Pole Vault was discontinued in Iowa because a kid actually died...that was the justification for it anyway. Definitely like the extra relays in Iowa but Iowa does some things that are only done in Iowa....what about parents of HS boy-girl...having to choose who they are going to go watch because both have meets on same night in different towns? Coed meets should be a given with the sport of track.
Yes it is odd to have so many relays, start running events after field events, and hold and large meets on weekdays. Most states hold small meets on weekdays and they have 3 or 4 relays. Boy/ girl meets are over at 8 PM. Many Iowa meets end at 9:30. Iowa is obsessed with participation. We hold seven relays and have 4 classes even though the state has only 3 million people. Illinois oos has 12 million people but only 3 classes and 4 relays. That makes it at least 5 times harder to qualify for state.
Yes it is odd to have so many relays, start running events after field events, and hold and large meets on weekdays. Most states hold small meets on weekdays and they have 3 or 4 relays. Boy/ girl meets are over at 8 PM. Many Iowa meets end at 9:30. Iowa is obsessed with participation. We hold seven relays and have 4 classes even though the state has only 3 million people. Illinois oos has 12 million people but only 3 classes and 4 relays. That makes it at least 5 times harder to qualify for state.
Many thought soccer was going to kill the sport of track and field in Iowa when they started it. It survived and thrived due to high participation. Multiple levels of potential success, individual, relay and team. Usually, everybody has something good even if their team is small or not very talented. High participation and a grand state meet atmosphere with a nonstop full stadium makes it attractive to a lot of people. Moreso than the Drake Relays. A lot of kids cant be on a varsity basketball, wrestling or even football team but track and field allows a ton more people to have a championship level experience. They still have to qualify so it's legit to have full lanes. They split the first 2 days with 2 classes in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. Saturday, all classes, all finals, no field events, big crowd. People can come and go as they choose. What's not to like about it?
Triangular meets are a waste of varsity time so those states you speak of often hold out varsity kids for the invites and train through the week. Or they should. Then they are stuck with whatever weather they get for the weekend meets.
So punish the large school kids for being in a large school or punish the smaller schools by reducing qualifying numbers. Overall, what you are saying is reduce participation so we can reduce interest in a sport where everyone is crying about how it's dying.
Think about it for a minute. Would you rather have the Texas format? All finals and only 8 competitors? Doesnt sound like many people will show up and they dont care because football is king. Iowa spreads it around keeping more kids involved in positive activities. Sounds like they are investing more in their kids.
Nothing wrong with developing hurdlers.
I think more states should follow Iowa's format. If you ever talked to other state organizations, there's usually great interest in expansion not reduction.
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I agree that 48 schools is too few for a classification.....half of the state qualifying in the large class relays is a little much...they cater to the large schools and private schools (no multiplier with private schools) but as noted the state atmosphere is really cool compared to other places....Shuttle Hurdle Relay is a novelty for sure-lots of crazy crashes in it every year-interesting and exciting to watch....although a bit dangerous...bad broken leg at a meet in a central iowa meet late in the season (bone sticking out) and in my time in Iowa there have been some gnarly injuries in that event-a couple times ambulances had to take the kids off the track...broken arms, ACL's, broken collar bones, concussions, etc...it's a wild event for sure, but a fan favorite...
Parents show up to watch their children but they aren't watching GST or diamond league meets or NCAA championships.
So...it's a state hs track meet. That's my point. More kids get to experience an exciting sport at its best for their level, hopefully inspiring them to continue when they are more physically mature at college/post college and hopefully want to help others beyond their experience. Or at least become lifelong fans that might attend bigger meets when they get a chance. These are the people that are the majority of those you see on tv actually attending bigger meets. Those complainers criticizing from afar, never attending, don't usually get that. Attending is the best way to experience high profile meets. Justifying spending the time and money isnt easy for everyone all the time. Thankful for streaming too. Doesnt seem to cut into attendance at the Iowa state meet. So, again, high participation improves the chances that more interest results to support higher level meets. One state cant carry the rest of the country either nor should it. While Oregon hosts so many championship meets and endless complaining of a variety of issues abound on this forum, Im willing to bet that there arent more than 2 or 3 other sites in the whole country willing to host ncaa, usatf, OT meets.
Well, then your logic fails because Iowa is 8th for obesity rates with the highest percentage of kids making it to the state meet. California ranks 45th for obesity and likely has the lowest percentage of kids qualifying to the state meet. So it seems that making track a participation sport has an inverse relationship on long term fitness.
That was one of the hardest ways to run sub 4...Nauman boxed and bounced around, ran a bunch of extra distance, and then had to move from 2nd to last to first..
I genuinely believe he could’ve won the pro race. He closed faster than all the pros !
I’ve said it before, but he’s gonna get Alan Webb’s record. His close is too good, even in a 3:58 race, he’s closing in 54. With the right pacing, he can get 3:52.
Well, then your logic fails because Iowa is 8th for obesity rates with the highest percentage of kids making it to the state meet. California ranks 45th for obesity and likely has the lowest percentage of kids qualifying to the state meet. So it seems that making track a participation sport has an inverse relationship on long term fitness.
The CIF state meet didn't look any different than an invitational meet that was sparsley attended. CA population statistically produces deeper fields but who saw the meet? A couple thousand over 2 days?
Hoka: I was impressed with Naumans fight 60m out. He felt Tostensen ease and he si.ply pumped harder, blocking and knee lift like a sprinter. Tostenson was all over the place.
Most of these kids dont race against strong fields within a couple seconds of each other. Webbs record is astonishing and not as easy to break as some think. A guy with a 1:47 split may be capable of approaching 3:55 but thats getting into that territory where the training is different. I think he's going to have to train more specifically for races against pros like Webb did indoors and out to have a chance to be pulled along. It's not going to happen in a cluster race like Hoka. He'll have to hang onto the dragons tail in the Bowerman Mile and they've continued to get ridiculously faster so that may not even be possible.