National Scholastic Athletics Foundation

February 17, 2022 – The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and the National Scholastic Athletics Foundation (NSAF) may have been founded a century apart. Yet both are non-profit organizations dedicated to serving the hundreds of thousands involved in the American track & field community each year. Now a new collaboration has brought AAU Track & Field and the NSAF together to creatively support one another as the sport continues to grow and meet new challenges in the 21st century.

“The NSAF is delighted with our new partnership with the AAU,” said Joy Kamani, COO of the NSAF.  “They serve an incredible number of youth, including high school athletes, throughout the year. We share very similar developmental goals, especially a strong and demonstrated ‘Athletes First’ policy. Collectively, we can reach more athletes with not just the meets we offer, but so much more between all of the endeavors that each organization is passionate about.”

Ms. Kamani said those endeavors include additional events, clinics, special projects, medical and mental health resources, travel team opportunities, college recruitment resources, development grants to high school and club programs, and travel grants to athletes to expose them to competition they would not normally meet around the country.

“AAU Track and Field is excited to work with the National Scholastic Athletics Foundation,” said Charles “Coach O” Oliver, AAU Track and Field National Chair. “NSAF’s rich history of hosting quality track and field events is well-known in the track world. AAU’s goal is to always provide the very best participation opportunities for all athletes across the country no matter skill level, age, race or gender. By working with the NSAF, the AAU builds on its mission to offer a premier event experience along with quality competition to our athletes, parents, and coaches.”

NSAF now has an AAU club membership and with NSAF meets to be licensed through AAU, participating athletes who hold a membership in AAU can have full access to the benefits offered through their AAU membership. This helps athletes participating in NSAF events who have current AAU membership, as a benefit of AAU membership is insurance coverage at AAU-licensed events.

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Media Information CONTACTS:
Steve Underwood, Director of Media & Public Relations, NSAF
steve.underwood@nationalscholastic.org

Rachel D’Orazio, Director of Marketing & Public Relations
Amateur Athletic Union (AAU)
rachel@aausports.org

About the National Scholastic Athletics Foundation, Inc.:
The National Scholastic Athletics Foundation (NSAF) was founded in 1990. It is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization with the mission of opening doors to the world for our youth, through athletics, and providing them opportunities to succeed. That includes supporting high school and junior-aged track and field athletes in the US through national high school competitions, including Nike Indoor and Outdoor Nationals; The Great American XC Festival and HBCU Challenge; and the American JavFest and Ironwood Throws Classic. It also includes Team NSAF international competition and team-building events in Cuba and Iceland; clinics and event-specific special projects, such as Project Javelin Gold and Project Triple Jump; vigorous grant programs, which enable high school athletes to compete around the country, at USATF Junior Nationals, and internationally; and with program development grants, which are awarded in the winter and fall each year. The NSAF provides approximately $250,000 in grants annually.  For more information about the NSAF, please visit NationalScholastic.org.

About AAU Track & Field:
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports event organizations in the country. As a multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports programs. Founded in 1888, the AAU philosophy of “Sports For All, Forever” is now shared by approximately 700,000 members and 150,000 volunteers across 45 sports programs and 55 U.S. districts. AAU Track and Field alumni include Olympic legends such as Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Carl Lewis to more recent runners like Sydney McLaughlin (2020 Olympic Gold medalist in 400m hurdles), Athing Mu (2020 Olympic Gold medalist in 800m hurdles) and Grant Holloway (Olympian, world record holder in 60m hurdles). More than fifty (50) AAU Track and Field alumni participated in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Visit www.aauathletics.org for more information.