On Thursday, July 30, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, in association with Hershey, hosted the North American Finals of the Hershey Track and Field Games.
Along with 570 other nine to 14-year-olds at the event, Alesia McCarthy, Precious Jackson, Elizabeth Myers and Imani Cutting, all from Queens, participated in the festivities in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
“It’s a great weekend and the kids from New York placed in second, third, or fourth in their meets, but had a great time at the games,” said Wanda Mojica, State Chair of the Hershey Games and Citywide Program Coordinator for the NY Parks Department.
To obtain a spot at the annual event, students must finish in the top three seeds in the local and state qualifying competitions. The state meet, which was on June 3 in Astoria Park, produced 12 excited N.Y. participants for the Hershey games.
Events such as long jumping, softball throwing and relays were run throughout the course of the event, which had a great turnout, due to the amazing weather conditions.
But cheers quickly turned into jeers as the rain broke through on Saturday and delayed the kids from enjoying the second part of their tour to Pennsylvania. In addition to competing, participants at the event enjoy a free, fun-filled weekend in Hershey, including a trip to the theme park and a tour of the world’s largest chocolate factory.
The rain would not subside for the beginning of the day, so the kids had to wait for a few hours in the bus, but soon after, they basked in the chocolaty glory that is Hershey Park.
“The kids had an amazing time at the park – even though the weather conditions weren’t so great,” said Mojica. “We even got to go to the chocolate factory to see how everything is made!”
The Hershey Track & Field Games is an annual event, created more than 30 years ago to promote physical fitness and well-being amongst youths.
Kids get to push their physical limits to the max, along with meeting new athletes and starting new friendships. It is the largest youth sports program of its kind in the United States and Canada.
