How do you mess up a meet this badly? How do you not take a five minute pause to figure out why 6 kids weren’t checked in?
the officials crushed these kid’s dreams. They trained and worked way too hard for this unprofessionalism. All they wanted was a shot at glory against their peers, yet they had to watch the race from the sidelines to do the officials stupidity and stubbornness.
sorry but state meets are a huge deal for these kids. This is messed up.
People like to complain about the officials they are too old, set in their ways et cetera. A big problem is no one else wants to do it. Of course mistakes will be made, but one mistake should not take away from the incredible volunteerism of the officials.Long hours, no pay, but one mistake and everyone wants go off on them. How about thanking the officials at your next meet.
It’s their arrogance and willful doubling-down of their mistake that cements the criticism against them.
Isn’t it great that almost half the posters in this thread didn’t read… The athletes all checked in. The official literally misplaced the paper that had 6 of them on it. On the one-hand, it’s quite amazing this happened and that the officials essentially told the athletes and their coaches “nah, you guys are lying, you didn’t check in, you can’t race” Heck even the other athletes were like “bruh, he checked in, they all checked in” and then refused to run because they saw how unfair and idiotic it was. Maybe one athlete would lie and protest.. but 6 and their coaches AND other athletes?! Like seriously, how can an official not question themselves? But this thread shows us it’s not uncommon. Many people, for whatever reason, lack the ability to pay attention to details and think clearly for temporary moments in time. They just get stuck in what “they think happened”. And it’s not even that they’re dumb and incompetent all the time. It’s some wierd and wild psychological phenomenon that happens sometimes. It’s extremely frustrating but also surprisingly common. I try to stay vigilant, open and flexible so I’m never that person but I’m sure I will be one day (or have been already). Hopefully not to this degree though.
Isn’t it great that almost half the posters in this thread didn’t read… The athletes all checked in. The official literally misplaced the paper that had 6 of them on it. On the one-hand, it’s quite amazing this happened and that the officials essentially told the athletes and their coaches “nah, you guys are lying, you didn’t check in, you can’t race” Heck even the other athletes were like “bruh, he checked in, they all checked in” and then refused to run because they saw how unfair and idiotic it was. Maybe one athlete would lie and protest.. but 6 and their coaches AND other athletes?! Like seriously, how can an official not question themselves?
This is spot on. How did the official envision this happening? Some sort of impromptu cabal of conspirators working to "trick" the officials?
I am assuming this is like 6 out of 18 kids, not 6 out of 80, so the percentage "not checking in" seems way off as well...
If I am working with a group of people and six of them have the same "problem," then I need to see if it might not just be on my end of things.
At the State Meet last week, right before the guys were going to the line, they told about 6 kids they hadn't checked in so they could not race in the final. They held those kids out and ran the 3200 without them. A few of the boys said they HAD checked in but the officials held fast and kept the boys out of the race.
When they told those 6 kids they could not run, a few other kids, including last year's state champ, did not run in protest of the decision which was made seconds before the gun went off.
At some point, the AIA officials figured out that THEY were the cause of the problem and the boys had actually checked in correctly. Unfortunately, the race had been contested and the 6 boys never got to race.
About 30 minutes later, the AIA announced that the boys were going to be allowed to run 'after the 4 X 400' in another 3200. But just those 6 boys were going to run. The AIA officials decided that this second group would not be counted in the medals or the points for the meet. Coaches from the actual final were told that these boys were just getting a chance to run for time. Some coaches even volunteered to race their kids again if the second group was going to be scored. But officials said they would not score the second group so only those 6 kids ran. The kids that walked off in protest never got a chance to compete.
They never handed out the medals or had an awards ceremony for the actual 3200 final nor did they ever announce the results from the 3200.
The next day, they inserted the results from BOTH races and announced the 'State Champion' would be from the second group. One kid had run 2 seconds faster than the winner of the 3200 final.
The AIA could to have gotten this more wrong. About 20 coaches filed protests which the AIA ignored. So the kid that won the actual State Final is being ignored. The whole thing is unreal.
Anyone have any more detail on this? Seems like a lot of mistakes were made.
This is maybe the most egregious and stupid incident i've ever heard happening at the state meet level of track. Unforgivable honestly. Insane that this was allowed to happen.
The last German track meet we went to they didn't know why we were trying to check in, because there was no check-in. The previous one there was a check-in. But at American track meets, you always have to check-in--though sometimes it is only on the track beforehand.
People make mistakes. This was a mistake. Then they had no idea how to fairly correct it. But to call it unforgivable is extreme for one race. In a race that long, about the only thing you could do is to re-run it the next week.
Isn’t it great that almost half the posters in this thread didn’t read… The athletes all checked in. The official literally misplaced the paper that had 6 of them on it. On the one-hand, it’s quite amazing this happened and that the officials essentially told the athletes and their coaches “nah, you guys are lying, you didn’t check in, you can’t race” Heck even the other athletes were like “bruh, he checked in, they all checked in” and then refused to run because they saw how unfair and idiotic it was. Maybe one athlete would lie and protest.. but 6 and their coaches AND other athletes?! Like seriously, how can an official not question themselves?
This is spot on. How did the official envision this happening? Some sort of impromptu cabal of conspirators working to "trick" the officials?
I am assuming this is like 6 out of 18 kids, not 6 out of 80, so the percentage "not checking in" seems way off as well...
If I am working with a group of people and six of them have the same "problem," then I need to see if it might not just be on my end of things.
The other thing I'll add is that theses are kids that made it to a state meet. These are not JV-level kids that may or may not be interested in running. I would presume that they have some experience checking in and their coaches understand what happens at a state meet and had given them instructions for warmup, check-in, etc.
I don't know about Arizona, but when kids check in at meets in our state, they get their hip numbers. Does that happen in AZ? That would be a clue that the athletes checked in.
Isn’t it great that almost half the posters in this thread didn’t read… The athletes all checked in. The official literally misplaced the paper that had 6 of them on it. On the one-hand, it’s quite amazing this happened and that the officials essentially told the athletes and their coaches “nah, you guys are lying, you didn’t check in, you can’t race” Heck even the other athletes were like “bruh, he checked in, they all checked in” and then refused to run because they saw how unfair and idiotic it was. Maybe one athlete would lie and protest.. but 6 and their coaches AND other athletes?! Like seriously, how can an official not question themselves? But this thread shows us it’s not uncommon. Many people, for whatever reason, lack the ability to pay attention to details and think clearly for temporary moments in time. They just get stuck in what “they think happened”. And it’s not even that they’re dumb and incompetent all the time. It’s some wierd and wild psychological phenomenon that happens sometimes. It’s extremely frustrating but also surprisingly common. I try to stay vigilant, open and flexible so I’m never that person but I’m sure I will be one day (or have been already). Hopefully not to this degree though.
They called the official “bruh”? No wonder the officials stonewalled.
I also think the "checking in" thing is a product of a different era. If you have your hip number on, why do you need to "check in" anyway? The whole finish-line is set up with cameras and everything is on Athletic.net for obvious reasons, it is computerized.
Instead of a tent with a clerk in it, I know a school that has a guy who goes to the start line of the race (not the same guy as the starter) who has the lane assignments and the entries. That way if a kid has a question (or even if the starter has a question), there is someone there with the information. But it is more about helping people get to the line rather than preventing them.
It isn't as if they are checking IDs or something. What is the check-in for at this point?
Based on the article, it sounds like the events were printed in a manner that there were multiple events on the same page in some cases. The official carried paperwork for the Division II 3200 and six names from the Division I 3200m to the starting line.
This could easily have been avoided. One event per page and per clipboard! If you are checking in the Division II Boys 3200m, check and double check that you only have the paperwork for the Division II Boys 3200m on your board. Pre-meet, each event's paperwork should be separated and a paperclip put on each, even if the event only uses one page. If paperclips are not used, it is easy to accidently take an extra page when grabbing the next event. But if you have two paperclips, you'll notice right away.
Six runners failing to check in should have been a huge red flag to go back and recheck to make sure you didn't make a mistake. Officials are human and make mistakes; own it and fix it.
Judd and Espinosa-Golinski, the two who walked off the track in protest during the first race, absolutely should have been given the opportunity to compete in the second race. That was a poor decision made either by the referee or the meet director.
Checking in is absolutely necessary for field events because you follow a specific jumping/throwing order. You need to know who is competing and who is not before you finalize the order. In an event like the pole vault, the check-in is also a time to get competitors' starting heights and standard settings. For running events, especially at a big meet like the state meet, the clerk who checks in an event walks the group to the start line and puts them in order, informs the starter of any scratches, etc. Each clerk is responsible for getting the event groups assigned to them to the start line.
When they told those 6 kids they could not run, a few other kids, including last year's state champ, did not run in protest of the decision which was made seconds before the gun went off.
No comment on the rest as I don't know anything about it, but big props to that State Champ.
Yeah the most insane part of the story to me is that the reigning state champ showed an actual remarkable level of sportsmanship, standing up and protesting on behalf of his competitors, and he was punished for it by not even being allowed in the 2nd heat. I don't think anyone would've blamed him for running the 1st heat like he was supposed to, but I think we'd all be proud if our kid made the same choice that he made.
No comment on the rest as I don't know anything about it, but big props to that State Champ.
Yeah the most insane part of the story to me is that the reigning state champ showed an actual remarkable level of sportsmanship, standing up and protesting on behalf of his competitors, and he was punished for it by not even being allowed in the 2nd heat.
Second that thought.
The officials clearly screwed up, which would have been evident by SIX guys jumping up and down and saying that they DID check in.
They are removed from the track.
Other athletes step off in protest. It was probably glaring obvious to them who was right and who was wrong.
The officials admit they screwed up and run another race, but they punish the athletes that protested their clear and obvious screw up.
Plus why such a big deal about checking in the first place. We know who the qualifiers are - they are on the list.
why do they even need to check in - if they don't show up at start time, you are not going to delay the meet waiting for them (so what is the vital purpose of the check-in)?
it shouldn't make a difference if an athlete checks-in or not. this is just another way for the officials to feel in control and important.