Umoja’s Cynthia Smith Leaps to Bantam Girl’s Long Jump National Lead

Before After

CERRITOS, CA (May 24, 2009) – The 25th Annual Los Angeles Jets Invitational Track and Field Meet was held on Saturday and Sunday, May 23rd and 24th at Richard Gahr High School in Cerritos, CA. The premier track and field event on the west coast drew over 100 teams and 3000 athletes, from the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, and Washington. In the Bantam Girl’s Long Jump Umoja Track Club’s Cynthia Smith leapt 14 feet and 3.25 inches to capture first place in the competition. In doing so, she became the new national leader for the Bantam Girl’s Long Jump (National Elite Youth Ranking System). Her mark bettered her previous season best by over a 1.5 feet.

Track and field meets are an integral part in the maturity process for participating athletes. Santa Clara's Umoja Track Club with over 90 athletes, for instance, Umoja has been sending children off to the National Junior Olympics and then on to college with a strong motivation to win and achieve goals. The Umoja Track Club has helped athletes in the Bay area ages 8-18 with economic hardships earning scholarships. In the current economy it is a miracle that these clubs are still able to achieve such high numbers of athletes who want to join, but of course children usually don't understand the hardship of a parent making it possible for such ventures. The Umoja Track Club with its growing roster is working diligently to create programs and resources that can help the child who cannot afford to sign up. That’s why we need your help! We are asking parents and supporters to join in by supporting our cutting edge campaign to "Greatness". Umoja along with support from Intrinsic Management will be soliciting funds to cover, memberships, travel, and programs for children in the Bay Area. Intrinsic will be hosting several events to raise funds for our athletes and will be sharing portions of those funds to help out with other community charities as well.

The Umoja Track Club (UTC), a non-profit organization, was established in 2001 to provide a supervised after school program of training and competition in Track and Field for children ages 6 to 18. The UTC has been a Pacific Association member of the USA Track and Field Association (USATF) for eight years. It is the goal of the UTC to provide a meaningful learning and character-building environment to promote self-esteem, personal commitment, responsibility, and respect for others. Furthermore, the UTC has a strong commitment to getting kids more physically active; to getting kids involved in the teamwork of sport; and to having real, positive and measurable impact. For more information about the UTC, visit our website and blogs.