SPARQ for Cross Country debuts
at the MT. SAC Invitational

SPARQ press release

SPARQ Cross Coutnry Rating to be unveiled at Mt SAC Invitational

WALNUT, CA 10/21/2005 -- The nation’s largest cross country invitational run over the nation’s most famous course, the MT. SAC Invitational, will be run this weekend October 21 and 22. In 2005, the MT. SAC Invitational, will make history of another kind this weekend with the Friday debut of the SPARQ Cross Country Rating, a revolutionary new athletic measurement to measure overall athleticism.

Every athlete will have the opportunity to be tested in each of the four components of the SPARQ Cross Country Rating -- the vertical jump, standing long jump, 30-meter sprint and over-the-back power ball throw. Once the athlete completes the testing, a SPARQ trainer will use a proprietary program to weigh and combine these tests and compute his or her SPARQ Rating.

The testing venue will be set up near the finish chute and upper grass area near the Nike Cross Country truck. The testing is free of charge and each participant will receive a SPARQ drawstring bag.

”The SPARQ Cross Country Rating is the first ever system designed to measure the sport-specific ‘ athleticism' of cross country athletes,” explains Vern Gambetta, SPARQ Master Trainer and a key collaborator in the development of the new Cross Country Rating. Explosiveness, agility and speed are critical for all track and field athletes, whether they are sprinters, distance runners, throwers or jumpers. While lots of young athletes think that they're born naturally ‘fast' or ‘slow', the right training programs can really make a big difference in an athlete's speed and explosiveness.”

“The key value of the SPARQ Rating,” Gambetta continues, “is that it gives athletes an important new tool to gauge their dynamic athletic capabilities and gives them a benchmark to measure their progress as they train for speed and explosiveness. Athletes can log on to SparqTraining.com and use the SPARQ database to see how they measure up against other athletes in their events -- then retest periodically to chart and measure their progress. As a coach, I think it is a great tool to keep athletes motivated and engaged in their training.”

The first SPARQ Rating was rolled out in football during the spring of 2004 and included testing in the 40-yard dash, 20-yard shuttle, vertical jump and 185 pound bench press (max reps). It has quickly become the standard -- used for football players to measure speed and explosive power. “We expect similar success as we expand into four new sports in 2005 – Track and Field, Baseball, Basketball and Soccer,” states Ken Black, director of Marketing for SPARQ.

”The SPARQ Rating for each sport is grounded in four or five tests which are designed to capture the key aspects of athleticism most important for success in that particular sports,” Black concludes. “These tests are weighed and combined in a proprietary formula unique to that sport.  The tests are designed to be simple enough that any coach or athlete can do their own SPARQ testing and use the SPARQ Rating to assess their performance and track their training progress.”

For more information on SPARQ Testing, go to SparqTraining.com. Also, check out DyeStat.com and DyeStatCal.com next week for exclusive SPARQ Testing marks from the MT. SAC meet.

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John Dye - founder and editor in chief
Donna Dye - features editor
Kirsten O'Hara - business and marketing manager
Rich Gonzalez - reporter and DyeStatCal co-editor
Doug Speck - reporter and DyeStatCal co-editor
Steve Underwood - reporter and TrackTalk administrator

left, John and Donna Dye