MECTA TRACK and FIELD RULES Proposed Revisions October 2006

MECTA TRACK AND FIELD RULES – revised for 2012 season

1. Participant Eligibility MECTA Member teams may include the following individuals:

a. Regular employees, defined as: 1. One who is on the Member’s payroll a minimum of twenty (20) hours per week, or 2. One who is eligible for and receives the benefits programs provided by the Member to its employees as part of their employment agreement, or 3. One who owns and directs the activities of a Member, or 4. One who has retired from a Member, or 5. Contractors and consultants whose primary work has been with the Member for at least forty-five (45) days prior to a meet.

b. Spouses or domestic partners of regular employees, A domestic partner is defined as an adult of the same or opposite sex who has an emotional, physical and financial relationship with you, similar to a spouse, as evidenced by the following facts: - you and your domestic partner share financial responsibility for a joint household and intend to continue an exclusive relationship indefinitely; - you and your domestic partner share a residence and have done so for at least six (6) months; - neither you nor your domestic partner are married to, or legally separated from anyone else; - you and your domestic partner are not related to one another by blood closer than would bar marriage; and - neither you nor your domestic partner is a domestic partner of anyone else.

c. Adult children (and their spouses or domestic partners) of regular employees,

d. Parents of a. or b.,

e. Alumni (as outlined in the MECTA Draft rules), defined as: - An individual no longer employed by the Member who has competed for the Member team as a regular employee for at least two (2) years.

f. Draftees (as outlined in the MECTA Draft rules.)

In the event that an individual meets the eligibility requirements for more than one team, the team for which the individual will compete will be decided as follows: - If the individual’s primary place of employment fields a team, the individual must compete for that team. - If the individual’s primary place of employment does NOT field a team, the individual may choose (from the eligible teams with approval of that team’s captain) for which team to compete.

An individual need not be a resident of Maine to compete in MECTA as long as he or she meets the eligibility requirements listed in a. through f. of this section.

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2. Age Groups All events will be scored separately by gender and age within the following age groups:

Open ages 18-29 Bronze Veteran ages 70-79 Submaster ages 30-39 Silver Veteran ages 80-89 Master ages 40-49 Gold Veteran ages 90-99 Senior ages 50-59 Platinum Veteran ages 100 and over Veteran ages 60-69

A competitor’s age is determined by subtracting the competitor’s birth year from the year of competition (e.g. 2012 - 1960 = age of 52.)

A competitor must compete in the proper age group in all individual events. Also, men will compete in men’s events only. Women will compete in women’s events only with the exception of relays (see rule 8, Relays.)

3. Scoring a. Individual and relay scoring: - Six places will score in all events including relays (10-8-6-4-2-1.) - Points for tied places will be determined by adding points for the contested places and dividing by the number of competitors tied (e.g. two people tying for third would receive 5 points each [(6+4)/2].)

b. Team scores will be sorted in the following size divisions: - Division I = Member teams with more than 1000 employees - Division II = Member teams with 101 to 1000 employees - Division III = Member teams with 1 to 100 employees Note: A Member team with employees outside the State of Maine will determine its division by adding employee totals from each state represented on the Member’s roster.

4. Rosters Each team captain must submit an initial roster no later than April 30. During the season, any additions to the roster must be received at least 48 hours prior to the meet. Rosters must include first and last name, gender, and birth year for all participants. Individuals not listed on the roster will not be allowed to compete.

5. Uniforms and Numbers All competitors must wear a uniform jersey, t-shirt or singlet that clearly identifies that competitor as a member of their team by being of the same basic color and design as their teammates. Each competitor will be issued a number for the season, which must be worn on the front of the uniform during competition.

Athletes not wearing proper uniform and/or competing with an incorrect or missing number will be disqualified from the running event or foul the trial in a field event while wearing the improper uniform unless granted permission by the meet director prior to the start of the meet.

Spiked shoes may be worn, as allowed by the track facility. The spike length may be a maximum ¼ inch unless a shorter length is required by the track facility.

6. Field Events a. Discus, Shot Put, Turbo Jav - These events will be scored on the longest of three trials. - Turbo javs must be “Long Tom” models (3’ 6” long.) - The penalty for throwing an implement of lighter weight than that required by an athlete’s gender and age will be a foul of any trials thrown with the lighter weight. - Competitors’ implements will weigh:

MEN Shot Put Discus Turbo Jav WOMEN Shot Put Discus Turbo Jav 18-49 16 lb. 2 kg 600 g 18-49 4 kg 1 kg 500 g 50-59 6 kg 1.5 kg 600 g 50+ 3 kg 1 kg 500 g 60-69 5 kg 1 kg 600 g 70+ 4 kg 1 kg 600 g

b. Long Jump - The long jump will be scored on the longest of three jumps. - When the nearest line to the pit is still too far away for an athlete to jump safely, a taped or chalked line, closer to the pit, may be used. The jumper is responsible for informing the long jump official from which mark he or she will be jumping. c. High Jump - The high jump will start at 3’ 2” for all jumpers, unless a different height is agreed to by all competitors. - A jumper may pass heights and should inform the high jump official of his or her wish to pass as soon as possible. - A jumper will be eliminated when he or she fails in three consecutive trials. - The high jump will be scored by the last height successfully cleared. Ties will be broken by awarding the higher place to the jumper with fewer misses at the last height cleared. If a tie still remains, the higher place will be awarded to the jumper with fewer total misses at all heights. If a tie still remains, the jumpers will remain tied.

7. Running Events a. Races will be run as sections on time (if more than one section is necessary.) b. Age groups and/or men and women may be combined at the discretion of the clerk depending on the number of participants in each group. Combined sections still score separately by gender and age. c. One false start will be allowed for an individual (or relay team) in all races, but a second false start will result in disqualification of the individual (or relay team.) d. Starting blocks may only be used when starting races (or opening legs of relays) 400 meters or less provided that blocks are available to all who wish to use them. e. 100m dash, 200m dash, 400m dash - These races will be run in lanes. Athletes must remain in the assigned lane. f. 800m run, 1600m run, 3200m run - These races will use a curved start. Athletes may “cut in.” g. 5k road race - One race will combine men and women of all ages. - Scoring is still separated by gender and age.

7. Running Events (continued) h. 55m hurdles - This race will start at the 100m starting line for all women, and men age 50 and over. It will start at the 110m starting line for men under age 50. - A competitor must clear five hurdles in his or her lane. - Hurdle height will be 30” for all races. - Spacing of the hurdles will be as follows:

Distance Distance Standard Division between to first hurdle markings hurdles M18-49 45 ft. 30 ft. 110m M50-69 13 m 8.5 m 100m M70+ 12 m 7 m none W18-39 13 m 8.5 m 100m W40-49 12 m 8 m none W50+ 12 m 7 m none

- One should inspect his or her lane to confirm hurdle spacing is correct.

8. Relays a. Relay legs of less than 400 meters may use a ten meter fly (acceleration) zone. The baton must still be passed within the marked exchange (take-over) zone. b. Teams may enter one relay team per age group for both men and women in the following relays: - 4x100m relay, 4x400m relay - Runners from different age groups may combine to form relay teams. - The youngest runner competing determines the age group of the relay team. - Women may compete on men’s relay teams. Under no circumstances can men compete on women’s relay teams. - Competitors may compete on only one relay team in each event. (e.g. A 47 year old man cannot compete on both the open 4x100m relay and the master 4x100m relay.) c. Teams may enter one relay team per race in the following relays: - 4 x 200m relay - Four people which must include at least one woman AND at least one master that cannot be the same person.

- Throwers’ relay (100m-200m-100m) - Three people which must include at least one woman AND all runners must have competed (or will compete) in the shot put and/or discus in the meet.

- 3 lap sprint relay (200m-200m-400m-400m) - Four people which must include at least one woman.

- Pyramid relay (400m-800m-1200m-800m-400m) - Five people which must include at least two women. 9. Order of Events Page 4 of 7 MECTA TRACK AND FIELD RULES – revised for 2012 season

a. The order of events for each meet, as well as which events will be offered in each meet, will be decided by the captains with input from the meet director at least 24 hours before the scheduled (or rescheduled) date of the meet. b. Women’s sections of running events will be held first (in reverse order of age group) followed by the men’s sections (in reverse order of age group.) Age groups may run out of order at the discretion of the clerk due to the number of participants in each group. c. The shot put and discus will be grouped into flights of six to eight competitors. It is suggested that all men compete in one event first and all women compete in the other event first. d. Flights will not be used in the jumping events or the turbo jav. e. Events will be closed to entries following final call for running events and following an announcement of closure for field events. In most cases, field events should remain open until the end of the meet.

10. Participation Limit Each competitor may enter a maximum of five events per meet, with relays counting as one- half (½) an event (e.g. A competitor may enter five individual events OR four individual events and two relays OR three individual events and four relays.)

The penalty for exceeding the event limit will be disqualification from any and all events that exceed the limit in reverse order of participation (i.e. the last event(s) in which the participant competed.) In order to determine the order of participation, a competitor will have been considered to have competed in an event when: - The competitor has taken at least one attempt in a field event, or - The competitor has started a race (legally or illegally), or - The competitor has received (or attempted to receive) the baton in a relay race.

11. Officials The following officials will administer the MECTA track meets: Meet Director, whose duties will be to: - secure meet locations and confirm facility readiness, - hire all officials, - direct all activities required for the successful operation of the meets, - serve as meet referee, and - carry out any and all other duties deemed necessary by the captains for the organization and execution of the MECTA track meets; starter, head timer/finish judge, clerk(s), field event judges, timers/finish judges, scorer, announcer, and other officials deemed necessary by the Meet Director.

Note: In the event that all official positions can not be filled at a meet, positions will be eliminated, as needed, in this order: 1. second clerk, 2. announcer, and 3. field event helpers (who would be replaced by event participants waiting to compete.)

12. Disqualification Should a competitor be disqualified from an event, the meet director will report the decision to the competitor’s team captain. The captain will then be responsible for reporting the disqualification to the competitor. The meet director will only go to the competitor to clear up a discrepancy or to ensure that the correct competitor is being disqualified. 13. Jury of Appeal Page 5 of 7 MECTA TRACK AND FIELD RULES – revised for 2012 season

Team captains may bring any matters that develop during the track meet to the meet director’s attention for clarification or to dispute a rule interpretation. If the meet director cannot resolve the issue and the issue deals with an alleged misapplication of the rules, the captain may call a Jury of Appeal. The meet director will call, through the announcer, the Jury of Appeal to the infield immediately and present the issue. The captain requesting the Jury shall not be present during this meeting. The meet director will present the results to the affected captain(s) upon completion of the meeting.

The members of the Jury of Appeal should be selected prior to the first meet of the outdoor season, should be knowledgeable of all MECTA track rules and By-laws, and should include: - the President of MECTA or, in his/her absence or involvement, the Vice-President, - a captain representing a Division I Member team, and - a captain representing a Division II Member team. The President, or in his/her absence, the Vice-President will appoint a replacement if a captain on the Jury is absent or involved in the issue.

Issues should be brought to the meet director’s attention in a timely manner. If the dispute involves a disqualification, the captain must report the protest in writing to the meet director within 30 minutes of being informed of the disqualification.

14. Awards a. Ribbons will be awarded for the top six places in each age group for both men and women. b. Trophies will be awarded to the first and second place teams in each Division in the MECTA State Championship. c. The Secretary will accept nominations for and distribute a nomination list to the captains for the following awards: Tim Smith Award, which will be presented to the outstanding distance runner of the season. Runners competing in the 800m, 1600m, 3200m, and 5k events are eligible. This award is presented in memory of Tim Smith, a Unum employee who died in 1987. MECTA Captain’s Award, which will be presented to the individual who best: - represents the spirit of wellness and participation, - makes significant contributions to the successful operation of the team, - has been a captain and/or MECTA member for at least two years, - serves as a role model for other team and MECTA members, - trains to participate at a personal competitive level, - participates in at least 75% of MECTA meets, and - participates in multiple events.

Peter Cooley Award, which will be presented to the individual, other than a captain, who best meets the same criteria outlined in the MECTA Captain’s Award. This awarded is presented in memory of Peter Cooley, an Idexx employee and runner, who died in the spring of 2004 during an ascent of Mt. Rainier in Washington state.

The captains will meet to discuss the nominees and vote. The awards may or may not be presented at a MECTA meet.

15. Indoor Track Meets Page 6 of 7 MECTA TRACK AND FIELD RULES – revised for 2012 season

In the event that MECTA hosts an indoor meet or meets, the games committee will decide if any indoor track specific rules will be necessary. Also, the games committee will decide which rules listed here will carry over to an indoor track meet.

Any performance in an indoor track meet that would eclipse a current MECTA outdoor track and field record will not be considered an outdoor track and field record.

16. Other Any rules not covered by these MECTA Track and Field rules, the MECTA By-laws, or the MECTA Draft rules are those set down in the USATF Competition Rules.