Weird Meet

[ClintonMagus]

Earlier I posted, asking a question about heights that were recorded incorrectly at a meet. Maybe it's just high school track, but yesterday's meet also:

1. Started 40 minutes late because no one could find a pole vault crossbar and because it took forever to get the standards to where they would roll.
2. Had TWO (yes, TWO) broken crossbars during the boy's competition. A third crossbar was located. It was shattered, but we were able to tape it well enough to use.
3. Had SIX "heats" for boys' 3200 meters and five for girls' 3200 meters with three runners in each heat (meet lasted almost ten hours!) Similar numbers for the mile...
4. Had one boy jumping with a bloody nose.
5. Published wrong event starting times, so two girls missed their jumps while competing in the 3200.

Makes me aware of what we need to do before our meet.

[kev44000]

In Oklahoma I would always carry two crossbars with me or we would not have one, or the only one they had would get broken. Also a couple of high schools shared the PV crossbar with the high jump also.

[rainbowgirl28]

You should obtain your own copy of the NFHS rule book and case book, they are very specific about blood (as in there was no way in heck a kid with a bloody nose should have been anywhere near the PV Pit!!!). No one ever knows the rules or has a rule book handy, you'd be surprised how much it will get used.

The rest of the stuff is extremely poor meet management. Going to some bad ones will help you learn how to make yours good!

[drcurran]

As usual very good advice from Becca. It is amazing to me the number of coaches who don’t know the rules or as Becca said even have a rulebook. In both a college meet and a high school meet this past year I have had coaches yelling for their athlete to get out / off the pit before the bar falls! Amazing!

Dan

[master]

You should obtain your own copy of the NFHS rule book and case book,

Most of us would have our own if they wouldn't charge so much for them. Yes, the head coach gets a set (or maybe two) but $30 a year for all the "booklets" is a ripoff. I payed my $30 last year and this year I just added a printout of the changes for 2010.

Why can't NFHS make viewable online pdf versions of the books so people can study them and learn the rules? Parents, coaches and vaulters could all be more informed. The only reason I can think of is NFHS has a captive audience of people that must pay that price for the books.

[belmore]

I guess I have just gotten to the point where nothing surprises me about a high school track meet. The federation should print their little booklets and hand them out to anyone who volunteers to help put on a meet. It is hard enough to get volunteers to begin with, then suddenly have them thrown a charge to be able to know the rules. Friday I showed up to help out at the local high school meet and found vaulters already warming up on a pit that somehow had lost its top pad. It was found an hour later and we started a little late. I couldn't believe the coach had his vaulters warming up that way. I guess he couldn't see the big cracks between the modules his kids were sinking into.

[rainbowgirl28]

I do wish they would give them away for free, but it's probably worth the $30.

[ClintonMagus]

Since we didn't stay for the entire meet, I missed seeing this one - Evidently, two guys on our 400 meter team crossed the finish line "neck-and-neck". One of them received a "DNF" because the officials at the finish line "didn't see him cross the line" and thought he had dropped out of the race. This was later corrected, but it was just another stange situation from an already stranger day.

[kev44000]

Since we didn't stay for the entire meet, I missed seeing this one - Evidently, two guys on our 400 meter team crossed the finish line "neck-and-neck". One of them received a "DNF" because the officials at the finish line "didn't see him cross the line" and thought he had dropped out of the race. This was later corrected, but it was just another stange situation from an already stranger day.

You might consider moving to another state.

[ClintonMagus]

Actually, the rest of the meets this year should be much better, at least from an equipment/administration standpoint.

This meet was sort of like the old saying, "Eat a live frog first thing in the morning, and the rest of the day HAS to be better"...

[master]

I do wish they would give them away for free, but it's probably worth the $30.

This may be true for a pole vault coach, but you certainly can't expect the average parent or athlete to spend the money for them.

And the cost of them is only one problem; the interpretation of the rules, as can be demonstrated by looking at various topics on this site, are often open for discussion.

[Divalent]

I do wish they would give them away for free, but it's probably worth the $30.

This may be true for a pole vault coach, but you certainly can't expect the average parent or athlete to spend the money for them. And the cost of them is only one problem; the interpretation of the rules, as can be demonstrated by looking at various topics on this site, are often open for discussion.

You only really need the rule book and the casebook, which can be purchased separately for about $7 each (although I think they ding you with another $6 or so for shipping; so ~$20 total).

BTW, the NCAA rules are available free in an online PDF.