Every investment that we make in our local parks is an investment in our future and in order to keep that future bright Partners for Parks is a proud supporter and sponsor of Charlotte Flights for more than 20 years. Partners for Parks knows the benefits of sports and activities for youth, and assists the program with scholarships, travel, and equipment expenses.
Breathing Life Into Our Community is our vision and for us that starts with supporting the youth that live in those communities.
Since 1991 Charlotte Flights has been dedicated to helping young track athletes meet and exceed their athletic and academic goals. For the first time since its founding Charlotte Flights was able to offer the youth the opportunity to compete as a club in the USATF and AAU State, Regional, and National events. With a roster of 296 athletes (162 competing in track and field for the first time), they had 72 USATF National Qualifiers and 55 AAU National Qualifiers (with several athletes competing in both)and we couldn’t be more proud of their accomplishments.
Highlights from Nationals
- Matthew Clark All-American (top 8 in the country) in his third year of track
- Ja’Zara Caldwell- was ranked 42nd in the Nation and finished 15th in long jump
- Christian Seibert 9th place in triple jump great improvement
- Summer Sookram 11th place National finish in her first year of track
- 4x800M relay Laia, Kenya Western, Gabby Robert, Blakey Church (first year running track)
More About Charlotte Flights Head Coach, Nigel Orr
Charlotte Flights Head Coach Nigel Orr is entering his 3rd season as head coach and is also one of its success stories.
Coach Orr started running with Charlotte Flights when he was 7 and with the skills he gained from the program he excelled in both middle and high school track. His success ultimately led him to a full athletic scholarship at Georgia Tech University. In 2016, he came back to Charlotte Flights to coach. In late 2019, he was named Head Coach of Charlotte Flights. Nigel has been instrumental in recruiting ten former Charlotte Flights runners to serve as coaches under his leadership. Assistant Head Coach, Porcia Douglas is also a lifelong Charlotte Flights athlete and graduate of Johnson C Smith University.
Partners for Parks is proud to support an organization like Charlotte Flights and we are wishing the athletes a great off-season before things ramp back up, they’ve earned it!
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