NJ not allowing STARTING BLOCKS at sectional meets

Runningart2004 wrote:

Up next....

Football players can't wear cleats because it will tear up the grass...

Basketball players must play in socks because shoes tear up the court...

Alan

The importance of blocks in sprint events would be more like football playing without the ball

As a distance fellow, like most of us here I think, blocks mystify me and would actually make me slower at starting because I've never used them before.

However, hot take: it seems like part of why they did this is aggravatingly spectator-oriented and not athlete-oriented. I get how pro and college meets might be trying to speed things up so as to increase viewership, but at HS meets, I for one am in favor of Taking. As. Long. As. Humanly. Possible. Everybody in the stands is there for their kid or friend or something anyway, so they shouldn't care too much about the meets taking a long time. Meanwhile, athletes who are doubling can really benefit from getting some extra time in between their two events: I personally have had far too many races where I finish an 800 then think I have 45 minutes or an hour until the mile starts, only to end up running again in 15 minutes because the officials want to be done asap. Taking some extra time to set up blocks helps the sprinters who are running and the distance runners who are resting, so eliminating it because some spectators want to go home is a bad move.

if t is is the reason, these people are stupid.

No regional meet is every exactly the same as another.

the weather can be different

the facilities can be different

etc.

they don't have to be the same because to advance you only compete vs the people in your sectional/regional. As long as all the athletes at that meet have the same opportunity, that is all that matters.

In my state they will not allow the steeple chase into the state meet for this same kind of dumb logic - not all regional site have steeple barriers. Guess what, they don't have to. The only purpose of regionals is to select the best form that regional at that event. If one site ran 2000 meter over barriers and another one used hurdles - it makes no difference. It doesn't change who advances. You could even have one site not have a water jump and it still makes no difference because all the athletes in that race raced in the same conditions. and therefore the top 4 (or whatever) advanced to state.

rojo wrote:

I assume this is Covid related right? They don't want the person to be nearby holding the blocks?

If thats true they are truly stupid!

There used to be a company that would go school to school offering their donkey basketball service to do Faculty vs Student body games as fundraisers. My school did it every year for years before I went there and for several years after.

They played in the gym on the hardwood floors. They donkeys had rubber boots on their hooves to give them grip and protect the floor of the court. As far as I know there were never any damage done to the court.

True...except for the seeding at the subsequent Group level.

coachy wrote:

Runningart2004 wrote:

Up next....

Football players can't wear cleats because it will tear up the grass...

Basketball players must play in socks because shoes tear up the court...

Alan

The importance of blocks in sprint events would be more like football playing without the ball

Not even close. It would be like playing football in tennis shoes instead of cleats. It will slow a person down a bit, but the game will still go on and everyone is subject to the same restriction, so it does not put an individual at a competitive disadvantage. Without the ball, there is no game in football. Blocks weren't allowed at the Olympics until 1948. Evidently they were able to have competitions prior to that. A CU runner won the 400 at a meet the other day without blocks:

rojo wrote:

I assume this is Covid related right? They don't want the person to be nearby holding the blocks?

you should ban yourself for that utter nonsense.

California555 wrote:

rojo wrote:

I assume this is Covid related right? They don't want the person to be nearby holding the blocks?

If thats true they are truly stupid!

you don't discuss non-arguable stuff like that, come on, you get rid of these lost people, without a compass, rudder, nor brain.

They should do what the 168th st Armory has done. Don't allow spikes or blocks for early season non important meets but allow them as the season progresses.

So, in the absence of starting blocks, no world records will be recognized from this event?

I would expect nothing less than this decision from the Realm of His Royal Majesty, The Benevolent Dictator, King Murphy the Masknificant. New Jersey is obviously antidemocratic:

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/05/on-your-marks/528321/

Blocks were considered performance enhancing and were banned during the 1930s.

"George Simpson became the first man to run the 100y in 9.4 when he took the first leg of his sprint double at the 1929 NCAA championships. Although this was a valid clocking, the mark was not recognized as a world record because Simpson used starting blocks, which had not then been approved by the IAAF."

https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/si/george-simpson-1.html

comedyre!i3f wrote:

coachy wrote:

The importance of blocks in sprint events would be more like football playing without the ball

Not even close. It would be like playing football in tennis shoes instead of cleats. It will slow a person down a bit, but the game will still go on and everyone is subject to the same restriction, so it does not put an individual at a competitive disadvantage. Without the ball, there is no game in football. Blocks weren't allowed at the Olympics until 1948. Evidently they were able to have competitions prior to that. A CU runner won the 400 at a meet the other day without blocks:

https://www.buffzone.com/2021/04/10/cu-track-sees-several-stellar-finishes-at-own-colorado-invitational/

Actually if a major piece of the sport is missing that has been a part of the sport for the last 65 years then you aren’t playing the same sport at all. So no the sport is not continuing. I would pull all my athletes and contact as many coaches as I know to do the same. I would also contact media outlets to let them know you and others are boycotting the meet.

pavement88 wrote:

https://nj.milesplit.com/articles/298388/no-blocks-at-sectional-meets-raises-concern?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=socialmedia&utm_term=thumbnail.noblocksnjsiaa&utm_campaign=milesplitnewjersey

This is one of the stupidest decisions I have ever seen.

They are bad for the environment. Get over it.

This is really, really crazy. I was just at a Ohio regional meet and the blocks were not a problem. Kids got them set up quickly.

NJ is trash wrote:

And how many heats are they running that the setup time for blocks is even an issue? This is a championship meet with limited qualifiers, right?

every school gets 3 entries per event at sectionals. these meets are two 6+ hour days, starting on a Friday night going well after dark then going all day Saturday

There are many youth meets that are back to back 12 hour days. I don’t see why you take away blocks? Are they shortening the 1600 to 3 laps?

Starting blocks provide a performance advantage.

That is what the athletes practice with.

Blocks also protect the track surface from being torn up (eventually, after many starts in the same location).

USATF rule 161 require blocks for sprints.

For ages 15 to 18, it's USATF rule 302.2(e), which says, blocks required as in rule 161.

Of course, high school meets is all NFHS rules.

NJ high school runner here,

I'm not sure the reasoning behind the no starting blocks rule. Most meets that I've attended this year have not allowed starting blocks, and our sprinters have not been doing much block work as a result (It's funny watching the best sprinters, they'll ask their friends to sit and become their blocks, it makes choosing the heat winner out if the lineup easier). The only meet where I saw blocks being used was at an open meet run by GSTC at our home track. I don't think that it's coronavirus related, meet officials have been lax about masks and distancing, especially now that many runners, coaches, and officials have been vaccinated. In terms of avoiding wear and tear on the track, the track that I'll be racing on today (hopefully, thunderstorms are threatening), and tomorrow is an 8-lane Mondo track and the only outdoor track that I'll be spike-checked on the whole season. Most of the sectional meets are held on nicer tracks, but there's no point in having such a nice track if you don't use it. They should've allowed blocks.