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For Sac Joaquin Section Track and Field Bylaws follow this link - SJS Track and Field Bylaws.  For C.I.F. State Bylaws follow this link - http://www.cifstate.org/Governance/bylaws.htm


Adopted 9-12-02

Capital Athletic League (C.A.L.) ARTICLE XVIII

Track and Field By Laws

1.    Practice may begin on February tenth.

2.    Center league meets are scheduled on Wednesday at 3:00 pm before daylight savings and 3:30 pm after (unless stipulated otherwise on the schedule), during standard time.

3.    There will be a Frosh/Soph Boys, Frosh/Soph Girls, Varsity Girls, and a Varsity Boys division in all league meets.

4.     Frosh/Soph athletes once moved into varsity competition must compete at the varsity level in all remaining CAL league meets.

5.    Each athlete must wear the school uniform and colors at all meets. Any participant dressed in inappropriate attire will be disqualified from the competition for the meet.

6.    The League Championships will be determined by teams receiving championship points for wins/losses in the center and league finals meets. Scoring shall be to 6 places, and scored 10 (1st), 8 (2nd), 6 (3rd), 4 (4th), 2 (5th), 1 (6th).

7.    4 jumps and 4 throws in center meets and 3 jumps and 3 throws with the top 7 going to finals for three more jumps/throws in the league finals. In horizontal jumps athletes must be signed in by the start of the Frosh/Soph 400 relay. The jumps must finish by the start of Frosh/Soph 1600 relay.

8.    There shall be no limitations on the numbers of entrants per event in league meets. When multiple heats are employed in meets, results of all heats will be considered for scoring purposes.

9.    All league meets, including league finals, shall use an official starter.

10.  Collectively, each C.A.L. school is to provide officials for all center meets and the league finals.  The C.A.L. Track Committee will determine each schools officiating assignments.

11.  The order of events in all CAL meets will follow the section format recommendations.

12.  Each team will be allowed to participate in a total of 20 meets.  Excluding Section Divisional Meets, Section Masters Meets and the State Meets.

Section I. Capital Athletic League Track Representative.

A.  Selection

1.  The CAL representative will be determined by the CAL coaches.

Section II.  Capital Athletic League Track Committee

A.  Members

1.   The head track coach of each school is a voting member of the Cal track committee (head boys coach and head girls coach).

2.   Assistant coaches may attend meetings but will not be allowed to vote unless representing the head coach.

3.   In the absence of a voting member, an assistant coach may vote his proxy.

4.   Proxy votes, other than through assistant coaches, will be allowed only through the league representative.

5.   NOTE: As coaches we need to make a concerted effort to work together, rather than in opposition to each other.

  B.    Voting regulations

1.  Ballots will be taken by hand count.

2.  A simple majority is required to pass any legislation.

3.   Votes taken by telephone are considered valid when conducted by the league representative.

  C.   Meetings

1.  There will be a CAL Track Committee meeting when needed.

2.   There will be a general meeting prior to the start of track season.

  D.   Duties of the CAL Track Committee

1.  To act as the governing body, at the discretion and approval of the CAL Athletic Council, of the track and field competition in the Capital Athletic League.

a.  To establish rules and guidelines for insuring uniform and consistent competition through out the league.

b.  To oversee the enforcement of the CAL rules.

2. To serve as a jury of appeals for the CAL Conference Meet.

Section III. Determination of CAL Team Champion

A.  The CAL team championship will be determined by a center meet / league finals point system format.  Teams will receive one (1) point for each win in a center meet and two (2) points for each win at the league finals.  The points earned for league wins shall be called championship points.  The team that has accumulated the most championship points will be league champion.

B.  Center meets and league finals will be scored to six (6) places and scored 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1.

C.  In the event of a tie for first place a co-championship (or however many teams are tied) will be awarded.  There will be no system established for breaking the tie.

D.  After the CAL League Finals are completed, league championship team plaques will be awarded to the teams in each division scoring the highest number of championship points in center meet and league finals competition.

1.  In the event of a tie for first place the plaque will be duplicated. In case of a multiple tie the plaque will be duplicated.

2.  Varsity Athletes who win an individual event(s) at the league finals will be automatically selected to the “CAL Track and Field All League Team".

3.  One (1) varsity boy and one (1) varsity girl will receive a CAL Most Valuable Athlete Award (plaque) to be determined by a vote from the league’s head coaches.  The vote will be taken after the league finals and be based on the athlete’s performance in the CAL center meets and CAL finals.  Other achievements such as the athlete’s best marks/times may be taken into account.

Section IV.  Schedule, Conduct, and Organization of CAL Center Meets

A.    Jury of Appeals

1.  A jury of appeals, composed of the CAL Track Committee with the league representative as chairman, will rule on all disputes, either during or directly following the center meet. The jury of appeals will have no authority after completion of the CAL center meet on any matter not introduced before, or immediately following in the case of the final event, completion of the meet.

2.  The purpose of the jury of appeals is to rectify any situation which it feels does not meet the stated purpose of the CAL center meet.

B.   The CAL center meet schedule will be adopted by the CAL track committee. Center meet dates will be based on the league finals date allowing two to three weeks between each center meet and between the last center meet and the league finals.

C.  Meet Conduct

1.  CAL league meets will start at 3:00 pm before daylight saving and 3:30 pm after.

2.  No team shall be penalized for mechanical failures by these rules. i.e. team bus breaks down en-route to the meet, starting gun jams etc. Teams traveling to meets by private cars cannot expect the meet to be held up because a few individuals do not arrive on time.

3.  The first six finishers in each event will count in the scoring, the scoring will be (10-8-6-4-2-1).

4.  A score will be kept in all four divisions.

a.  The 4 divisions shall be: 1. Varsity boys 2. Varsity Girls 3. Frosh/Soph boys 4. Frosh/Soph girls

      5.  The order of events shall be determined by the Sac-Joaquin Section. Refer to handbook.

      6.  Starting heights shall be as follows for center meets.

 

 

High Jump

Pole Vault

 

 

Frosh/Soph girls

4’ 0”

6’ 0”

 

 

Frosh/Soph boys

4’ 6”

8’ 0”

 

 

Varsity Girls

4’ 0”

7’ 0”

 

 

Varsity Boys

5’ 0”

9’ 0”

 

7.  4 jumps and 4 throws will be allowed in center meets with the horizontal jumps (long jump and triple jump) having  “open pits” for all divisions.

8.  In horizontal jumps athletes must be signed in by the start of the Frosh/Soph 400 relay. The Jumps must finish by the start of Frosh/Soph 1600 relay.  For all other events athletes must be checked in no later then ten (10) minutes after the third call for the event.

9.  There will be no restriction to the number of athletes entered in each event from each school.

10.  If a seeding meeting is held prior to a center meet, the meeting place, date, and time will be determined by the league representative. Seeding will be done according to the Sac-Joaquin Track Handbook.

D.  Officials

1. The following officials are necessary for conduct of every center meet. The CAL Track Committee has the responsibility to assure that these officials are available at the meet.

a. Starters

1.  The starter shall be paid according to the current schedule of the Nev-Cal starters association.

b.  Referee-CAL league representative, jury of appeals (head coaches)

c.  Timers and Judges

1.  There should be a head finish judge.

d.  Turn judges and relay exchange judges.

e.  Clerk of the course.

f.   Announcer

g.  Scorekeeper

h.  Hurdle crew and starting block crew all schools and coaches

i.   Head official for each field event (usually-coaches).

j.   Gate-Host school will receive the gate-to cover meet expenses.

E.  Meet Location

1.  The site of the CAL League Finals shall be determined by the CAL track committee.

a.  The site must have adequate seating facilities and a minimum of eight lanes available in each event.

F.   Procedure for handling rainouts:

1.  In the event of inclement weather making the track and field facilities too dangerous for competition the league representative will notify all head coaches prior to the meet.

2. The meet must be rescheduled. The following formula will be used to reschedule postponed meets.

a.  By mutual agreement all of the head coaches the meet may be rescheduled at any date convenient to all CAL schools.

b.  The meet will be held the following date. If the meet site is still not available the following order takes precedence:

1.  A rain out week prior to league meet will be scheduled.

3.  In the event of a rain out athletes will be allowed to run in any rescheduled meet in the classification that they would have run had the meet been postponed. This would apply even if an athlete has been raised into a higher classification in a subsequent meet. (i.e., if the first meet of the year is rained out and rescheduled after the season, the meet will still be considered the first meet of the year)

4.  As a general policy statement in determining dates for rescheduling rainouts, CAL center meets must take precedence over invitational meets.

5.  If a rain out occurs during a meet the events in progress will be restarted and any completed events will carry over.

Section V. Organization & Conduct of the CAL League Finals

A.  The two purposes of the CAL League Finals are as follows:

1.  To be the final determiner of the CAL team championship.

2.  To determine the best qualifier from the CAL to the sub-section.

a. The qualifiers may be determined in any manner the League desires.

B.    Jury of Appeals

1.  A jury of appeals, composed of the CAL Track Committee with the league representative as chairman, will rule on all disputes, either during or directly following the meet. The jury of appeals will have no authority after completion of the CAL finals on any matter not introduced before, or immediately following in the case of the final event, completion of the meet.

2.  The purpose of the jury of appeals is to rectify any situation which it feels does not meet the stated purpose of the CAL league finals meet.

a.     The jury may reinstate an athlete who has been disqualified during the trials if unusual circumstances exist, providing that no athlete who qualified for the finals as a result of that disqualification is displaced and that the athlete who was disqualified does not figure in the team scoring.

b.   If it appears the intent of the disqualified athlete was to gain an advantage or if his foul was intentional and/or malicious the athlete must not be reinstated.

c.     Athletes who are sick or injured in the trials, or are unable to participate in the trials because the are sick or injured, may be seeded into the finals with the approval of the jury of appeals.

1.  Only athletes with a strong possibility of qualifying for the sub-section should be considered.

2.  Athletes who are seeded into the finals will be assigned to least desirable lanes, or least desirable positions in the field events.

      C.  Meet Director

1.  The meet director and the assistant meet director will be selected on a rotating basis with responsibilities being assigned to the individual schools.

2.  Each school will be responsible for 1 field event, and 2 timers.

      D.  Meet Conduct

1.  A one day meet with trials beginning at 3:00 P.M. The week of the meet will be determined by the SAC-JOAQUIN SUB-Section and Section meet dates.

2.  There will be trials in the races/events that are necessary.

3.  A total of nine finalists, whenever possible, will be selected to the finals in each event, excluding those ceded to the finals by a jury of appeals.

4.  The first six finishers in each event will count in the scoring, the scoring will be (10-8-6-4-2-1).

a. The first six (6) places at the CAL League Finals will receive medals in all divisions.

5.  A score will be kept in all four divisions.

a.  The 4 divisions shall be: 1. Varsity boys 2. Varsity Girls 3. Frosh/Soph boys 4. Frosh/Soph girls

6.  It will be the responsibility of the meet director to order the medals for the league meet. (Care should be taken to order the medals early enough to allow time for making changes in the event of an error)

7.  There will be no restriction to the number of athletes entered in each event from each school.

8.  If a seeding meeting is held prior to the league finals meet, the meeting place, date, and time will be determined by the meet director. Seeding will be done according to the Sac-Joaquin Track Handbook.

9.  Starting heights shall be as follows for CAL league finals.

 

 

High Jump

Pole Vault

 

 

Frosh/Soph girls

4’ 0”

6’ 0”

 

 

Frosh/Soph boys

4’ 6”

8’ 0”

 

 

Varsity Girls

4’ 0”

7’ 0”

 

 

Varsity Boys

5’ 0”

9’ 0”

 

10.  3 jumps and 3 throws with the top 7 going to finals for three more jumps/throws.

11.  In the long and triple jump, competition will be held between the four classifications separately according to the league finals schedule.  There will be no open pit.

12.  Athletes must be checked in no later then ten (10) minutes after the third call for the event.

E.  Officials

1. The following officials are necessary for conduct of the CAL Finals. The CAL Track Committee has the responsibility to assure that these officials are available at the meet.

a. Starters

1.  The starter shall be paid according to the current schedule of the Nev-Cal starters association.

b.  Referee-CAL league representative, jury of appeals (head coaches)

c.  Timers and Judges

1.  There should be a head finish judge.

d.  Turn judges and relay exchange judges.

e.  Clerk of the course.

f.   Announcer

g.  Scorekeeper

h.  Hurdle crew and starting block crew all schools and coaches

i.   Head official for each field event (usually-coaches).

j.   Gate-Host school will receive the gate-to cover meet expenses.

F.  Meet Location

1.  The site of the CAL League Finals shall be determined by the CAL track committee.

a.  The site must have adequate seating facilities and a minimum of eight lanes available in each event.

G.   Procedure for handling rainouts:

1.  In the event of inclement weather making the track and field facilities too dangerous for competition the league representative will notify all head coaches prior to the meet.

2.  By mutual agreement of the head coaches the meet may be rescheduled the following date.

3.  If the meet site is still not available the CAL Track Committee will decide the next available meet date before the Sac Joaquin Divisional Meet.

4.  If a rain out occurs during a meet the events in progress will be restarted and any completed events will carry over.

Section VI:  Athlete classification and Competition Rules (Changing from one classification to another)

A.  Freshmen/Sophomore (Frosh/Soph), which includes any freshman or sophomore enrolled in school who is eligible for competition under CIF, CAL and other school regulations.

B.  Any athlete may move from a lower classification to a higher classification during the season. Once an athlete has participated on a higher classification he/she may not compete on a lower team during a league meet.

1.  An athlete who has been moved to a higher classification may return to his/her original classification for any meet other than a CAL league meet.

2.  An athlete who participates in a higher classification in any meet other than a CAL meet may return to his/her proper classification for CAL meet competition.

                       Section VII.  Practice

A.  Track practice may start February tenth.

B.  No practice will be held on Sunday.

1.  Violation will result in disqualification from eligibility for the CAL Championship.

C.  Athletes will be allowed to participate in any indoor meet that is sanctioned by the Sac-Joaquin Section.

1.  Coaches will be permitted to work with specific athletes who will be participating in indoor meets providing they notify their athletic director, the league representative and the CAL secretary which athletes are involved.

2.  The indoor practice provision should not be construed as a license to start practice with the entire squad early.