Undeberg Invite finally comes home

After a long hiatus of track meets in Ritzville, the Ninth Annual Undeberg Invitational returns to the home field and welcomes with it over 500 athletes. With 39 teams registered for the event, hundreds of spectators and visitors are expected within the community on April 26.

With the installation of the new all-weather track at Jimmie Snider Field, the LRS Broncos can once again host track meets and now on one of the highest quality tracks in the region. The Broncos are only one of the teams taking the field on Saturday, and are joined by many league teams, as well as the LWK athletes from the neighboring district.

While the focus will be on the athletes at 11 a.m., business owners and residents should expect a large influx of people within the community. With such a large number of athletes and downtime between events, many of the spectators will use the opportunity to wander the local shops or grab a bite to eat at local restaurants.

“An event or function like this is huge in terms of dollars spent. This is tourism in its purest form – new money coming into the community rather than the same money being circulated over and over again. This event, based on the number of athletes only, will have about a $70,000 impact on the community! That’s in gas, snacks, meals and shopping,” Ritzville Area Chamber of Commerce administrator Jennifer Saunders said.

“We need to put our best face forward, greet our visitors warmly and show why we love our community in the way we do business and provide customer service, especially this weekend when it might get a bit hectic at certain times. Hospitality is what most people remember when they visit, and it’s the most important aspect of customer service,” Saunders added.

Many local businesses are staying open late or hosting Saturday specials to entice customers into their shops or restaurants. Local residents are also encouraged to visit the businesses and continue the practice of shopping local.

The annual invitational meet began in 1933 with the Ritzville Relays, and later expanded to include other events to become the Ritzville Invitational. The event changed in 2006 to honor long time track starter Harold Undeberg.

“First of all, returning the Undeberg to Ritzville returns the tradition of hosting one of the best meets in Washington. That was the reputation of the Ritzville Invite,” Athletic Director Greg Whitmore said. “Furthermore, having the meet here brings lots of new people to our community that will help businesses.”

Along with helping bring more revenue into the community, Whitmore hopes the track meet serves as a source of pride for the LRS team and communities involved.

“My vision is that the Undeberg Invite becomes one of the best track meets for small schools in the state. With our great volunteers and supportive community, we are already close to that goal. I want all coaches, athletes and spectators leaving Saturday wanting to come back to Ritzville year after year to compete in the Undeberg Invitational.”

The Undeberg Invite begins at 10:50 a.m. with recognition of teams, and a welcome to athletes and spectators.

Events begin promptly at 11 a.m. and the meet will end during the early evening.