Wildmild wrote:
I think there may be more to this behind the scenes. The school had won indoor and outdoor titles for years. Maybe some of the track community in the state were butthurt about it.
I've seen a protest made because the colors of the bra straps of the athletes in a relay weren't all the same. The rule did say they all had to be the same color, but I don't know if the protest was upheld.
To even insinuate something like this is ridiculous. Very few of the officials at the NCHSAA meet have a clue which team is which. When a call is made, it usually goes something like this - "the runner wearing the blue uniform with the red trim stepped over the line," "the team in green and white went out of the exchange zone," or "the runner in red and white impeded the runner in blue." And I guarantee you that none of the officials have any interest in who wins or loses any event or meet. However, keep reading.
Notice I highlighted officials because the great majority of them at the NCHSAA meet are "officials" - i.e., assistant coaches for various teams assigned to work the meet. All of them have athletes participating in the meet and do have an interest in who wins/loses. The are also much more familiar with team uniforms and know the teams and athletes. These are not officials; these are coaches who have no business making decisions regarding DQs, fouls in throws or horizontal jumps, exchange zone violations, impeding of runners, etc. But they do and their calls are final.
The NCHSAA must use coaches because there are not many certified officials in NC. I checked the last update and as of last year there were a total of 192 in the state, many of whom are not very active or not active at all anymore. 192 officials in a state that is about 500 miles in length. How many high schools fall under the NCHSAA? 446. There are more than twice as many high schools as there are certified officials. And you think an official from Asheville knows the uniform for a school from the coast? Or Fayetteville? Or Raleigh? They don't nor do they care. On top of that, if you watch the videos, Mallard Creek wore completely different uniforms for the two races. I have never seen a HS do this in the same meet. The NCHSAA also does not pay anything (at least they didn't when I worked it). A lot of officials who are used to being put up in a hotel and paid $50-$100 per day by a college are not going to drive to Greensboro, pay for their own hotel, and spend all day working for free. Who can blame them? And the meet this year was four straight days rather than just Friday/Saturday due to the expansion of classifications. Pay for three nights in a hotel? Heck no.
One other thing regarding the current appeal. Under NFHS rules, an appeal cannot be made. Read Rule 3-5-4. The judgement by the official, referee, and jury of appeals is final. They are going through a legal loophole that exists under NC state law that could end up screwing the NCHSAA and every school in the state. If the state education department decides to undermine an on-site official, the NCHSAA meet may find itself with no certified officials next year. I certainly would not be back and having talked to other officials where I live now, they would not go back either. The state meet may be entirely run by assistant coaches, many of whom barely know the rules, all of whom have at least one athlete competing in the meet, and all definitely have an interest in who wins/loses. If you want to see "corrupt" officiating, get ready. You might get to see it.