• The order for the running events in a dual meet is: 4x100 Meter Relay, 1600 Meter Run, 100 Meter Hurdles (Girls only) 110 Meter High Hurdles (Boys only), 400 Meter Dash, 100 Meter Dash, 800 Meter Run, 300 Meter Intermediate Hurdles, 200 Meter Dash, 3200 Meter Run, and 4x400 Meter Relay.

• The field events are: Long Jump, Triple Jump, High Jump, Pole Vault, Shot Put, and Discus

• The order for running events at invitational track & field meets (usually held on Saturdays, and occasionally on Fridays) will vary. In certain invitational track & field meets, different events are sometimes offered. Examples would be: mile run, sprint medley relay (100M-100M-200M-400M), distance medley relay (1200M-400M-800M-1600M), 4x200M, 4x800M relay, 4x60M shuttle relay, and 400M intermediate hurdles.

• Only Varsity is scored at dual meets.

• The EBAL League Championships has scoring for both Frosh-Soph and Varsity. Only Varsity competes beyond the EBAL Championships.

• Starting in the 2023 Track & Field Season, the 4x800M relay will be added to EBAL, MOC, and CIF State Championships level.

• At the conclusion of the EBAL Championships, qualifying Varsity athletes can continue to compete in post season meets. Each round gets more difficult, as athletes are continuously eliminated. The rounds after the EBAL Championships are:

• Tri Valley Meet of Championships (MOC)

• NCS MOC

• CIF California State Championships

For an athlete to qualify for the California State Championships, they must either: (1) come in first, second, or third place in the NCS MOC or (2) reach a mark in the NCS MOC which equals or betters the at-large standards as established by the California Interscholastic Federation guidelines https://cifstate.org/sports/track_and_field/at_large_standards

The starter's commands for races where blocks are being used (100M, 200M, 400M, 4x100M, 4x400M, and hurdle races) are "on your marks, set" and then the starter’s pistol is fired. For the 800M, 1600M, and 3200M, the commands are adjusted to only "on your marks" and then the starter’s pistol is fired.

The waterfall (or barrel) start is used in the distance races which include the 800M, 1600M, and 3200M. At the starting line of the track, there is a curved lined that starts at the start/finish line of the inside lane, and curves out to a few yards ahead of the start/finish line in the outer lane. In this type of start, racers line up a few steps behind this curved line, and use it as their starting line. At the call of "runner's set," the runners take two steps forward, take set positions, and wait for the gun, with their toes completely behind the curved line. The barrel start is basically just a waterfall with an extra half-waterfall which can be used in distance races that have more than 20 runners.

The hurdle heights are as follows:

• girls 300M hurdles, 30"

• girls 100M hurdles, 33"

• boys 300M hurdles 36"

• boys 110M hurdles 39"

There are 10 flights of hurdles in the 100M and 110M hurdle races and 8 flights in the 300M hurdles. Disqualification can occur if hurdlers use their hands to push down the hurdles or run around the hurdles.

The actual shot put and discus are referred to as throwing implements. The weights of each is the following:

• Girls shot put, 4k (8.8 lbs.)

• Girls discus 1k (2.2 lbs.)

• Boys Frosh/Soph shot put 10 lbs.

• Boys Varsity shot put 12 lbs.

• Boys Discus 1.6k (3.52 lbs.)

Shot Put and Discus throwers must enter and exit the ring from the rear. The shot must be placed close to the neck and resting on the shoulder, while keeping it in that position the entire time until it is released. The thrower is permitted to touch the inside surface of the stop board in the front part of the shot put ring; however, neither the top nor the outside of the circle or stop board can be touched or passed. For the discus ring, there is no stop board at the front edge of the ring and there are no form rules concerning how the discus is to be thrown. For both throwing events, a foul occurs if the thrower:

• leaves the circle before the implement has landed or the competitor fails to leave the circle from the back

• touches the top/end of stop board, the top of the iron ring, or steps or touches on/outside of the line of the circle

Because the high jump and pole vault are both vertical jumps, the competitions are conducted similarly. Each athlete can choose what height they would like to enter the competition. Once they enter, they have three attempts to clear the height. If a height is cleared, the vaulter/jumper advances to the next height, where they will have three more attempts. Once the vaulter/jumper has three consecutive misses, they are out of the competition and the highest height they cleared is their result. A "no height", often denoted "NH", refers to the failure of a vaulter/jumper to clear any bar during the competition.

In the long jump, competitors run down a runway and jump as far as they can from a wooden board 20 cm or 8 inches wide that is built flush with the runway into a pit filled with finely ground gravel or sand. If the competitor starts the leap with any part of the foot past the foul line, the jump is declared a foul and no distance is recorded. The measurement of the jump’s distance is taken from the front edge of the foul line to the sand impression closest to the foul line. If a jumper lands in the pit and leans backward causing their hand to make an impression in the sand, the measurement will be the distance between the foul line and their hand impression.

In the triple jump, the athlete sprints down a runway to a takeoff mark, from which the triple jump is measured. The takeoff mark is commonly a physical piece of wood or similar material embedded in the runway, or a rectangle painted on the runway surface. These marks are placed at different places on the run way depending on how far the athlete can jump. There are three phases of the triple jump: the "hop" phase, the "bound" or "step" phase, and the "jump" phase. They all play an important role in the jump itself. These three phases are executed in one continuous sequence. A "foul", also known as a "scratch," or missed jump, occurs when a jumper oversteps the takeoff mark, misses the pit entirely, does not use the correct foot sequence throughout the phases, or does not perform the attempt in the allotted amount of time. When a jumper "scratches," the seated official will raise a red flag and the jumper who was "on deck," or up next, prepares to jump. The measurement of the jump’s distance is taken from the front edge of the take off mark to the sand impression closest to the foul line.

Scoring for Dual Meets:

• Points in individual events are scored 5 for first place, 3 for second place and 1 for third place. For relays, the winning team gets 5 points and the second place team earns no points.

• There are a total of 136 points available in a dual meet (9 for each of the 14 individual events and 5 for each of the 2 relays). The first team to score 69 points, wins the meet.

Scoring for Post Season Meets (EBAL, Tri Valley MOC, NCS MOC, and State Meet) are as follows:

• • 1st – 10

  • 2nd – 8

  • 3rd – 7

  • 4th – 6

  • 5th – 5

  • 6th –4

  • 7th –3

  • 8th - 2

  • 9th - 1

If a competitor in the pole vault breaks their pole in an attempt, it is not counted as a miss and they are awarded an additional attempt.

One false start in a running event disqualifies the runner. A false start consists of a runner starting before the gun goes off, flinching/moving during the set phase, or letting their foot/hand touch or land on or in front of the starting line. This can occur in any running event.

While starting a race, hands and feet should be completely behind the starting line without touching the line.

All members of a relay team must wear matching uniforms.

To be legal, a relay baton must measure between 28-30 centimeters long, and between 12-13 centimeters in circumference. It must weigh at least 50 grams.

The baton exchange zone in any relay where each leg is 200M or fewer is 30 meters long. All exchange zones for races in excess of 200 meters will be 20 meters. 

In the 4x100 relay, a 10-meter acceleration zone is designated to allow outgoing runners time to accelerate to match the incoming runner's speed.

The last leg of a relay event is typically called the "anchor". The first leg of a relay event is typically called the “leadoff”.

The Automatic timing system, which is used at most meets, can time accurately up to 1/1000th of a second. The 1968 Mexico City Olympics were the first games to utilize this type of system (It was also the first games when athletes ran on an artificial/tartan track surface).

To convert a hand time in a 100m to the equivalent of an automatic time, round up to the nearest tenth of a second, then add .24 - for example, a hand timed 10.91 is rounded up to 11.0 and then .24 is added to convert it to an 11.24 automatic time. Only fully automatic timing, or FAT, should be used for record purposes.

A mark is considered "wind aided" in the long jump, triple jump, 100m, 200m 100 hurdles, and 110 high hurdles if there is greater than a 2.0 meter per second wind at the competitor's back. This is measured by a wind gauge. Wind aided marks are generally not accepted for record purposes.

Athletes may compete in up to 4 events in a single meet. This includes relay events.

Disqualification can occur if the clerk determines that:

• A Non participant helps or aids athletes during the competition

• A Non participant runs alongside athletes during the competition

• During a race, a runner Impedes (pushes, kicks, or shoves) another runner