Officials decide to cancel 60th annual meet due to cold and windy weather forecast
WATERTOWN — Maybe the third time will be the charm for the 60th Watoma Relays track and field meet.
For the second-straight year and the fifth time in the past seven years, Watertown's annual big home track and field meet won't be held.
Watoma Club officials and Watertown School District Activities Director Craig Boyens decided Wednesday to cancel the meet, which was scheduled for Friday at Allen Mitchell Field.
Friday's weather forecast is calling for high temperatures in the low-to-mid 40s with winds between 9-22 miles per hour. The wind would have made it feel like the temperatures are in the low 30s.
"We definitely can't control the weather," Watertown High School head track and field coach Chad Rohde said. "The kids are bummed, the coaches are bummed and I know our community is bummed."
According to information posted on athletic.net, schools scheduled to compete in Friday's meet included Aberdeen Central, Watertown, Fargo (N.D.) North, Sioux Falls Lincoln, Arlington, Castlewood, Great Plains Lutheran, Hamlin, Hitchcock-Tulare, Iroquois-Lake Preston, Madison, Sisseton and Webster Area.
The meet started in the late 1950s and has been noted for being held in some less-than-ideal weather conditions. Still, from 1965 to 2017, the meet was only cancelled three times (1970, 1979 and 2013). It has been cancelled four times (2018, 2019, 2023 and 2024) since.
The meet also wasn't held in 2020 because COVID-19 wiped out South Dakota spring high school sports season.
Watertown High School's track and field athletes haven't competed at home since the 59th Watoma Relays were held on April 22, 2022.
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Last spring, the opening phase of a project to upgrade the athletic facility at Allen Mitchell Field was underway and not only included the installation of a turf field but also the resurfacing of the track. Watertown had planned to move the Watoma Relays to Webster last April but the meet wasn't able to be held because of snow and wet conditions there.
Rohde said the possibility of rescheduling Friday's meet wasn't an option because Phase 2 of the project to updgrade the facility is scheduled to begin on Monday. The second phase of the project will create 3,750 seats for home fans on the west side of the field as well as press boxes, stadium lights and a building for bathrooms, concessions and locker rooms. It is expected to be completed by July of 2025.
"Next year if this happens, we'll try to reschedule the meet because our facility will be close to done and complete," said Rohde. "We have gaps in our schedule where we could move the meet, but we might lose a few teams."
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: 60th Watoma Relays were scheduled to be held on Friday
