This year, the nation's largest amateur track series begins its 31st season as young female athletes compete in the Colgate Women's Games

This year, the nation's largest amateur track series begins its 31st season as young female athletes compete in the Colgate Women's Games.

More than 11,000 girls and women, from first grade to post-college age, will compete in the weekly events at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y., for the chance to qualify for the finals at Madison Square Garden in February. Track competitors across the nation can measure their performances against some of the best talent in their age and grade divisions.

Seventeen former Olympians and hundreds of national record-holders have competed in the games, which aim to give girls and women an outlet where they can develop self-esteem and learn sportsmanship.

The Colgate Women's Games also instill the importance of educational achievement. All participants are required to submit their school attendance records along with an essay on a peer-related topic.

Each week, participants have the opportunity to win numerous ribbons and medals. In addition, finalists are awarded trophies and educational grants-in-aid.

"Thousands of former participants have continued on through college and successful careers," said meet director Fred Thompson. "They inevitably return to tell us that the games had such a significant impact on their lives."

The Colgate Women's Games, which officially open the women's indoor track season, have become a national proving ground, annually setting the pace for the season. Participants, primarily from the East Coast, travel to New York from as far as Boston and Virginia.

"Our girls are among the most heavily recruited female athletes by colleges and universities across the country," Thompson said. "Thousands have received college scholarships from their schools and earned financial help with tuition and supplies from their Colgate grants."