Track and Field Rules
* State championship meet may have trials for * (starred) events.
- 100 meter *
- 200 meter *
- 400 meter
- 800 meter
- 1600 meter
- 3200 meter
- 5K
- 4 x 100 meter relay
- 4 x 200 meter relay (With one female, and one master; they cannot be the
same person.
The remaining two runners can be any gender or age)
- 4 x 400 meter relay
- Throwers Relay (100-200-100 with one female, all shot put or discus people)
- 3 Lap Sprint Relay (400-400-200-200, with one female)
- Pyramid Relay (400-800-1200-800-400, with 2 females)
- Misc Relays
Registration and seeding will occur before all meets. Field events shall be: high jump, long jump, shot put and discus. Field events shall run concurrently with running events.
Events will be run by division and age group in the following sequence:
- Veteran Women
- Veteran Men
- Senior Women
- Senior Men
- Master Women
- Master Men
- Submaster Women
- Submaster Men
- Open Women
- Open Men
* Age groups may be combined at the discretion of the clerk depending on the number of participants in each group.
Field events will be run in flights in the same order as running events (except for the long jump), or at the discretion of the official.
The scoring for each event by division and age group shall be:
1st place = 10 pts
2nd place = 8 pts
3rd place = 6 pts
4th place = 4 pts
5th place = 2 pts
6th place = 1 pt
MECTA will score meets by the following size divisions:
Division I = Companies with more than 1000 employees
Division II = Companies with 101 to 1000 employees
Division III = Companies with 1 to 100 employees
All events shall be scored separately for the men's and Women's divisions, with the following age groups within each division.
Open = Ages 29 and under
Submaster = ages 30 through 39
Master = Ages 40 through 49
Senior = Ages 50 through 59
Veteran = Ages 60 and over
For the purposes of the above age groups, a competitor's age is determined as of December 31 of the year in which competition is taking place.
A competitor must be considered a "member" of the company as provided in the By-laws Article V.
A competitor may move down to compete in a younger age group, but must do so at beginning of the season and continue throughout the season.
A relay team is classified by the youngest runner competing .
Women may compete in the men's division, but must decide to do so before the race begins. Under no circumstances can a man compete in the women's division .
An individual can only run for one company in a meet.
Spikes may be worn, as allowed by the track facility (maximum 1/4 inch).
Runners may use starting blocks when starting in separate lanes and when blocks are available to all runners who desire to use them.
Races 400 meters and below will be started with runners in separate lanes.
A. Shot Put and Discus.
The shot put and discus will be scored on the longest of 3 throws.
The shot put or discus will be called in this order: open, submaster, master, senior, veteran, or at the discretion of the official.
The following weights shall be used by each division and age class:
| Men | Women | |||
| Shot Put | Discus | Shot Put | Discus | |
| Open | 16 lb | 2 kilo | 4 kilo | 1 kilo |
| Submaster | 16 lb | 2 kilo | 4 kilo | 1 kilo |
| Master | 16 lb | 2 kilo | 4 kilo | 1 kilo |
| Senior | 12 lb | 1.5 kilo | 3 kilo | 1 kilo |
| Veteran | 8 lb | 1 kilo | 3 kilo | 1 kilo |
B. Long Jump.
Long Jump shall be scored on the longest of three jumps.
The long jump will be called in this order, open, submaster, master, senior, veteran, or at the discretion of the official.
C. High Jump.
High jump will start at 3'6" for all jumpers, unless a lower height is agreed to by all competitors.
High jump will be scored by TAC rules.
All competitors must wear uniform jersey, t-shirt or singlet that clearly identifies that competitor as a member of their team.
Each competitor will be issued a number for the season, which will be worn on the front of the uniform.
A. Each team captain must submit a team roster along with the entry fee to the MECTA secretary at least 48 hours prior to the meet, with the name of their team volunteer. If the volunteer is not on the roster, an additional $25.00 fee must be included to pay for an official. Names may be added to the team's roster no later than one week prior to the meet.
B. Each competitor may enter a total of five events per meet, with relays counting as one-half an event. For example, a competitor may enter a maximum of five non-relay events, or four non-relay events plus two relays.
C. Each team must provide at least one volunteer, throughout the meet, who is at least 16 years or older, who shall be listed on the team roster One volunteer from each team must be available throughout the meet, or the team will be required to pay a $25 fee.
D. A team is four competitors participating in a meet.
A. Ribbons will be awarded for the top six places in each event, division and age group.
B. The first and second place teams in each division (I, II and III) participating in the MECTA State Championships will each be awarded a trophy cup.
C. Tim Smith Award: This award will be given to the outstanding distance runner of the season. Runners competing in the 800M, 1600M, 2 mile and 5K events will be eligible. A nomination form will be distributed to team captains at the last regular meet of the season. Each team may nominate one (1) individual from its team. Nomination forms shall be returned to the Secretary of MECTA within 5 days of their distribution. The nomination list, and their supporting information, will be faxed to the team captains within 5 days of their return to the Secretary. Team captains will fax their votes to the Secretary within 4 days of the distribution of the nomination list. The award will be presented during the State Meet. In the event of a tie, the Team Captains will meet 30 minutes before the State meet to discuss the tying nominees and vote.
D. MECTA Coaches Award: This award will be given to the individual who best represents the following:
* The spirit of wellness and participation
* Significant contribution to the successful operation of the team
* Team and/or MECTA member for at least two (2) years
* Role model for other team and MECTA members
* Trains to participate at a personal competitive level
* Participant in at least 75% of MECTA meets
* Participant in multiple events
Nomination forms will be distributed to team captains at the last regular meet of the season. Each team may nominate one (1) individual from its team. Nomination forms shall be returned to the Secretary of MECTA within 5 days of their distribution. The nomination list and their supporting information will be faxed to the team captains within 5 days of their return to the Secretary. Team captains will fax their votes to the Secretary within 4 days of the distribution of the nomination list. The award will be presented during the State Meet. In the event of a tie, the Team Captains will meet 30 minutes before the State meet to discuss the tying nominees and vote.
The following officials will administer the MECTA meets:
- Meet Director
- Starter
- Finish Judge/Head Timer
- Clerk
- Scorer
- Announcer
- Field Event Judges
- Other Officials Meet Director Deems necessary