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I got a question. i know theres been complaints about officiating on this board. well i know there are officials on this board so ill ask. yesterday at a meet there was 3 of us jumping left. the standards were weird like they really didnt slide well so it took some force to move them, but nothin back breaking. So i take my first attempt at like 13 6 and i miss, so instead of the other guy going, the official tells me to go again so he dosnt have to move the standards. i really didnt get a good rest cause he only gave me a minute and i would have more than that if he let the other two jump. would any official on here do that? it wasnt to move the meet along there was only 3 left and it was simply so he wouldnt have to do any work.

I've gone through the same thing, people are lazy, and even some like to cheat, theres this coach from a high school in Oklahoma that seems to have this thing for cheating for his team and cheating everyone else out...dont get me wrong, he seems to be a good coach, probably one of the best in the state currently, but thata just too scandalous

You have a valid point there.

NFHS Rule 7, Section 2, Article 1: The order in which competitors take their first trials shall be determined by lot or by the games committee. If weather or other conditions might result in unfairness to any competitor, the referee may alter the established order of trials.

Article 15: Each competitor is allowed a trial in the order in which names are drawn or assigned by the games committee and is granted a maximum of three trials at any one height. The competitor may use all thre trials or elect to pass any one of them.

By making you have to take your jumps successively, it was unfair to you because you weren't getting enough rest, and unfair to the other guy because he was having to wait longer and perhaps tightening up/cooling down between attempts.

I see it all the time down here in Texas, where no-nothing officials offer to give each kid all 3 jumps in a row, and get away with it! It pisses me off for the reasons above.

Then, they won't let us put up a bungee in warmups - still haven't found a rule against that.

Even had an official say we couldn't tape down a tape measure alongside the runway last weekend.

Some officials just like to make their own rules.

it always happens unfortunately. i just had a past meet and the official did the same thing by not letting me have a rest after doin the 800m. but i thought "oh well." and some days u get really crappy officials, some days, u get officials that acutally do care about ur jumps and stuff.
our team was lucky to have all home meets. so we had this one official for pv all the time qho was really courteous to us when we had other events or just tired would let us wait.

next time there's a clueless official.. just kick him in the nuts.. really hard.. so they have to find a new official.. then warn the new guy.. "hey".. (point at the last guy gasping).. "us here use the rules from the rule book, not your made up rules".. it worked for me

blazerunner121 wrote:i just had a past meet and the official did the same thing by not letting me have a rest after doin the 800m. but i thought "oh well." and some days u get really crappy officials, some days, u get officials that acutally do care about ur jumps and stuff.
our team was lucky to have all home meets. so we had this one official for pv all the time qho was really courteous to us when we had other events or just tired would let us wait.

That's probably more a matter of not wanting the competition to take all day. If you are trying to get a whole girls and guys competition done in the span of a track meet, it can be frustrating half of the kids are doing other events and leave for a long time.

Well, I officiate alot of meets, so I will be on my best behaviour from now on so I don't get kicked in the nuts. But just in case some of you guys here in Texas get the urge to do that to me bring a lunch, I still got a little fight left in me. The official that had you jump out of turn was wrong. If the equipment was not functioning properly, it should have been taken care of before the competition began. Maintenance crews or the official should have made the sure the standards zeroed out, moved smoothly and to the legal requirements before competition began. If you are in the same situation again, politely deny the request to jump, that you will take your attempt in order so as not to affect the next athlete in line. You will show good sportsmanship and save yourself on recovery time. The athlete that was excused to run the 800 and then have to return to the vault, that's a tricky one. The rules are a little ambiguous on allowing recovery time, they let the games committee set those things so they will differ from meet to meet. Pretty much, expect to come back and join in the competition where ever the bar is and with little rest, remember there are other athletes waiting for their attempts also.

[quote="lonestar"]

NFHS Rule 7, Section 2, Article 1: The order in which competitors take their first trials shall be determined by lot or by the games committee. If weather or other conditions might result in unfairness to any competitor, the referee may alter the established order of trials.

Article 15: Each competitor is allowed a trial in the order in which names are drawn or assigned by the games committee and is granted a maximum of three trials at any one height. The competitor may use all thre trials or elect to pass any one of them.

By making you have to take your jumps successively, it was unfair to you because you weren't getting enough rest, and unfair to the other guy because he was having to wait longer and perhaps tightening up/cooling down between attempts.

I see it all the time down here in Texas, where no-nothing officials offer to give each kid all 3 jumps in a row, and get away with it! It pisses me off for the reasons above.

Then, they won't let us put up a bungee in warmups - still haven't found a rule against that.

Even had an official say we couldn't tape down a tape measure alongside the runway last weekend.


Well, there's the actual rules and then there's "meet management" . . . And I've seen some really poor officiating this year. However, there are some of us who try to do a good job, given I usually start when the meet starts and end after the meet ends to get the guys and gals through. Try bringing us water and food occasionally. We are usually less cranky when you feed us. Anyways:

1. The standards not moving well are no excuse for the jumping order. As it was posted earlier, clean, lube, and otherwise make ready BEFORE the meet.
2. The official is supposed to ask if you WANT to take your next trial, not demand it. The choice is the athletes, especially when you are down to the last "less than four competetiors" when your time between jumps increases automatically.
3. I have always worked around jumpers that need to go do another event, because running events take priority over field events, and it's usually only an issue when the athlete doesn't come back in the alloted time after the race. Even so, I give them a breather when they look like they need it. It's better to be safer than sorrier in the long run. How long before reporting back? 5 minutes after the race. How long can you rest before re-engaging in the event? 10 minutes. Read the whole rulebook, not just PV. Will meet management try to hurry things along? Yup. Do all officials read the rules and understand them? Nope. When in doubt, politely get your coach involved so you don't get DQ'ed by somebody who doesn't know or care about the rulebook.
4. You can't have ANY crossbar up prior to competetion. bungee or otherwise. I've seen schools do this for the "home team" prior to the meet starting and it's an unfair advantage, and there is a rule. It just doesn't say "bungee".
5. I wish all runways would be marked permanently, but some school would mark it wrong on purpose just like the way the standards are "zeroed" funny at some schools. I would have no objection to having a tape out along the runway as long as I put it there, and was sure it was correct.

Never kick an offical in the nuts, because you might just make them angry, and you won't like me when I'm angry. Just be respectful, and help me correct my misbehavior . . .

vaultdad wrote:Well, there's the actual rules and then there's "meet management" . . . And I've seen some really poor officiating this year. However, there are some of us who try to do a good job, given I usually start when the meet starts and end after the meet ends to get the guys and gals through. Try bringing us water and food occasionally. We are usually less cranky when you feed us. Anyways:

2. The official is supposed to ask if you WANT to take your next trial, not demand it. The choice is the athletes, especially when you are down to the last "less than four competetiors" when your time between jumps increases automatically.

Since when is this an option? I can't find that in the rulebook. I defer back to Article 15. The only time I've ever seen the order on the scoresheet changed is for an athlete needing to go participate in another event. Or unless we're going 5-alive.

3. I have always worked around jumpers that need to go do another event, because running events take priority over field events, and it's usually only an issue when the athlete doesn't come back in the alloted time after the race. Even so, I give them a breather when they look like they need it. It's better to be safer than sorrier in the long run. How long before reporting back? 5 minutes after the race. How long can you rest before re-engaging in the event? 10 minutes. Read the whole rulebook, not just PV. Will meet management try to hurry things along? Yup. Do all officials read the rules and understand them? Nope. When in doubt, politely get your coach involved so you don't get DQ'ed by somebody who doesn't know or care about the rulebook.

Can you point out where in the rulebook it states the 5 and 10 minutes you mentioned?

4. You can't have ANY crossbar up prior to competetion. bungee or otherwise. I've seen schools do this for the "home team" prior to the meet starting and it's an unfair advantage, and there is a rule. It just doesn't say "bungee".

Where in the rulebook is that stated? The only way it would be an unfair advantage is if the home school didn't allow the other schools to put it up and the home school did. If everyone could put it up, how is that unfair? A bungee is not a crossbar - the way it's generally understood is that if it isn't stated, then it's permissable.

Im wondering some of the same things as Kris..................i have read the rule book cover to cover and do so each yr.............NOW some states (IL is notorious for this) have their own "rules" and if your lucky they actually print them, in IL they do not they just spread it by word of mouth.

Wisc actually required you to take second attempt if you miss first - then had option!!!! to take third or wait - I tend to check and verify before a meet I work - because there are so many diffent sets of Rules -

ok, i was thinking once about that whole take two attempts in a row thing that some meets do and it is definately not more efficient.
people argue that it can be more efficient since there would be less standard moves, but since it was a miss, that means that there should possibly be an adjustment and that might mean a standards move. also, now the athlete is more likely to use up more of the time allotted to him on the runway. i think this is 90 seconds in high school and 60 in college.