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HISTORY Track and field is one of the oldest sports. Athletic contests were often held in conjunction with religious festivals, as with the OLYMPIC GAMES of ancient Greece. For 11 centuries, starting in 776 BC, these affairs--for men only--were enormously popular events. During the Middle Ages organized track and field all but disappeared. The true development of track and field as a modern sport started in England during the 19th century. English public school and university students gave the sport impetus through their interclass meets, or meetings as they are still called in Britain, and in 1849 the Royal Military Academy held the first organized track and field meet of modern times. Not until the 1860s, however, did the
sport flourish. In 1866 the first English championships were
held by the newly formed Amateur Athletic Club, which opened
the competition to all "gentlemen amateurs"--specifically,
athletes who received no financial compensation for their
efforts. In 1896 the first modern Olympic Games
were staged. Although initially of limited appeal, the
Olympics captured the imagination of athletes and grew
steadily, making track and field an international sport for
the first time. In 1913 the International Amateur Athletic
Federation (IAAF) was formed by representatives from 16
countries. The IAAF was charged with establishing standard
rules for the sport, approving world records, and ensuring
that the amateur code was adhered to; it continues to carry
out these duties today. The participation of women in track
and field is a relatively recent development. In 1921
representatives from six countries formed an athletic
federation for women, which merged with the IAAF in 1936.
Participation by women has grown rapidly in many countries
in recent years, particularly in the United States, where
many schools have added women's track and field to their
athletic programs.
We visted the IAAF site and wrote them
asking what help they could provide us. They wrote back and said that we
could use anything from their site in the development of our project. Due
to their generosity, we have made them our featured site!
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