Track & Field Advisory Committee

Minutes
September 21, 2004 • 7 p.m.
Teleconference


The Track & Field Advisory Committee met via telephone conference on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2004. The meeting began at 7 p.m.

Committee members in attendance were Gary Droze, Maclay (Tallahassee); Loretta Smith, Rickards (Tallahassee); William Stamper, Oak Ridge (Orlando); Jim Lowenstein, DeLand; Dana Dodson, Osceola (Kissimmee); Ernest Jones, Lakewood Ranch (Bradenton); David Shepherd, St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale); Gary Littlejohn, Jr., South Dade (Homestead); and Mal Harpell, Poinciana (Kissimmee) (FACA). Denarvise Thornton, FHSAA staff was also in attendance.

After Mr. Thornton provided instructions for conducting the conference, the committee discussed several items to provide input to the FHSAA Board of Directors and administrative staff. Committee members were also reminded that all items were discussion only as no action items had been received from any of the members.

Maximum of 4 events for individuals. Mr. Thornton informed the committee of the FHSAA’s current entry / participation policy which is non-compliant with the NFHS rules. Staff currently has recommendation for the Board of Directors to consider which reads in part: “maximum of 4 events of which a maximum of 3 events may be running events”.
• Stay with NFHS’s 4 events with no stipulation on running or field events
• FACA would like to poll its member coaches prior to placing information in the manual for the sake of public relations
• Support one-year grace period but pending polling coaches at state clinic / coaches still have an option to participate in only four events
• Consider additional round in the state series, i.e. sectional and have a “finals only” to avoid the “overwork, brutality” of having an athlete with the possibility of running 8 times in a meet (this has some logistical concerns and would require more input and planning at a later date)
• Add stipulation to events, i.e. if meet is run in one day then maximum of “x” running events (this has some logistical concerns and would require more input and planning at a later date)

Update on the host of the state meet. GSOC (Gainesville) is the only organization that has officially submitted a request to host the state meet(s) to date.

Uniforms and Sector Markings. State meet management should discuss the sector markings for the state meet. Whichever sector markings will be used at the state venue should be communicated to the district and regional hosts to provide student-athletes an opportunity to prepare for the state meet’s markings. The singlet is allowed as per NFHS. Clarifications regarding the uniform will be presented at the 2005 FHSAA rules meetings held at local member schools.

Failure to compete. Mr. Thornton shared some concerns regarding the Hy-Tek results, which indicated failure to compete, i.e. noted as either NS or SCR. It appears that many of the state series meet hosts must pay closer attention to the abbreviations to use in reporting results electronically, as some hosts used DNS. Staff will also include these abbreviations in the 2005 FHSAA Track and Field Manual for education purposes. Even at the state meet, the clerk of the course, head finish judge and timer / scorer must be diligent in communicating with each other, so that student-athletes are not incorrectly penalized. The committee supports remaining status quo with the current procedures relative to failure to compete. The committee further cites that some coaches (very few) will find ways to circumvent the intent of the rule regardless and some student-athletes will have extenuating circumstances.

Increase number of ribbons. The committee discussed the possibility of increasing the number of ribbons the FHSAA provides for district meets from 6 to 8. Mr. Thornton shared the issue of facilities as they relate to the number of places awarded, i.e. some facilities have only 6 lanes. The committee will submit a recommendation accompanied by the appropriate rationale to increase the number ribbons awarded at district meets at its next meeting.

Team Victory Lap. Committee reviewed a situation regarding participants in one of the state finals taking a “victory lap” after receiving their champion and runner-up trophy. After discussion, the committee understands the staff’s position in that any actions deemed unsporting in nature will result in the appropriate actions.

Calendar. The committee stated its position on the present calendar and supports the following: “The FACA has requested adding training time to the calendar as opposed to adding to the number of meets or length of seasons for competition. It (FACA) recommends adding two weeks of training time for safety and preparation purposes to prepare student-athletes properly for the season before putting them in competition."

The meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m.