State Championships week is the best week of the year. Gearing up for this weekend we began to think about the history of these events and all the places they've been. Here is as long of a list as we could compile for where the state meet has been.
Starting with the present, the Class 1,2,3,4 state championships are at Liberty University with VISAA and Class 5/6 being at the Virginia Beach Sports Center.
Now let's get into them by classification.
Starting with Class 5/6, they have been held at the VBSC since 2021. Prior to that it was held at the always electric Boo Williams Sportsplex. It was held there from 2009 until 2021 when it moved to Virginia Beach. This included moving from AAA to the current six classification system in 2013.
Prior to 2009 the AAA state meet was held at the George Mason Field House from 1983 until 2009 spanning 26 years and 25 championships. The reason those numbers are off is in 1984 the meet was at VMI's old track.
Going back even further from 1948 until 1983 the state meet was held at VMI's track all by seven of those years. The years it didn't host States were from 1949-53 when Charlottesville hosted the meet and between 1977-78 when the meet was run at the Richmond Coliseum.
It should be noted that from 1948 until 1969 there was just one VHSL division for indoor track so when we cover the others that is why.
Now onto VHSL Class 3/4 States.
This meet has spent many of its years at Liberty including most of the years from 2006 until today. During that time frame it should be noted that from 2006 until 2017 it was held at the old Liberty indoor track which was essentially a flat 200m track in an old warehouse of a building. It would move to the new hydraulically banking track in 2020.
Between those stints, it was held at Roanoke College from 2017-2019 on their - then new - track that had opened in 2017.
Prior to the Liberty days were the Blacksburg days at Virginia Tech's Rector FieldHouse. The meet was on their banked track from 2001 until 2006.
From 1970 until 2001 we do not have an official record of the location for this event. From 1981-1998 AA did not have a state championship.
Next up is VHSL Class 1/2 States.
This meet, just like Class 3/4, has spent its last few years at the same venue. Since 2021 the meet has been at Liberty University on their banked track. Prior to that the meet was held from 2017-2020 at Roanoke College just a few days after the Class 3/4 state meet, similarly to the present.
Prior to 2017 the meet was held at Liberty University's old indoor flat track from 2014 until 2016. Then before that there is a huge gap in contesting this meet back to 1980. It was contested from 1974-1980 as the "VHSL A" meet and was combined with AA from 1970-74.
Finally we get to VISAA.
Just this year we got to see the final Virginia State Championships move from a flat track to a banked track and naturally quiet a few records went down. Prior to this year's VISAA states at the VBSC, the meet was held at St. Christopher's FieldHouse since its opening in 2007. That was the first year of the VISAA Indoor State Championships.
Prior to that there were other-more regional-championships such as the LIS and Prep League.