2011 High School track and field

Give your high school or alumni a shout out! Talk about high school sports in this forum.
hzy
High-quality H20 provider
High-quality H20 provider
Posts: 127
Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2009 12:03 pm

Re: 2011 High School track and field

Post by hzy »

2LeftFeet- Did you not read the post of 808HOTSHOTS? How many warnings/people yelling at this athlete does she need? After an entire year of participating in track meets, shouldn't she know the rules by now? I'm sorry this happened, but you are sounding like a parent that sees a child as never at fault and wanting to blame everybody else but the individual that was in the wrong.

It is an unfortunate incident, but making excuses for the kid, blaming other people, and claiming that this is poor sportsmanship because others weren't looking out for her is doing nothing to teach her a lesson. The only lesson she's learning by blaming others is that she doesn't need to be responsible for herself.

Don't you think the other runners and officials had their own issues to focus on? If Zoe was able to overlook her own uniform, don't you realize the other runners were probably having to focus on not making the same mistake?

Quit being a poor sport and help the kid learn from her mistake, don't make excuses for her.

2LeftFeet
Pom pom fluffer
Pom pom fluffer
Posts: 39
Joined: Tue Sep 29, 2009 11:51 am

Re: 2011 High School track and field

Post by 2LeftFeet »

hzy,
808HOTSHOTS also mentioned that she may have not heard the people in the crowd because of the noise, but either way it was an accidental violation, an honest mistake that would still have happened even after going thru an entire season of knowing the rules. I am not a parent, coach, athlete for HPA or in any way affiliated with them or the BIIF, but if I were on the track near that athlete, or even an athlete that was competing against her, I would have made sure that she didn't get disqualified for a uniform violation, that's good sportsmanship.
Throughout the season we have seen officials who have disqualified athletes after the fact, noticing an infraction about to take place and instead of providing a fair warning, waiting until they can disqualify the individual. The purpose of having officials is to ensure a fair and level field of competition, and not to abuse their power. The example this gives to the athletes is that they can win in an unfair manner if they do nothing and just a mistake by another athlete happen. Do you really want to live in a cuttthroat, dog-eat-dog society, where you or someone you care about is taken advantage of in a time of need, rather than helped and assisted?
In the 2007 State Meet on Maui, a Leilehua boy was disqualified from running in the 800m trials because he had hair coloring, but it was later overturned because it was successfully protested by his coach, since it was an unfair disqualification, and he was allowed to run later on in his own heat and qualified for the finals. There have been other disqualifications that were overturned or infractions that were not called because the athlete did not gain any advantage and disqualifying them would not serve any purpose, such as an athlete who runs out of their lane on the straight because of a stumble or hitting a hurdles, but does not interfere with anyone in the other lanes. Since there is not advantage from running outside the lane on a straight, those types of infractions weren't called, even though there were some protests by other coaches.

hzy
High-quality H20 provider
High-quality H20 provider
Posts: 127
Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2009 12:03 pm

Re: 2011 High School track and field

Post by hzy »

2LF- I am not going to defend the rules that you have pointed out that don't affect the competition but are still enforced. I totally agree that a kids shirt color doesn't affect his/her performance. What I don't agree with is that it was anybody else's responsibility but the athlete in question to follow the rules. It's not about "good sportsmanship" and I think you are unfairly labeling the other girls as poor sports because they did not mention something to Zoe about her shirt. Picture the situation:

You said she was the last athlete to run the 4x400. All the other girls that are involved in this race have either ran already and are completely exhausted (some collapsed on the infield), or waiting intently for their teammate to come with the baton in a hotly contested race. The last thing they are doing is noticing rules infractions by other runners- not because they are poor sports but because that is just the reality of the situation. Another thing is, have you ever thought the girls and officials thought she was going to throw the shirt off until she took off and it was too late? Also, it is not the job of the officials to be telling kids "you can't do this or that." Where was the coach when this was happening?

You telling me that you "would have made sure she didn't get disqualified" for this violation tells me you've either never participated in track, or you never participated at a high level. If you had, you'd know how intense a situation like this can be.

As for the officials, their job is to enforce the rules, not baby sit. The reason rules are enforced during the season is so that these things don't happen at the big meets. Do some officials abuse their power? Probably. Do they give some people an advantage by disqualifying better athletes in a time like this? Yes. Does this example about track relate to how I feel about the society I live in? Yes, because in society if I break a rule that doesn't hurt anybody, like jaywalking, I can get a ticket for breaking a rule.

It just really blows my mind the extent to which you are willing to defend this girl for her mistake, as well as how you are willing to vilify the other individuals that were around her by assuming they had malicious intent by not helping her.

XCfun
Pom pom fluffer
Pom pom fluffer
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 5:40 pm

Re: 2011 High School track and field

Post by XCfun »

Regarding the alternates list and a possible unfair "advantage" to the host team, it is my view that any "advantage" gained would likely be negligible.

Because the meets move each year, that advantage would not be for the same host team every year.

I think having only 15 kids race in the prelims for the boys 1500 is compelling evidence that we need to improve the current system.

Athletes that have considerations times should be allowed to race if there are openings due to late scratches.

n0t1but2
Pom pom fluffer
Pom pom fluffer
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2009 2:53 pm

Re: 2011 High School track and field

Post by n0t1but2 »

Hosting resposibilities are assigned to leagues and not teams, although within the league they can assign a specific team that duty, but as far as advantages, Oahu has 2 leagues, so they host twice as much, and KIF doesn't host, so they will not have the same advantage as other leagues.

808HOTSHOTS
Pom pom fluffer
Pom pom fluffer
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:41 pm

Re: 2011 High School track and field

Post by 808HOTSHOTS »

If anybody is interested........

http://www.808hotshots.com/2011HHSAATra ... -and-Field

This is only the finals. Enjoy

808HOTSHOTS
Pom pom fluffer
Pom pom fluffer
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:41 pm

Re: 2011 High School track and field

Post by 808HOTSHOTS »

If anybody is interested.......

http://www.808hotshots.com/Sports/WAC-C ... 30_5mj9TmN

Just a (very) little bit of action from the WAC Championships. Enjoy!

Post Reply