The 2012-2013 American Samoa High School Athletic Association (ASHSAA) boys and girls track and field season is set to begin next Tuesday Feb. 12 at the Veterans Memorial Stadium with five schools participating this year. Those five schools will be the Leone Lions, Faga’itua Vikings, Samoana Sharks, Tafuna Warriors and the Fa’asao Marist Crusaders/Cougars. The field events this year will include the discus throw and shot put, while the field events will consist of the 4x200 meter relay, 100 meter dash, 1600 meter run, 4x100 meter relay, 400 meter dash, 800 meter dash, 200 meter dash and 4x400 relay. Overall, there has been a great improvement in the sport of athletics/track and field, due to clubs such as the Ohana Running Club which began last year along with other clubs that have sparked the interest of our local youth. They have even been conducting training sessions throughout the year, and in October last year, the Ohana club conducted a ‘Pumpkin Fun Run’ that saw many of the local youth participate. The head of the Ohana Running Club Clayton ‘Boom’ Mahuka who is also with the Physical Education Office of Curriculum Instruction and Accountability (OCIA), has been one of the driving forces behind getting local youth interested in track and field. Last month, volunteers and sports coaches participated in a two week certification class for level 1 coaches in the sport of track and field, adding to the overall improvement of the sport in the territory. This year’s schedule has the first meet starting on Tuesday February 12, followed by a Thursday February 14 meet. The second week will have a meet on Tuesday February 19, followed by an event on Thursday February 21. In the third week, meets will be held on Tuesday February 26 and Thursday February 28. The final week of the season will begin on Tuesday March 5, with the Field Events Finals, while the Track Events Finals will be on March 7. All of the meets will be conducted at the Veterans Memorial Stadium and are scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m.