We get a lot of emails with a lot of questions. Some pop up over and over. So here are some answers that you want to know the answer to!
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How much is admission? Will kids have to pay?
Admission is $5 for any person not competing in an event that day. Children under the age of five are free.
Will coaches have to pay
We will give ONE coach pass per unattached athlete. And we will give ONE coach pass per ten athletes for teams. So 1-10 athletes = 1 pass, 11-20 athletes = 2 coach passes, etc. Every other non-participant must pay admission.
How much is it to park?
Parking is free.
There will be surges in traffic and lines at check-in, especially during the first couple of hours of the meet. So make sure that you do arrive with at least an hour before the start of your event. Gates open at 7AM.
What is the schedule of events? Will it run on time?
We will try to stay on schedule exactly. There is a possibility we could run behind. If we do get behind, we will try to make it up in other places and get back on schedule. We will NOT run ahead of schedule. If we are running ahead, we will pause and start at the designated time of each event. Pay attention to the schedule and listen for the calls for your event.
Will the race videos be available after the meet? Will there be photos? What coverage will you have?
The archived race videos from the webcast will be available to watch on-demand on flrunners.com as soon as possible after the meet--Saturday night or by Sunday morning at the latest. In addition we will have video interviews, thousands of photos, articles, and complete results from the meet.
Where will live results be posted?
Our timing partner, Elite Timing, will be posting live results. We will link to them prominently in our coverage.
Where are the heat sheets? Where does my kid rank?
The heat sheets and performance lists will be posted on Thursday.
Can I get into the infield if I'm a coach/parent?
No. Only athletes, officials, and credentialed journalists will be allowed in the infield. The one exception will be for the pole vault, we will have a designated viewing area for this. The throws areas are outside the track, so you have access to that up close.
Is there some place my athletes can warm up?
Can we workout at the facility on Friday night?
No. The track will be NOT be open on Friday for workouts.
Where can I set up my team tent?
Can we set up our tents on Friday?
ONLY after 5PM on FRIDAY.
Where do athletes enter the track to check in for events?
Will concessions be sold?
Will we be able to bring drinks/cooler into the stadium?
Yes.
What are the hurdle heights and spacing?
Girls 100 Hurdles: 10 hurdles at 30 inches, 13 meters to first hurdle, 8 meters between each hurdle, 15 meters to finish.
Boys 100 Hurdles: 10 hurdles at 33 inches, 13 meters to first hurdle, 8.5 meters between each hurdle, 10.5 meters to finish.
Girls and Boys 200 Hurdles: 5 hurdles at 30 inches, 20 meters to first hurdle, 35 meters between hurdles, 40 meters to finish.
What are the shot put and discus weights?
The weight should be stamped on the implement and may be weighed at event check-in. Any competitor may use any implement that has been checked in.
Girls Shot Put: 6 pounds.
Boys Shot Put: 4 kilograms.
Girls/Boys Discus: 1 kilogram.
Will you be accepting any entries at the meet? What if my person did not get entered? Can I make a change?
There will be ABSOLUTELY NO changes at this point, sorry. No additions. No late entries. NONE.
Are you doing a scratch meeting? What about scratches?
No, there will be no scratch meeting. Any scratches will result in empty lanes. We will not be re-seeding heats.
Will you have water for the athletes?
Yes, in addition to water fountains in the stadium, we will have water at the start and finish lines and available to field athletes.
What kind of spikes are allowed on the track?
ONLY 1/4" PYRAMID SPIKES WILL BE ALLOWED ON TRACK. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Will there be a coach meeting or check in on Friday?
No. You'll be able to come into the school and set up a camp and look at the track or do a light workout in the warm up field. But we will not have a table or official meeting set up. You may be able to find us there at the facility and ask questions, but nothing formal.
When does the gate open on Saturday?
We will open the main gate as close to 7AM as possible for athlete/team check-in and admission.
On Saturday, where do athletes go to get in? Where is check-in or packet pickup?
Athletes and coaches will enter through the front gate, just like everyone else. There will be two sides once you enter the gate. One table for admission and one for check-in.
The main gate will be the only gate that is open.
Are there actual packets to pick up?
No, there is not. We'll have a check in for unattached athletes and teams on Saturday. We will give out our complimentary coach admission pass, verify you have paid, etc. But there is not a literal packet.
Are there bib numbers for athletes?
No. For certain events they will be given hip numbers when they check in to their event. But no bib numbers or anything like that at main check in.
Why is so-and-so not listed? Why was my athlete rejected?
If you review your entries and your athlete/relay is not shown as either accepted or rejected... you did not enter them. And we will not make any exceptions.
If your athlete is rejected... most likely they didn't meet the standards of qualification. You should have contacted us about it by now. If your athlete is listed on your entries and not rejected... but did not appear on the published performance list, let us know.
Here are the qualification standards. Absolutely no changes will be made after the entry deadline closes... even if the athlete legitimately qualified. Any problems should have already been addressed. We sent out over a dozen emails about this.
Can I pay the entry fee at the meet? Do you accept credit card?
We would really prefer if everyone can pay online by credit card if possible. This will facilitate easy check-in, so everyone can through the gate as quickly as possible.
If you must pay at the meet, we will accept cash, money order, or a school/organization check. No personal checks. We will not accept credit cards at the meet.
Who do I make the check or money order out to?
Again... no personal checks please. But if you are doing a money order or school check, it should be made out to: "Florida Youth Running Association" or "FLYRA". This is a non-profit organization that is not directly affiliated with flrunners.com so please do NOT make the check out to flrunners.com, MileSplit, or FloSports. Thanks!
We would like if as many of you pay online with credit card as possible to speed up the check in process on Saturday.
What are the awards and trophies?
Individual and relay awards will be given out on an OVERALL basis--not separated by club vs school divisions. However, team awards for middle school will be scored separated by school vs club divisions. There are no elementary team awards.
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Top 8 Individual and Relay Medals (Overall)
Top 2 Team Trophies (Schools)
Top 2 Team Trophies (Clubs)
ELEMENTARY
Top 8 Individual
Top 3 Relay Medals (Overall)
When will awards be given out?
We will be giving them out on a rolling awards schedule within 30 minutes to an hour of each event. So just keep your eyes and ears open.
Where will the awards be given out?
Just outside of the track, adjacent to the start/finish line, there is a concrete patio area in the same location as the high school state meet last week. You will find it between the stands and the fieldhouse. Look for the podium.
Will you mail awards?
Nope. You must collect them or have someone collect them on your behalf at the meet.
How will you separate teams versus clubs?
For the purpose of medaling (both relays and individual events) we will not separate them. We will crown the overall top eight.
For the purpose of team scoring, however, we will separate them out into divisions and award separate team trophies based on the division.
A school will be defined as all athletes on the team attend the same school or otherwise normally participate on the same school team together. So some teams in the school division might be named a "club" for various reasons, but understand we have carefully separated to distinguish which is which.
What rules are you going by?
We use USATF 13-14 age group rules, unless otherwise stated. We are sanctioned by the USATF.
Will you have certified officials?
Yes, we will have certified officials at every event.
What is the heat order?
Slow to fast.
What if my athlete has to scratch an event? Will they be disqualified?
No. If the athlete doesn't show up, they forfeit that race and that race only. No crazy rules like you must start or anything like that. You will not forfeit the other events.
How many attempts for long jump, triple jump, throws?
Three.
Are there prelims?
No... it's all finals against time/mark.
What are the uniform rules?
We are not here to be the fashion police. So try to wear team colors or jerseys, but we're not going to be crazy picky about it. We could care less what color undergarment or tights you have on. If you're on a relay team then the jerseys should try to match. If your shorts don't match... I don't care. If you have multiple jersey styles for kids in non relay events, I don't care.
What about jewelry?
Bottom line is don't be stupid. Don't wear anything that dangles or can cut people. If an official stays take it off, take it off. But basically don't wear anything that dangles or is sharp. But headbands, livestrong type bracelets, watches, etc are fine.
How many events can each athlete participate in?
Up to four events.... regardless of if it's a relay, individual race, or field events.
What are the opening heights for pole vault and high jump?
Girls High Jump 4'4"
Girls Pole Vault 6'0"
Boys High Jump 5'0"
Boys Pole Vault 7'0"
What are the age, grade, school, and residency requirements?
Middle school athletes must be currently enrolled in a state-recognized Florida public, private, or home school and between the 5th and 8th grades, aged between 10 years and 15 years and 9 months based on the date of the meet. Proof of age may be requested if there is a protest lodged.
Will you enforce the shot put technique?
Yes. Proper shot put technique must be used. Shot must be put from the shoulder with one hand only. The shot should touch or remain in close proximity with the neck or chin. The hand shall not be dropped from this position during the act of putting. The shot must not at any time be brought behind the line of the shoulders. Cartwheeling techniques are not permitted.
What if I need to race while my field event is going on?
Athletes must sign-out with the head official of that event. Officials will give athletes a 12-minute window to complete their other event and return for the rest of their attempts. Officials will show reasonable flexibility with extending the time window, relative to what track event they are leaving to compete in. For vertical jumps, however, once the bar is raised to the next height it will not be lowered again and the athlete will forfeit the remaining attempts at that height.
Why is the event order altered from the norm?
The idea is to run the longest race (3000) under cooler conditions earlier in the morning. Because of that, we needed to flip the 4x400 and 4x800.
Why do you run 1500 and 3000 instead of 1600 and 3200?
High schoolers and many middle schools usually run the 1600/3200. However, outside of that realm pretty much everyone in the world runs the 1500/3000: USATF, AAU, NCAA, Olympics, and Elite. We decided to be more progressive and international than just sticking to 1600/3200 because of tradition.
What qualifies as unsportsmanlike behavior?
Absolutely no acts of poor sportsmanship will be tolerated. This includes but is not limited to: profanity; fighting; aggressive and intentional physical contact; being rude to any meet official, athlete, coach, or fan; and throwing of a relay baton.
Respectable celebration is perfectly acceptable. Any celebration should be excessive and should not last more than 30 seconds. It must not interfere or impede any athlete or official, and should not even border on taunting. The definition of what is unsportsmanlike will be solely at the discretion of meet officials. At the official's discretion athletes and teams may be disqualified from the current (or just completed) event or even ejected from the meet causing forfeit of all remaining events.
The behavior of coaches and parents shall be considered the same as that of the athlete themselves. So any unsportsmanlike behavior by these adults may require the same consequences outlined above.
How long has this meet been going on?
Many people are surprised to know how long we've been doing this meet for. It has evolved over the years, but started back in 2002 and has seen some of the state's greatest talent get their big start at this state championship! The original goal was to fill a void for the middle school track community and give those athletes/teams a goal and climax to their season, as well as to enhance competition.
Jason Byrne-the founder of MileSplit and flrunners.com--is the founder of the meet and continues to serve as meet director to this day. In 2012, flrunners.com LLC gave the meet as a gift to the Florida Youth Running Association (FLYRA), a non-profit organization whose goal is to promote and grow the sport on the middle school and elementary level. Byrne now sits a member of FLYRA's Board of Directors and contracts as the meet organizer. The meet is no longer directly affiliated with flrunners.com, MileSplit, or Flocasts... though obviously the cooperation and cross-promotion is tight due to the long-standing relationship and history.
What are the key goals of the meet?
1. To give these kids, most often ignored and over-shadowed, a chance to shine.
2. To reward them for hard work and provide a culmination point and goal for their season, beyond just in-county.
3. To instill a love of track & field in the next generation of athletes.
4. To provide some unity and standards on the diverse and unorganized system that is middle school track in Florida!
What are the key goals of FLYRA?
These are the core mission goals, adopted by the board of directors in 2012.
1. Put on quality middle school championships for cross country and track & field seasons. We feel mission accomplished on this one.
2. Encourage more opportunities for this age level by inspiring or organizing more meets. This has been a big success, but we continue to try to get more meets to start up, those meets to improve their quality, and we are also encouraging more high school meets to add middle school races (especially in cross country).
3. Encourage more middle school programs to start in schools and when possible fund seed grants to help start new middle school programs. Our first such grant was to Polk County schools in the summer of 2013; we purchased the uniforms for 13 new middle school cross country teams the county started.
Though not an officially stated goal, we also hope to evolve the thinking about middle school athletics to county school systems, who often have stood in the way of such programs being viewed as much more than a PE class or have banned inter-county competitions, forcing teams to go underground as clubs or simply not participate. We also hope to see more counties start middle school track & field programs and to potentially work with the FHSAA to put their blessing on our mission. We are also exploring the concept of supporting elementary track & field. Though it is not in our immediate plan to add championships at this level, we certainly encourage more school teams and county championships to spring up!