Responsibilities, Regulations, Rules:

Responsibilities:

The track runways and landing surfaces should be measured, lined, and in good condition. Sector lines should be drawn for the discus and the shot put.

Coaches and officials must inspect the track and field areas before a meet. These areas should be free of any glass.

Coaches must meet with the officials prior to the meet to discuss any extra competitors, equipment malfunctions, or questions pertinent to the conduct of a track meet.

In cases where the facilities are declared unsafe, the home school shall forfeit all points in that event.

All proper equipment should be on hand for conducting a meet: score cards, cross bars, starting blocks, relay batons, measuring tapes, rakes, and a device to mark the outgoing relay zone for each lane in the 4x100M relay.

Hurdles must be arranged prior to the start of the meet and arrangements made for movement of the hurdles to the next site or off the track.

Coaches must instruct their runners and spectators to stay off the track and infield areas and remain in the stands during the meet. The track and infield areas are not to be used as warm-up areas. The officials are to enforce this rule, and the coaches are responsible for their athletes. 

Only 1/4" or smaller pyramid spikes be used on all-weather track surfaces throughout Section XI.

All equipment in the high jump and pole vault must meet the specifications in the rule book.

In the long and triple jump, all take-off areas must meet the requirements of the rules. THE USE OF TAPE FOR THE SCRATCH LINE IS NOT PERMITTED.

Volunteers/Chaperones may help under the authority of the officials to expedite the meet.

General Meet Regulations:

Participation limitations shall be, in the running events up to and including the 400M dash, three scoring competitors from each school. In the 800m, 1500m/1600m, and 3000m/3200m runs, and in all field events, there shall be four competitors from each school. Each school is permitted one scoring relay team.

In all dual meets, non-scoring competitors in the 800m, racewalk, 1500m/1600m, and the 3000m/3200m must be placed in the second row, 10 meters behind the scoring row. Extra relays will be placed in lanes five and six. 

An athlete may not compete as a non-scorer if he/she would not be eligible to compete as a scorer in that event. (Ex. An athlete already competed in 4 events, wants to do a 5^th as a non-scorer.) 

The high jump, pole vault, and shot put must start at the beginning of the meet. The discus will begin at the completion of the shot put. 

All competitors must have a school issued uniform. In all relays, each competitor must have a similar school issued uniform.  (i.e., the same basic colored shirt and colored pants for each athlete).

At the end of the triple jump (boys meets) or long jump (girls meets), before the officials make the call for the first relay, each coach will hand to the referee an index card for each relay event. This card will contain the name of the event, the name of the school, and the first and last name of each runner. (Two alternates can be included on the card.)

The finish line official is responsible for timing and picking first place in all races.  The visiting school’s coach is responsible for timing and picking second place.  Finally, the home school’s coach is responsible for timing and picking third place. 

The finish line official is solely responsible for the correct order of all races. The judge/timer must overrule the coaches' picks if they feel they are incorrect. 

Scoring for all individual events shall be first, second, and third place using 5-3-1 for points in dual meet competition. The relays shall be scored 5-0.

Event Specific Regulations:

In all events 400m or less, the race should be run entirely in lane. This includes the first leg of the 4x400m relay.

In the 4x100m relay, each school will time its own team. The judge/timer will cover zones 2 to 3 and 3 to 4 and the last turn. The starter will cover the start, zones 1 to 2, and the order of the finish. THE HOME SCHOOL MUST SUPPLY A DEVICE TO MARK THE EXCHANGE ZONE FOR EACH TEAMS.

During the racewalk, the home school will count the laps for each walker while the visiting school will give the lap times. At the finish, each school will time its own walkers. The officials will judge the walk for violations. One caution from each of the officials, three cautions from any one official, or flagrant form at any time will cause disqualification. Each official should, if possible, give the competitor the caution immediately and signal by using a red card or flag.   NO long johns or sweatpants may be used during the walk. 

The high jump, pole vault, and shot put must start at the beginning of the meet. The discus will begin at the completion of the shot put. 

In the shot put, discus, long jump. and triple jump, each competitor is allowed three trials.

High Jump-Starting Heights:
Boys: start at 4' 9", bar raised 3" to 5', then 2" to 5' 10", then raised 1". 
Girls: start at 3' 6", bar raised 2" to 4', then raised 1". 

To score in the long jump, a male or female competitor must jump 12 or 10 feet, respectively; to score in the triple jump, a male or female competitor must jump 32 or 18 feet, respectively.

Pole Vault Starting Heights:
Boys: start at 8', bar raised 6" until 10', then raised 3".
Girls: start at 5', bar raised 1" to completion.
 

Pole Vault Scoring in Dual Meets 
According to the National Federation Handbook, "Failure of the home school to meet its obligation of providing legal equipment for an event shall result in all points for the event being forfeited to the offending team."

In some cases, both the host school and the visiting school in a dual meet may not have competitors to conduct the event; distribution shall only be awarded to teams that readily practice and compete in the event. 

a.  Each Section XI athletic director must send notification to the league athletic directors and coaches plus Section XI, listing the names of those athletes who will compete in the pole vault during the spring track and field season.
b.  If the host school does not provide legal equipment and the visiting athletic director and coach do not verify pole vaulting competitors, NO points for the event shall be awarded to either team. 
c.  When a host school in a dual meet does not have legal pole-vaulting equipment available, points will be awarded to the visiting team if they have vaulters verified by the athletic director and coach.
d. Points will be awarded on a 5-3-1 basis.
    One competitor    à  5 points
    Two competitors   à 8 points
    Three competitors à 9 points 
e. The competitors that did not get to pole vault will have the option of competing in any four events during the track meet as they have not actually competed in the vault.

Rules:

An athlete must compete in a minimum of six interscholastic track meets prior to the team championship to be eligible for post-season events. (See waiver form if needed.)

Next Available Date:

In all sports, a postponed VARSITY contest must be played on the next available date.  The next available date is defined as the next available weekday (M-F) on which a contest has not previously been scheduled by either team.  Saturdays and Sundays may be used by mutual agreement.  (5/22/90) 
Exceptions:  see baseball and softball (approved 5/18/04)

IN ORDER TO COMPLETE A LEAGUE SEASON, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MAY MANDATE ANY DAY EXCEPT SUNDAY AS THE NEXT AVAILABLE DATE DURING THE LATTER PART OF A SEASON.  HOWEVER, THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF LEAGUE GAMES PER WEEK (AS LISTED IN THE SPORT SPECIFIC EXCEPTIONS TO THIS POLICY) MAY NOT BE EXCEEDED.

Non-league contests will be vacated at the direction of the Executive Director in cooperation with the sport chairman if it becomes necessary to complete a league season.

PENALTY:  FAILURE OF A SCHOOL TO COMPLY WITH THE NEXT AVAILABLE DATE POLICY WILL RESULT IN FORFEITURE.  IF BOTH OPPOSING SCHOOLS WILL NOT COMPLY, BOTH SCHOOLS WILL BE ASSESSED A LOSS.

For contests in Section-wide sports:

A DATE WHICH IS VACATED AND/OR IDENTIFIED FOR THE PURPOSE OF ACCOMMODATING A SCHOOL'S PROM OR AN ENTIRE GRADE LEVEL TRIP PRIOR TO THE DEADLINE FOR SCHEDULE CHANGES WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED A NEXT AVAILABLE PLAYING DATE.

No teams are exempt from this policy during the spring recess. (App. 5/12/15)

NOTE:  SCHOOLS MAY NOT MUTUALLY AGREE TO BE LESS RESTRICTIVE ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS POLICY.

When extraordinary circumstances (hurricanes, snowstorms, power outages, etc.) preclude a team from practicing on four or more consecutive days, the Executive Director may waive the next available date rule to allow for one day of practice.      (5/14/96)

Contest Sites - The Executive Director, in consultation with the Sports Chair, is allowed to direct schools to switch sites and/or find neutral sites in league or division varsity games during the last week of the regular season. (10/10/07)

Following are the sport specific exceptions:

Track and Cross Country

Friday is not to be considered as a next available date.

Teams are not mandated to compete:

  1.    On consecutive days except when necessary to complete the season.

  2.    More than three times per week (Monday - Saturday).

Individual Competitors
Individual entries from schools which do NOT participate in the league dual meet season may not enter division meets but may enter the Section meet providing: 
a. The athletic director certifies to the sport chairman at least two weeks prior to the section meet that the applicant(s) has participated in at least six scheduled meets during the season and specifies the results of the athletes' performances.
b. The performance meets the qualifying standard and is in the top 24 performances in Section XI. 

Rule 3, Art. 7

Competition, interrupted because of events beyond the responsible administrative authority, shall be continued from the point of interruption, unless there are conference, league, or state association rules which apply. All trials and marks, made up to the point of suspension, shall stand. 
    a.  If no relays have been run before the interruption, new relay cards will be submitted to the officials after the triple jump and before the call for the first relay. 
    b.  All field event competitors will be given ample time to warm-up before the event may continue.
    c.  Any member of the school's track and field team may compete in the continued portion of the meet, provided he/she has not already competed in the allowable four events.

These athletes need not have been present the day of the original meet.

COUNTY TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS - PROCEDURES/RULES

A competitor may compete in four events.

Entries must be entered online (MileSplit) by the given deadline set at the beginning of the season.  Failure to do so will result in a suspension of the head coach from the given meet.

Relay entries should list all competitors that ran the given seed time as the first four runners.  Additional alternates maybe added to the entry. (maximum of eight total athletes)

Athletes may be scratched from the meet during the seeding meeting for the girls, but NO scratching is allowed at the boys seeding meeting.

A school can have a maximum of three pentathletes in the event.  Athletes entered in the pentathlon may not compete in any other event.

Each school is guaranteed one relay entry in each relay event.

Team scoring (10-8-6-4-2-1)
 

Continued on next page.

STATE QUALIFIER - PROCEDURES/RULES

A competitor may compete in four events.

Entries must be entered online (MileSplit) by the given deadline set at the beginning of the season.  Failure to do so will result in a suspension of the head coach from the given meet.

Relay entries should list all competitors that ran the given seed time as the first four runners.  Additional alternates maybe added to the entry. (maximum of eight total athletes)

Athletes may be scratched from the meet during the seeding meeting for the girls, but NO scratching is allowed at the boys seeding meeting.

Athletes in the pentathlon may not compete in any other event.

Determining state qualifiers: Finals overtakes faster times. If no class (A, B, C) member qualifies for the final, then the fastest time in the semi-final is class champion and qualifies for the state meet. Advancement over time.              

Top 24 individuals in each running event, three from each class, plus next nine performances established during the current spring track season will be accepted. No relay splits or conversions are permitted.

The top three racewalk performances from each class plus the next nine performances will be accepted into the event.

 

Top 18 relays in each relay event, three from each class, plus next nine performances that were done during the current spring track season will be accepted. 

Whenever possible, athletes in the same class will compete against each other.
     

Revised 4/2025