Sad note for California Track and Field, with the cancellation of the Golden State's only indoor track meet, the forty-three year old Los Angeles Indoor. The competition proved to be such a great focus for so many high-schoolers during the time between the fall and spring track season. Many a coach, when the meet was mid-January, left the troops with a comment before Christmas vacation: "We will have the trials for the relay team for the Indoor Meet a week after we get back, so you had better keep in shape over the next two weeks!" Sadly, this focus for thousands of young people is now gone, with a relatively inexpensive meet to travel to not being available any more for California high-schoolers. Strange, but one of the leading areas of the nation in the sport now has no indoor sport to speak of. In all other parts of the nation there are great collegiate 200 meter (often banked) facilities with preps welcomed at least a few times during the winter indoor season. With the California budget situation and the Olympic sports always in danger of being cut at the collegiate level, we are being left behind the rest of the nation in this area. Strange how things change. I can remember the days when facilities in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego hosted super indoor meets with great action that introduced myself and other high school age athletes to the sport from the prep to Olympic level, with this most recent cancellation probably another nail in the coffin of lack of interest in our sport of Track and Field. - Doug Speck

Kira Costa - National Record 2003 LA Indoor Track & Field meet (Kirby Lee) - Ashee Brown races to prep history's #4 All-Time 50 meter Hurdles at the 2003 Meet (Robert Attical photo)

2004 L.A. Invitational cancelled

The 44th annual Los Angeles Invitational, the nation's second oldest indoor track meet, will not be held in 2004, Co-Chairmen Al and Don Franken announced today. The meet had been scheduled for Sunday, February 8, at the L.A. Sports Arena.

"It was not possible to secure sufficient sponsorship for the event," Don Franken said. "There is potential for a sponsor coming aboard to revive the event in 2005," he added.

The L.A. Invitational (known as Sunkist Invitational for 26 years, 1970-1995, inclusive), has been one of the premier board-track events since its inception in 1960.

A total of 105 Olympic gold medal winners have competed in the meet. Hall of Famers who have competed in the L.A. Invitational include Wilma Rudolph, Parry O'Brien, Kip Keino, Jim Ryun, John Walker, Eamonn Coghlan, Bob Hayes, Billy Mills, Marion Jones, Maurice Greene, Bob Beamon, Bob Seagren, Ralph Boston, Dwight Stones, Renaldo Nehemiah and Mary Decker Slaney.

Al Franken was co-founder of the event and remained at its helm for 43 years.

2003 LA Indoor Coverage by DyeStatCal - lot of kids something meaningful on a Saturday in the winter!!!

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