Are You a First Timer?

Never been to a high school track meet before? No worries!
Here's what you can expect:

• A lot of sitting :-) If you are a parent, it would be a good idea to invest in a well-padded seat cushion, and if it has a back and armrests, even better! A lot of times you can get actual stadium chairs to fit across bleacher rows, but it's not guaranteed. The nice thing about when that works, is that some stadium chairs now come with sun shades. When it's a sunny day, you WILL want some source of shade.
  
  
• If you are a student, be sure to bring something to occupy yourself during the down times. Whatever you choose, however, cannot interfere with your ability to hear the announcements for first, second, and third calls. It is not the Coach's job to find you and make sure you are at your event. If you miss your event, you may have just cost the team the points you would have achieved, or have disqualified your relay team!
  
  
• Unless you or your student-athlete are in the top few performers of a specific event, it is unlikely they will go to all of the meets on the schedule. In order to be entered into the field events for a meet, student-athletes must be able to perform at the opening measurement stated by the meet organizers. Student-athletes must qualify for the later meets (regional, sectional, state) in order to attend. Coaches will announce at practices who is on the 'go list' for the next meet and we will post it on the web site as well.
  
  
• For meets that are on Saturdays, they typically start at 9 am. All student-athletes MUST be at the track no later than one hour before start time. So 8 am. If riding the bus, the student-athlete should be at the school by 7 am. Check with the coaches, as for some meets the student-athletes may be required to ride the bus to the meet.
  
  
• For meets that are on weekdays, they typically start at 4 or 4:30 pm. Student-athletes on the 'go list' will ride the bus to the meet. Unless they are picked up by a parent at the meet, they will also ride the bus back to school after the meet is over. We typically try to leave either 15 minutes before school lets out, or 15 minutes afterwards, in order to avoid the normal buses at dismissal.
  
  
• Student-athletes will be expected to be on the bus and ride back to school unless a coach has been told directly by the student-athlete or their parent that the parent is taking them home from the meet.
  
  
• Weekday meets tend to be smaller (fewer schools) than the weekend meets. Consequently, the weekday meets tend to be shorter. It's best to assume a well-run meet will take about 4 hours, and others can be up to 6 hours. Weekend meets are an all-day affair. You should assume weekend meets will take no less time than 6 hours for an extremely well-run meet, but bigger meets or less well-run meets could take 8 - 10 hours on a Saturday. You'll get a feel for which schools have the best run meets after you've been through a few :-)
  
  
• Since these meets are a lot of 'hurry up and wait', it's important for the student-athlete to maintain their hydration level with water and their energy level with proper nutrition. It is very unlikely they will get proper nutrition from the concession stand - please don't send them there! The Coaches and Booster Club will put together a list of donations for parents to contribute to the team as a whole (see the sign-up genius HERE), but you should plan for your student-athlete to bring nutritious snacks that are specific to their energy requirements that day.
  
  
• Student-athletes should STAY OUT OF THE SUN - get in the shade! - whenever not participating in their events. The sun does nothing but suck the energy out of you!
  
  
• At a standard meet, the events typically are held in this order:
  • In general, Field Events, then Running Events
  • Once the Running Events begin, it is a rolling schedule (stated times are no longer valid, some events may be earlier or later depending on how the races go)
  • As an EXAMPLE ONLY (do NOT depend on these times), it could go like this:
    • Field Events - 9 am
      • Girls Trip Jump
      • Boys Long Jump
      • Girls Pole Vault
      • Boys High Jump
      • Girls Shot Put
      • Boys Discus
    • Field Events Continued - 12 pm or earlier
      • Boys Trip Jump
      • Girls Long Jump
      • Boys Pole Vault
      • Girls High Jump
      • Boys Shot Put
      • Girls Discus
    • Running Events - 12:30 pm
      • Boys and Girls 3200m will run DURING Field Events at some meets, at others it may be at the very end after the 4x400 Relay
    • Running Events - 1:00 pm
      • 4x800 Relay
      • 4x100 Relay
      • 1600m
      • 400m
      • 100m
      • 100 Hurdles (Girls)
      • 110 Hurdles (Boys)
      • 800m
      • 200m
      • 300 Hurdles
      • 4x400 Relay
        
        
• Most meets will charge an entrance fee. They tend to be between $5 and $10 per adult, depending on the host location. Students who are not competing that day (or their siblings) will also have to pay, usually $3 - $5 per student.
  
  
• Student-athletes should pack a 'meet bag' that always has the following items, at a minimum:
  • Sweatshirt (no matter how hot it is supposed to be that day!)
  • Sweatpants (no matter how hot it is supposed to be that day!)
  • Some form of rain gear/protection (plastic ponchos would be easiest to pack)
  • Extra socks (it's awful running in wet shoes and wet socks, at least they can change into dry socks right before their next race if they have a few pair in their bag)
  • Refillable water bottle
  • Nutritious snack bars (NOT candy bars!)
  • Extra spikes for their spike shoes and a spike tool
  • More ideas to be posted later...