IHSAA Spring Sports Manual, Track & Field
TEAM PARTICIPATION RULES
1. The first day of practice will be February 13, 2012.
2. Meet Limitation: Teams will be allowed to compete in 12 meets. Meets not included in this limitation: IHSAA meets (state qualifying or state), Drake Relays, UNI Dickinson Relays, ISU Indoor Classic.
3. Indoor track and field meets do not count toward the meet limitation unless an indoor meet is held after a school’s outdoor season has begun. The indoor track season ends when a school has its first outdoor competition. Any indoor meet held after a school begins outdoor competition counts against the meet limitation. The only exceptions would be the excluded meets identified in item #2.
4. On occasion, a school will have an athlete who is very talented and the school believes he should have better competition than the rest of the team; therefore, they take the individual to a meet and leave the rest of the team at home. If a school does this, this meet will count against the meet limitation if the outdoor season has begun. This does not include the Drake Relays.
5. A two-day meet shall be considered a one-day meet insofar as the limitation rule is concerned.
6. If you sign a contract to participate in a track meet, you cannot break that contract to attend a different meet. The IHSAA rules require you to honor your first contract.
INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPATION RULES
1. Individual Meet Limitation: Individuals will be allowed to compete in 12 meets. Meets not included in this limitation: IHSAA meets (state qualifying or state), Drake Relays, UNI Dickinson Relays, ISU Indoor Classic. Indoor track and field meets do not count toward the meet limitation unless an indoor meet is held after the outdoor season has begun. The indoor track season ends when a school has its first outdoor competition. Any indoor meet held after a school begins outdoor competition counts against the meet limitation. The only exceptions would be the excluded meets identified in item #2.
2. A competitor may compete in only one meet per day, excluding the Drake Relays. The only exception would be if you have a varsity/junior varsity meet or a sophomore/varsity meet held on the same day at the same site. An individual can participate in both meets as long as he does not violate the one-day individual event participation rule. In this instance, the competitor will be charged with only one meet.
3. Individual Event Limitation: Each contestant is limited to four events.
4. Preliminary events count as an event.
5. If there are no preliminaries, individuals entered will be charged with an event unless he scratches prior to reporting to the clerk of course or event judge.
6. The Board of Control of the IHSAA has adopted the National Federation rule with regard to a participant competing in too many events. Rule 4, Section 2, Article 2 requires the forfeiture of all individual points, team points, and places earned by a competitor exceeding the participation limit. This forfeiture applies to both individual and relay points and places.
7. Concussion: National Federation rules require that a competitor displaying the signs or symptoms of a concussion shall be immediately removed from the meet and not allowed to return until cleared by an appropriate health-care professional. Please refer to Rule 4, Section 4, Article 4, in the National Federation Rules.
8. Personal conduct: Disqualification will be invoked for unsportsmanlike conduct. The referee has sole authority in this area however, any official may request the referee to take such action. Please refer to the IHSAA Handbook for the current IHSAA disqualification rule. The use of tobacco products by coaches or participants is prohibited by IHSAA rule.
COACHES’ RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Review Rule 4, Section 6, in the National Federation Rules concerns disqualification. At the same time, review the IHSAA disqualification rule.
2. Coaching should be done from the stands or other designated coaching areas. Only contestants and meet officials will be permitted on the track or in the competition areas.
3. If field events are held outside of the track area, coaches will be permitted in those areas.
4. Contestants shall not be assisted at the start, during the race, or following the finish by anyone other than meet officials. Coaches, teammates of participants, team managers, or anyone else, officially or unofficially connected to the team, shall not position themselves in the finish area to assist a teammate at the conclusion of a race. This rule enhances meet management. Teammates may be positioned around the track during a race.
5. Uniform Rule: Coaches are responsible for seeing their competitors are wearing the proper uniform. A legal uniform is well defined in Rule 4, Section 3, Article 1-4 of the National Federation Rules The athlete should always wear the uniform of his school. No contestant will be permitted to wear any head covering. Single solid colored headbands and wristbands are allowed. Such items must be unadorned, meaning they may only display one manufacture’s logo or school name or logo. Such logo must be no more than 2 1/4 square inches, with no dimension greater than 2 1/4 inches. An athlete running without the proper and legal uniform will be disqualified.
In relay races (and cross country competition) each team member shall wear the same color and design school uniform (top and bottom). When other visible apparel is worn under the school uniform, it shall be the same color for all teammates choosing to wear them.
Jewelry: No jewelry, excluding watches, is permitted in any track and field meet. Meet management and meet officials will remind coaches and participants jewelry is prohibited, however it is the coaches’ and participants’ responsibility to adhere to this rule. Jewelry can be removed or corrected prior to the start of a race or event if done without delay. If a competitor is discovered wearing jewelry during competition, the competitor will receive a warning and all subsequent violations of the rule by a warned competitor will result in disqualification from the event. Any medical or religious medallions that must be worn are covered by Rule 4-3-3.
MANDATORY REPORTING OF PERFORMANCES
Based on a recommendation of the Joint Track and Field Advisory Committee and action of the Board of Control, head varsity track and field coaches are mandated to enter track and field performance at the quik stats website, www.quikstatsiowa.com. Performances need to be entered by midnighton Monday, April 9; Monday, April 23; and Monday, May 7. The penalty for failure to enter performances on time is:
First Offense – A letter/e-mail to the head coach from the IHSAA sport administrator giving 3 days to comply with the mandate;
Second Offense – A letter to the athletic director with a copy to the principal and superintendent from the IHSAA executive director, giving 3 days to comply with the mandate;
Third Offense – The IHSAA member school‘s expense allowances will be withheld by the IHSAA in the sport in which the third offense occurred.
RELAY RULES
1. Order of Events: All meets shall use the qualifying meet order of events for all regular season meets.
2. Restricted Events: As a result of action by the IHSAA Board of Control, the following rule is in effect regarding relay and individual events at track and field meets: Participation in track and field shall be limited to state meet events, with additional events being allowed that comply with National Federation rules and the rules of the IHSAA. No events will be allowed that are demeaning to the sport of track and field. If additional events, other than state meet events, are held, results from those events may not be used to determine the team score of the meet.
3. Relay Cards: Coaches are to complete information on the relay cards. After the completed card is given to the clerk of the course, there can be no change made in the personnel. Six individuals may be listed on the relay card. Only those who participate will be charged with an event. Any substitutions must come from the six names listed on the relay card.
4. In relays, it is permissible for the order of running to be changed between heats and succeeding rounds of competition, including individual legs of the medley relay, where all runners do not run the same distance. (Rule 5-10-3)
5. Relay Entry Rules: Any runner reporting to the clerk of course will be charged with an event.
6. State Meet Relays: In the 4x100 and 4x200 meter relays, lanes shall be used all the way around the track. The 4x400 and
the medley relay will be run on a three-turn stagger. The 4x800 relay will be run on a double waterfall.
7. In relays having preliminaries, final heat drawings will be by preliminary performance using lane 4 as the fastest lane, then using lanes 5-3-6-2-7-1-8. In relay events at the state meet where preliminaries are not held, the team will be assigned lanes according to their qualifying meet performance. All state meet seeding will be done according to Rule 5, Section 6, “Forming Heats.”
TRACK CLASSIFICATIONS
The 48 largest track schools are 4-A, next 64 largest 3-A, next 96 largest 2-A and the balance 1-A.
STATE QUALIFYING MEET - ALL CLASSES COACHES’ INFORMATION
1. All state qualifying meets will be co-educational meets.
2. The 2012 qualifying meets will be held for all classes on Thursday, May 10, 2012. The rain date for all qualifying meets will
be the following day excluding Sunday. All qualifying meets will start at 4 PM. There will be a 45 minute break between the boys 3200 and the girl’s shuttle hurdle and a 10 minute break between the girls’ 800 meter run and the girls’ 200 meter dash. If rain date is used, meet manager determines starting time.
3. Qualifying Meet Assignment: Your school will be assigned to a qualifying meet based on geographic location. This assignment cannot be changed.
4. Only two contestants may compete in an individual event from a member school. One relay from each school may compete.
5. Scoring: Eight places will score at the qualifying meet. Qualifying meet scoring shall be 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 for relay events and individual events.
6. Awards: Medals for first eight places in all events. Qualifying meet team champions will be sent or presented with a qualifying champion banner.
7. Order of events for all qualifying meets is listed for your convenience. This is the running order for all qualifying meets.
ORDER OF EVENTS
All Field Events
High Jump B/G
Discus WC(B)/B/G
Shot G/B/WC(B & G)
Long Jump G/B
Running Events:
3000 meter run G (F)
4 X 800 meter relay B/G (F)
3200 meter run B (F)
45 minute break
Shuttle Hurdle Relay G/B
100 meter dash G
100 meter dash B
100 meter wheelchair G/B
Distance medley relay G
400 meter dash G
400 meter dash B
400 meter wheelchair G/B
4 X 200 meter relay G
4 X 200 meter relay B
100 meter hurdles G
110 meter hurdles B
1600 meter run B
800 meter run G
10 minute break
200 meter dash G
200 meter dash B
200 meter wheelchair B
400 meter hurdles G
400 meter hurdles B
1600 meter medley relay B
Sprint medley relay G
1500 meter run G
800 meter run B
4 X 100 meter relay G
4 X 100 meter relay B
4 X 400 meter relay G
4 X 400 meter relay B
STATE QUALIFING MEET INFORMATION
1. Information will be mailed to your school. You will receive a Qualifying Meet Manual. Qualifying meet entries will be submitted online. Information for submitting qualifying meet entries will be emailed to member schools on Monday, April 30, 2012. All times and efforts will be performances in established meets and should be recorded in metric times or converted metric times for the running events and standard measurements for the field events. FAT times may be lowered by the .24 conversion factor. Substitution will be accepted until the completion of the coaches meeting. No adjustment will be made to heat and lane assignments.
2. Upon receipt of the entries, all entries will be ranked from first to last in each event according to performances. Heats and sections as well as lane assignments wiII be drawn from this information. The IHSAA will oversee the ranking of the entries and placement of athletes into heat sections, lanes and flights.
a.) Field events will be in flights. Throwing order will be indicated in the Qualifying Meet Manual.
b.) In events run in sections against time, the last section will contain the best performers, the prior sections the next best contestants, etc.
c.) Since all events are finals, sections will be filled by entry performances. The final section of each event will have the best entry performances.
d.) The highest ranked contestant will be placed in the lane in the center of the track. Lanes will be filled by alternating either side of the number-one ranked athlete. This will be (4-5-3-6-2-7-1-8) or (3-4-2-5-1-6) according to the number of individuals or teams in the heat and the lanes available.
3. Relay personnel may be changed after the meet has begun. Substitutes must come from the names on the original relay entry.
4. Each school will be given copies of the heat and lane assignments.
5. Track Complimentary Admissions:
1) Any superintendent, principal, or athletic director, and their respective spouses, who present their current IHSAA identification card will be admitted free. It shall be understood that no members of the families of an administrator or coach shall be admitted free unless they qualify in one of the other categories.
2) Any member of the host school Board of Education and spouse.
3) Any bona fide member of the press, radio, and television media attending in the official capacity of reporter or photographer. (This does not include representative of school paper or year book.)
4) One team bus driver.
6. Qualifying Meet Expense Reimbursement – There is no reimbursement for the track and field qualifying meet.
STATE MEET QUALIFICATION
In Class 4A, top two place winners in each event, plus the next twelve (12) best performances statewide from qualifying meet place winners will advance to the state meet. Class 3A and Class 2A, the top two place winners in each event, plus the next eight (8) performances statewide from qualifying meet place winners will advance to the state meet. In Class 1A, the top place winner in each event, plus the next twelve (12) best performances statewide from qualifying meet place winners will advance to the state meet. If there are ties, the highest qualifying meet place winner will be the qualifier. If the tie still remains, the school name, as printed in the IHSAA Directory, will be used as the tie breaker. The last school name alphabetically will become the qualifier. There will be no more than 24 qualifiers in any event.
***STATE MEET INFORMATION***
The 2012 State Track and Field Meet will be a coeducational event held in cooperation with the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union. The meet will be held at Drake Stadium in Des Moines. The meet will be held May 17, 18 and 19. The format for the meet will be the same as the 2011 format. Classes 2A & 3A will compete in the morning. Classes 1A & 4A will compete in the afternoon. There are still pending details regarding the administration and organization of the meet. Specific details will be made available when the determinations have been made.
State Meet Expense Reimbursement – Schools with 1-6 qualifiers receive $.30 per mile. Schools with 7-14 qualifiers receive $.60 per mile. Schools with 15-22 qualifiers receive $.90 per mile. Schools with greater than 22 qualifiers receive $1.10 per mile. Mileage is paid for one trip to Des Moines.