The Club Northwest Youth Cross Country Team is for athletes aged 5-18 who love to run and are interested in learning more about the sport of cross country, as well as more experienced runners interested in future Junior Olympic races. (Most competitors are 5-14, with older kids joining the team after their middle school cross country season ends.) Practices will be held on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at 4:30. Start times may shift later in the season when darkness becomes an issue. Practices begin September 8 and end on November 12. Please contact Coach Deborah Fletcher directly at dfletch1970@msn.com for more information. Questions regarding registration and joining Club Northwest can be directed to Rick Albright at tonicella@hotmail.com.
How to Join
Club Northwest Membership: $30 for an individual youth team membership or $120 for a family membership. Youths already covered under individual or family memberships do not need to pay any additional Club membership fees. Click HERE to join Club Northwest.
See the Club Northwest membership page for additional information on membership benefits, such as other event discounts and store discounts.
Youth Team Practice Fees: Registration fees for the cross country season will be $75 per child. Parents/athletes will be responsible for cross country race registration fees. A half season registration is $40, and is intended for middle school athletes who want to compete in races after their Middle School cross country season ends.
Junior Olympic Races: Athletes running in the Junior Olympic races (in the latter part of the season) must also be members of the USA Track & Field Association. See www.USATF.org for more information.
Practice Location
Practices will be held at Lake Ballinger Park in Mountlake Terrace. The park is located near the intersection of Interstate 5 and Hwy 104.
Parents are welcome to stay during practices, and if energetic may wish to do their own workout. Parents are also encouraged to help with workouts, if interested.
Registration
Registration and joining the Club will be online at clubnorthwest.wildapricot.org. Each athlete needs to be a member of Club Northwest, either as an individual youth team member or as part of a family membership. To sign up for the practices, please sign in to the Club Northwest membership site (clubnorthwest.wildapricot.org) or the Home Page of our CNW website (clubnorthwest.org - click on “Join” then “Join the Team”), sign in, click on events, and click on registration for the fall youth XC practices. Each athlete will need to have a waiver signed by their parents; waiver forms will be available at practices. Parents working out will also need to sign their own waiver.
2026 Cross Country Meet Schedule
[Please note that participation in the meets is voluntary. While we see value in participating in the meets, and will encourage kids to do so, there is no intent to apply pressure to compete. Participation in the meets will require an additional fee, usually $10 per meet. The Junior Olympic Races require a larger fee, as well as a current USATF membership.] The 2026 meet schedule is not yet available. It will be posted as soon as possible.
