Much travel will be involved over the next month for teams participating and spectators attending some of the upcoming girls and boys postseason track-and-field meets for local high-school squads.
That has been the case every year for many winter indoor seasons, as those postseason meets are no longer held at the indoor facilities of George Mason University.
Now, the various district meets and two region championships involving teams from Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria public schools are held some 30 to 40 minutes away at the indoor Prince George’s Sports & Learning Complex in Landove.
The Virginia High School League Class 6 state championships will then be held the first weekend of March at the Virginia Beach Sports Center.
There is no public indoor track-and-field facility in Fairfax County that can hold such meets, other than Mason. The agreement between the university and Fairfax County Public Schools to hold district and region, and sometimes state, meets at that facility ended more than a decade ago.
For years, an organization named Friends of Fairfax County Indoor Track & Field has lobbied government officials to build an indoor facility in the county, but with no results so far.
The alternative for district and region meets was found at the large Prince George’s County facility — a top-of-the-line venue, but one where travel time has to be taken into account.
Some of the teams have had nightmare travel stories to and from that venue over the years.
This season’s Liberty and Concorde district meets will be held there Thursday, Jan. 30 and Friday, Jan. 31, with the National and Patriot district competitions on tap there Wednesday, Jan. 29 and Friday, Jan. 31.
Both the 6C and 6D North Region meets are scheduled for that facility Wednesday, Feb. 12 and Thursday, Feb. 13.
Some Prince William County schools, participating in a different region, also use the Prince George’s facility for their region meets.
