the torch to begin the 1984 summer Olympic games in Los Angeles and longtime spokesman for the Hershey Games)
“Scientists have proven that it's impossible to long-jump 30 feet, but I don't listen to that kind of talk. Thoughts like that have a way of sinking into your feet.”- Carl Lewis (winner of 9 Olympic track and field gold medals and Hershey Games spokesperson beginning 2007)