Canceled Fed Meet 'A Disappointment For A Lot Of Kids'

By Brian Towey of DyeStat

When the greater New York area received a battering of rain and snow Thursday night, the New York State Federation cross country committee took the unusual step of cancelling Saturday's championship.

"I have a staff of local, well-known coaches who have worked the course (at Bowdoin Park)," said Bob Baratta, chairman of the Federation committee. "They provided the most significant information that prompted the cancelling. The snow, cold, wet course (were the reasons). It pretty much would have been impossible. ... My decision was based on safety and necessity."

Arlington coach Steve Arnett, who is based nearby and advised Baratta, said the combination of the storm's timing and a lack of cold set the plans back.

"It's a whole bunch of factors," Arnett said. "It was snow-covered. And it happened days before it was scheduled. I don't think they wanted people to travel from other parts of the state. It's never happened before in cross country."

But there have been other, unforeseeable circumstances. In the late 1970's, according to Baratta, the meet was cancelled on account of snow, then rescheduled to a later date. 

With NXR New York and NXR Northeast scheduled for Saturday for the same location, for meet organizers, this wasn't an option.

"It's a big disappointment for a lot of kids," Arnett said. "(But) I don't think they could've pulled it off."

In 2014, on the same course, NXR New York/Northeast organizers, in freezing conditions, plowed the course.

Yet Thursday's slushy mess, and lukewarm temperatures, meant that officials couldn't take this tack.

"In 2014 it had been really cold, in the teens or twenties," Arnett said."The ground was as hard as a rock and they did plow it. There's still tons of snow, but also the timing of it.

"Our thing is, if they didn't have the Nike Regional meet next week, I think they could have postponed it."

For athletes who've trained diligently for this race, it's upsetting.

"It was a bummer," Midwood High coach Ermiyas Harper said. "I saw it on Snapchat. I have a group chat with a bunch of New York guys. I was like 'What the heck?' This is a meet I've been running the whole season for."