To All VCYTC Coaches, 5/8/06

To assist everyone at the seeding meeting, junior varsity finals, and varsity finals, the following summary is being distributed to answer the most common questions and sources of disputes relating to our “post season”.  The rule book can be found at the following website:  http://vcytc.org/vcytc/rulebook/VCYTC-Rulebook2005.pdf

1.       Section 3.9 An athlete must have competed in an event a minimum of two (2) times in a regular season meet to be eligible to compete in that event in JV finals.  This does not apply to relays.
2.       If an athlete is varsity in a sprint event, that athlete may not participate in a JV relay team.  They may however participate in an individual sprint event at JV finals (as long as it is not the event in which they qualified varsity).  For example, a varsity 400M runner cannot run on a JV relay team, but they are allowed to run in JV 100M and 200M event.
3.       Section 12.13: At the JV meet only, Gremlins can mix boys and girls on the same relay team, if required to field a team.   If two girls and two boys are put together, it is up to the stager whether to enter them in a boys or girls heat (whichever will make the meet faster).  If 3:1, the team would be seeded on the side with 3 athletes of the same gender.
4.      Section 7 Article 9(f): Pacing an athlete (running alongside by a coach, non-participating athlete, etc.) is an infraction and will result in a disqualification.  This rule will be enforced strictly during the finals meets.
5.      Section 8, subsection 1.08:  At the Varsity Finals meet, Gremlin coaches will be the only coaches allowed in the competition areas (long jump only).
6.       Seeding for Varsity finals will be set in advance.  Staging at JV finals will be as follows:

1. Heats will be staged slowest to fastest (or shortest to longest).  In other words, if an athlete misses their heat, they get moved to the next heat (in which the competition will be faster/farther/higher).  
2. There will be no effort to mix teams (as we usually do in regular season meets) in a heat.  Staging will be based solely on the “personal record” time on their tags.  This means that one club could potentially have all its runners in one heat (should their times be very close).  

7.      1998 Appendix – Paragraph (f) Coaches are not prohibited from talking with their athletes from outside the area of competition (maybe across the fence) or from yelling split times and/or coaching tips from outside the area of competition; however, competition may not be disrupted nor delayed by these actions. Example: a competitor may move closer to the fence to hear his/her coach during a field event if he/she is between attempts, but may not delay an attempt in order to talk to the coach.
8.       Provisional Rule: An “elite” athlete may participate in four running events at Varsity Finals (as long as one or two of those four events is a relay).  This overrides the rule on Page 50 of 89 - Section 6: Article 4:  An athlete may not enter or compete in more four (4) events total, including all individual running events, individual field events, and relay events.  An athlete may not enter or compete in more than three (3) running events, including individual and relay events. To further clarify:

1. The only exception to this rule is currently a provisional change for 2006 (if approved next year, it would be an official rule):  At varsity finals, an athlete may enter and compete in a maximum of three (3) individual varsity running events PLUS one varsity relay event (or two and two, as long as all four of his or her events take place at the Varsity level).  Note that this does not apply to a combination of JV and varsity events.
2. The more people that participate in four events at varsity finals, the better.  The goal of the conference is to get kids to strive for varsity achievement.  It’s also a lot easier on the parents.  
3. The “elite athlete provision” was put into place this year for kids that might potentially be able to compete completely at the varsity level (especially if they can help their teams in one or both relays).
4. We will gauge the potential for abuse after finals and then vote later this year to determine if the rule will become official.  
5. Always remember the spirit of this rule when determining eligibility.

9.       Field passes will be provided to coaches and volunteers.  Cooperation with the security staff working at the gates is highly recommended (I understand that they are off-duty CTU agents).
10.   Finally, the coaches relay, based on a tally of 5 votes to 1 (three clubs did not vote) will be run in the following format (option A):  100M – 100M – 200M – 400M – 800M.  Thanks for the quick replies.