Region One Track and Field Qualifying Procedure

Region One Track and Field will again use the system of qualifying athletes into the championship meet that has been used the last four years, with some changes because of an 8-lane track. It incorporates a combination of automatic entries and the next best marks, up to a total of 24 per event. This will give athletes a goal to shoot for throughout the season as well as giving them an incentive to try an event where they may have a better chance of qualifying; i.e. the 300 hurdles instead of sticking with the 100m dash all year. For this system to work, we need the cooperation of each coach to update and send in the marks for their athletes every week.
Implementation
A ranking system for all events will be kept throughout the season. The attachment for posting your athletes for ranking purposes is included. Coaches must update and e-mail an attachment with their athletes’ marks each Monday in the Word format so they can be easily downloaded, sorted and updated. Updated rankings will then be sent to each coach by Monday evening (hopefully).
The top 24 marks at the end of the regular season will automatically qualify for the Region One Championships. If an athlete is in the top 24 in an event, and the coach chooses not to have them compete, the next best mark (from any school) would move into the field.
The automatic qualifying marks are mostly to motivate the kids. It gives them a mark to shoot for- and it would definitely put them in the top 24 in their event anyway.
At the Seeding Meeting, each school will have the option of adding one additional "wildcard" entry per event. That athlete must come from the ranked list at the end of the season. No one may be added who has not competed in the event at least once during the regular season. This ensures the integrity of the meet and will keep the maximum number of athletes at 32 per event.
Entering the Data
Please use the exact format on the attachment titled "RegionRank.temp. The tab settings, etc., will make it easy to download and sort. Save it to a disk (preferably in Word) and use that format to send me your weekly rankings.
Use the event codes as included in this mailing. The wrong code will result in an improper ranking.
You do not need to enter athletes in any particular order. If the correct codes are used, they will be sorted correctly.
You do not have to include all athletes. You may want to only include those you feel will be ranked. However, an athlete needs to be ranked (even if ranked 101st) to be added as a "wildcard" at the Region Championships.
Each week, you will only have to change athletes that improve in their event, or compete in a new one. Just update your list. Make sure you change the date of the meet.
Please use the following procedures when entering the marks:
Enter Field Events as Follows (no spaces between numbers)
12'09.25 NOT 12'9 1/4
Running Events (no spaces between numbers)
All marks submitted for races of 300 meters and shorter must be F.A.T. Handheld times for events 400 meters and longer must be submitted according to the rule book. Times are rounded up to the next 1/10th of a second, then .14 added (thus a 51.91 handheld becomes 52.14).
While the rankings will have no bearing on the relays entered at Region, it may be good for the kids to see them ranked. Submit relay times if you so desire.
E-mail the data as an attachment to: rbuhrley@dsdmail.net
This may be a little bit of a pain. However, seems to create some interest and enthusiasm in the athletes. Please keep things current.