At what time will I compete?
Most meets are not on a timed schedule. An average meet might last 3.5 hours. Therefore you can look at the order of events and project when an event might happen. For example, the 400m is in the middle of the order of events. So if the meet starts at 4pm, you might project the 400m starting at 5:45pm. You want to err on the safe side if you are a spectator and won’t want to miss. The meet length will also vary due to the following factors: number of teams competing, number of entries allowed, how well the meet is run, if FAT timing is used, etc.
What is the order of events?
A typical meet with no preliminary flights or heats follows this order:
Running Events
4x800m relay
110m / 100m high hurdles
100m dash
4x200m relay
1600m run
4x100m relay
400m dash
300m intermediate/low hurdles
800m run
200m dash
3200m run
4x400m relay
Field Events
discus throw
high jump
long jump
pole vault
shot put
triple jump
How many events can I do?
An athlete can compete in a maximum of 4 events in a meet. If an athlete does four events, they cannot all be running events or they cannot all be field events.
Will I compete on Junior Varsity (JV) or Varsity (V) ?
This is determined by the structure of the meet. For example, if a varsity meet allows two entries for each event then typically the two best athletes in that event would compete. The ranking of the athlete would be determined by their past times or marks. If a varsity meet allows three entries for each event then the three best athletes in that event would compete on varsity. If an athlete doesn’t rank in the top two or three for an event then they will compete in JV meets. This all makes sense if we view the situation in a vacuum.
However, there are a lot of other factors will affect the entries for varsity and JV meets including the order of events, the time of season, type of meet, individual athlete, etc. For example, if an athlete could rank in the top 2 for the 400m and 300m hurdles, he/she wouldn’t do both because they are back to back events which are taxing on the body. Another scenario might be a top athlete that excels at jumps and is a great sprinter. That athlete is restricted to up to 4 events if the coach wants to max him/her out in that meet.
It is also possible for an athlete to start off in JV meets and then be bumped up to varsity meets because of their performances.
Additionally, it’s possible that an athlete runs in varsity meets in one event and also runs in some JV meets in their weaker events at certain times during the season.