Posted: January 19, 2005

Athletics: Salmini Films To Broadcast Marine Corps Track Classic On The YES Network

From David Monti

(c) 2004 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

NEW YORK, NY - (January 18, 2005) – Salmini Films will broadcast the Marine Corps Track Classic, one of the most prestigious high school track & field events in the United States.

Including an initial airing in primetime, the event will be broadcast six times over the next two weeks on the YES Network, the official home of the New York Yankees and New Jersey Nets. Airtimes as follows:

-         Thursday, January 20, 9:00 - 9:30pm
-         Friday, January 21, 7:00 - 7:30am
-         Sunday, January 23, 4:00 - 4:30pm
-         Monday, January 31, 6:30 - 7:00pm
-         Wednesday, February 2, 1:30 - 2:00am
-         Tuesday, February 3, 9:00 - 9:30am

The event, combined with the New Balance Games and New Balance Collegiate Invitational, will form the Armory Track Series, a 3-event broadcast series airing on the YES Network.

All events will take place at the Armory Track & Field Center in Manhattan, one of the most prominent track & field facilities in North America.

“We believe that the broadcast of the three-event series will be a step forward for the sport as it relates in particular to the New York area,” said Ambrose Salmini, President of Salmini Films. “The YES Network is the largest regional sports network in the United States, and the Armory Track Series helps showcase upcoming talent as well as one of the premier facilities in the country.”

The YES Network reaches 10 million television households in the United States; 8.2 million in the extended New York area, and an additional 1.8 million via DIRECTV subscription service.

Salmini Films is a full service television production and sports marketing firm specializing in active sports for the past 25 years. Services include onsite event filming/production, television packaging and distribution, as well as custom videos and video news releases. Salmini Films currently broadcasts two monthly series, Running, on the YES Network; and the internationally syndicated Marathons+. Salmini Films also films and broadcasts dedicated event specials for some of the top road races and triathlons in the world. Salmini Films also provides marketing, television and sponsorship consultation services for corporations interested in penetrating the active sports marketplace. SPORTFILM.COM is the official website of Salmini Films.

The Armory Track and Field Center stands as a brilliant jewel in the center of Washington Heights, a diverse community in northern Manhattan. Built as a training center for the National Guard in 1909, it became a venue for many of the city's biggest events, including track & field meets by the 1920s. In the sixties, the Armory was the unrivaled center for track & field competitions in greater New York. But with the economic crises of the seventies and the scourge of homelessness in the eighties, the Armory was converted to a homeless shelter, housing over 1,800 beds.

Renovations for the current incarnation of the Armory track began in 1993, when a flat surface MONDO track was installed. Then in 1997, the banked track was constructed on top of the original, and the Armory track became a world-class facility.

The facility includes a pole vault runway, an eight-lane sprint and hurdle straightaway, two long jump pits, two high jump areas and a shot put area. The arena seats more than 4,000 people, and those fans have been treated to some classic performances over the years. Last winter alone, Alan Webb broke the high school indoor mile record by becoming the first to break four minutes, and Marla Runyan set a new American standard for the indoor 5,000 meters.

For further information contact Rick Penque at rpenque@sportfilm.com or call 201-944-5572.

NOTE: Salmini Films is a Race Results Weekly sponsor --Ed.