The OATCCC made two significant proposals to the OHSAA that would affect the 2011 tournament and beyond. Part of the proposal process is to report back to the OHSAA the perceptions and opinions of the membership of our association before a motion is made to accept or deny the proposal. In October, our membership was surveyed for their perceptions and opinions for the two proposals. A summary of that information follows here.
Qualifying Procedures for Regional and State Meet Running Events that Require Semifinals
Historically, the use of finish place has been used to determine the finalists for individual running events. This head to head competition format was the only fair way to qualify athletes on from the semifinals to the finals. With the inclusion of electronic timing systems, other options have become available to fairly qualify athletes by using time or a combination of place and time. Both the OHSAA and the OATCCC were reluctant to give up the rich tradition of head to head competition in some format in the OHSAA tournament so using the top eight times as the sole qualifying standard was excluded as an option.
As an example, in the 2010 tournament, there were 30 opportunities for a slower athlete to qualify to the finals from one of the semifinal heats by placing in the top four spots of their heat. There were 14 instances involving 16 athletes where the faster athletes did not qualify based on their heat assignments while the slower athletes from the other heat took positions in the finals. That shows that about one-half of the time, the faster athletes did not make the finals and their teams lost potential points in the competition.
The survey revealed that our association membership was overwhelmingly in favor of using a combination of finish place and time to maintain a balance of head to head competition while completing the field with the best athletes by using time. Based on membership responses, we proposed that in the running events that required semifinal heats that:
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At the Regional tournaments, the top two finishers in each heat automatically qualify for the finals. Then the next four fastest finishers will qualify to the finals regardless of which semifinal heat or their finish place in that heat.
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At the State tournament, the top two finishers in each heat automatically qualify for the finals. Then the next five fastest finishers will qualify to the finals regardless of which semifinal heat or their finish place in that heat. The NFHS rules indicate that there should be one more competitor in the finals than there are places. At the State tournament there are nine lanes available to satisfy this NFHS rule and thus, five athletes should qualify to finals based on time.
The OHSAA Board of Directors motioned to accept this proposal at their December 9, 2010 meeting and it passed.
Adding the Triple Jump to the Tournament Event List
Both in the 2008 and again in the 2010 membership surveys, our membership has supported by majority the addition of the triple jump to the state meet event list. With 43 states already competing this event we know that it is possible to do so effectively. However, the OHSAA expressed concerns regarding changes in the length of the meet. Our association members had a similar concern as well as additional concerns with facilities, coaching, officiating and the balance of events. The surveys indicated that while the majority of the membership believed that these concerns would not surface as genuine issues if the event were added, too many of our members still believed they would.
The OATCCC asked the OHSAA to table the triple jump proposal at this time. The OATCCC will conduct a season of education for the triple jump and bring back the proposal for 2012 if our membership believes the event will be a positive change at that time. Plans to date include the following:
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Adding triple jump sessions at the 2011 OATCCC clinic. Boo Schexnayder, former LSU coach, will provide instruction on the event at this year’s clinic.
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Attend the official’s state clinic to discuss officiating the event.
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Continue with the event in the Indoor Championships.
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Ask our membership to add the event to their invitational meets.
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Review our membership’s perceptions and opinions in June, just after the state meet.
The OHSAA Board of Directors accepted tabling this proposal at their December 9, 2010 meeting and with the caveat that it would return in 2011 given our memberships blessing.
As a member of the OATCCC you should provide your commentary regarding the triple jump in June to your district representative as well as complete the survey sent to you in June. The survey will be sent to the membership using the email address you will have provided on the membership application.