USA Track & Field
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
USA Track & Field (aka USATF) is the national governing body for the sport of track and field (or athletics) in the United States. The USATF was known for a number of years as The Athletics Congress (TAC) after its spin off from the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU).
Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USATF is a non-profit organization with a membership of approximately 100,000. The organization is led by President Bill Roe and CEO Craig Masback.
[edit] History
On January 30, 1878, in the city of New York, rower and runner William B. Curtis founded what officially became, in 1887, the American Athletics Union. The AAU governed the sport of track and field in the United States until 1979, when the first Amateur Sports Act decreed that the AAU could no longer hold international franchises for more than one sport.
The Athletics Congress (TAC) emerged from the AAU in late 1979, when its first annual meeting was conducted in Las Vegas, Nevada, in conjunction with the annual AAU Convention. A constitutional convention subsequently held in Dallas/Fort Worth in 1980.
In 1992, TAC changed its name to USA Track & Field (USATF) to increase recognition for the organization and for the sport in the United States.
