Coaches       

The Championship Meet is rapidly approaching - May 20 at Lakewood High School - directions are posted on the League's website if you need them  ...  

SOME IMPORTANT REMINDERS 

!        Find the Meet Responsibility List and review your areas of responsibility for the meet; make sure you enlist your volunteers before you get to the field and get distracted with team issues.  Please “train” and equip your volunteers: 

o                provide clipboards and watches as required

o                the relay passing zone helpers should know what a zone looks like; the Meet Coordinators don’t have time to give them a tour of the track and explain “front diamonds” and “back diamonds” to them ..

o                your volunteers should be at the track early and come to the field with you at the time of the Coaches Meeting since the Meet Coordinators need to start meeting with them immediately after the coaches meeting.  The Coordinators also don’t have time to wait for you to go find them after the meeting.

o                if your volunteer can’t stay for the duration of their responsibility, please provide a replacement. 

!        Read the League Rules as they pertain to the Championship Meet. 

!        Don’t forget that your Championship Meet Roster must be "in my hands" by noon Wednesday, May 16.  If at all possible, send them to me (the sooner the better) via e-mail in some sort of electronic format.  The Roster Form is downloadable on the website in both Word and Excel format.  Even an e-mail using one line per entry (group, name, event, QualTime (if applicable)) would be much appreciated (don't forget to ID your wildcards).  If e-mail is an impossibility, then please send via fax (212-290-7094). 

!        After I receive your rosters, I have to input all teams into my computer, sort and seed the meet, and prepare the Meet Event forms ... that’s a lot of work so PLEASE don’t be late with your submittal - I’ll be seeding and printing on Thursday morning so if I don’t have your roster by noon Wednesday, your entries will be unseeded and in the last heat.  Note that roster changes (please keep to a minimum) will be allowed on Sunday, but for substitutions/replacements only in the same event (i.e., no additions to any event). 

o      Remember - one entry per event and five team “wildcards” (note that a 2nd relay team is not one wildcard!) - read the League Rules if there are any questions - use the standard entry form provided at the Kickoff Meeting (both rules and entry form are available at the web site). 

o      Regarding seed times, try to make sure the times you submit are realistic.  Every year, some times are submitted that make no sense - for example, almost every year I get a JG sprinter with a 100m time under 13 sec. ... I don’t hardly think so?  A time in a meet summary is not necessarily a correct time - please check for reasonableness as well.  Entries with “Impossible” times will be ignored and the entry will be unseeded (if I ignore a seed time, the coach will be informed). 

!        Don't forget #1 - Junior High Jump and Senior Long Jump start at 10:00 sharp - all entrants must be signed in with the event coordinator; a coaches meeting will be held at 10:30 (for last minute roster changes and checking on responsibilities); and the first running events (50 and 100 meter preliminary heats) start at 11:00 - don’t be late, and have your volunteers available as discussed previously.  In general, the junior high jump will be completed before 11:00 so the senior girl high jump will start at that time - make sure your entries are available to jump or the event will start without them.  Note the opening height requirement in the League Rules - the Championship Meet is not a “training meet”; the last couple of years there have been numerous entries who didn’t know how to jump (e.g., two-footed jumpers) - please limit your entries to qualified competitors. 

!        Don't forget #2 - Only two coaches per team allowed on the infield during the meet; credentials will be provided to identify authorized personnel.  This rule will be strictly enforced; non-compliance will result in an initial warning.  Continued and/or repeated non-compliance will result in unsportsmanship penalties assessed against applicable competitors at the time of the infraction. 

If anyone has any questions, contact me. 

Ron Wrucke