- Boston Athletic Association
The Boston Athletic Association is a
non-profit , organized sports association for the city ofBoston, Massachusetts . It hosts such events as the world-renownedBoston Marathon .Among the nation's oldest athletic clubs, the Boston Athletic Association was established on March 15, 1887 under its first president,
Robert F. Clark , and with the support ofGeorge Walker Weld and other leading sports enthusiasts, entrepreneurs and politicians of the day.According to Article II of its 1890 Yearbook Constitution, their objective was to "encourage all manly sports and promote physical culture." The B.A.A. clubhouse on the corner of Exeter and Boylston Streets in Boston's
Back Bay was completed in 1888, on the present-day site of the newBoston Public Library . In addition to such facilities as agym nasium,bowling alley , billiard hall, Turkish baths andtennis courts , the Association also owned ashooting range and acountry club .Among the active sports of the day were
boxing ,fencing ,water polo and athletics. The club held its first organizedtrack and field competition in 1890 and in 1897 the first famed Boston Marathon took place. Aunicorn was chosen as the Association's symbol and appears on the Boston Marathon medals to this day.In 1936, the original clubhouse was closed due to financial hardship. The B.A.A. is now headquartered at 40 Trinity Place. In 1986, John Hancock Financial Services, Inc. assumed major sponsorship of the Boston Marathon. The B.A.A continues to rely on the support of John Hancock and other sponsors and contributors not only with its signature event, the Boston Marathon, but also in its year-round community programming.
The B.A.A. maintains an active running club, and in addition to the marathon, organizes an annual half marathon in October, and the Mayor's Cup cross country races in Franklin Park. The B.A.A. successfully bid to host the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials - Women's Marathon, which was run on the Sunday before the 2008 Boston Marathon.
Kids Running
The B.A.A. also organizes an annual relay race for Boston-area middle school and high-school-aged runners that takes place on Clarendon Street in Boston. [ [http://www.baa.org/KidsRunning/ 2007 B.A.A. Relay Challenge] Kids Running Programs, B.A.A. Website]
ee also
*
Boston Marathon References
External links
* [http://www.bostonmarathon.org/ Boston Athletic Association]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.