This actually happened in 3200m at Arizona HS State Championship

If they didn’t check in, they couldn’t run.

Coaching mistakes like that happen occasionally.

They are kids . Make sure they check in.

Ive seen it happen several times in my state.

We have so many people in our populations that seek out every opportunity to inject themselves and destroy experiences for others. The student-athletes will never forget these experiences.

I think all those elderly clerks, officials, volunteers, etc. involved, anyone who is getting paid should have their benefits and wages witheld until the conclusion.

I doubt if any of them are being paid, if they were, it wouldn’t be more than a few bucks. You don’t want them to have health insurance until everything is resolved?

It’s sounds like it was a f-up, but the kids affected, will move on, and even enjoy going off to college.

Right. That sign in the corner that says “ Check-In”

It’s just optional

We don’t want to teach kids that there are rules.

But they apparently did check in.

"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."

As a T&F official, I can honestly say that 99% of the time, the correct decisions are made and the officials do everything in their power to ensure a properly contested, fair competition. Unfortunately, when a catastrophic mistake like this happens, it gets a huge spotlight on it. I was at the ACC Indoor meet years ago when they put the runners on the track a lap early in the DMR. The official who did it was one of the best, most qualified, and nationally respected officials and he just had a momentary lapse in concentration. Remember when they set the steeplechase hurdle at the men's height for the women's race at the Oslo Diamond League? Nobody is perfect. I'm not making excuses for these officials; they definitely screwed up. But the fact that I have never heard of such a situati0on in my 40+ years around T&F shows how rare this type of error is.

To the guy who thinks officials should have their "benefits and wages" withheld - what benefits and wages? It is quite common to spend 12+ hours in the sun working a meet and get nothing more than a shirt and a bag lunch. I think the most I've ever received was $50 from some collegiate meets and this was enough to cover my gas and a meal on the late night drive home.

The state meet results are not even available on the AIA website, but the meet director's email is.

No comment on the rest as I don't know anything about it, but big props to that State Champ.

Change of plans. I will comment: What an absolutely asinine decision by the officials. The decision is incredibly simple, let everyone run, you can DQ them afterwards if needed.

Are you being intentionally obtuse? They checked in and tried to explain this to the judges, who ignored them. Ooops. Disaster. Run it again next week. I bet everyone would agree that is the right thing to do.

Officials be power trippin’. If more than one kid had and issue, it was probably the officials who screwed up. This should not happen at a state meet. The officials are a disgrace. I feel sorry for the kids. They worked hard to get there.

The complimentary race official cheese, wine, and caviar bar should be withheld and their company cars and private jet service should also be disabled until this situation is resolved

The officials for this meet should never be allowed to work in that capacity again. You don't bungle a state meet.

This sounds like something that would happen at the Ohio state track meet. The OHSAA is run by a group of inept clowns.

In case some T&F officials read this God-forsaken board... In the event that you have a handful of kids that you decide cannot run the race: stop, take a breath, speak with the head official, and then make a decision. If 6 kids failed to check in for the 3200 race, there was likely an issue that occurred and not just 6 kids refusing to follow the rules. Schedules are important, but they should not be prioritized over the opportunities of the kids.

I’m just an angry message board reader: those officials are dumber than rocks.

I am sure the expected finish order was ruptured because of the six person second heat. But the more I think about it, the more the sport itself speaks on the behalf of injustice through the results.

First there is major controversy due to the miscommunication about check-in. Six runners lose entry status on what appears as bogus claims. Then, after arguing the merit of a makeup 3200 heat, a member of this designated second heat wins before the runners know they are reinstated.

The result is a great lesson in the history of meaningful revolt where cooperation of the six runners leads to a positive outcome. This situation was first an offshoot of the prisoner's dilemma in which cooperation must be showcased. Then, the revolt is on. In antiquity somewhere the spartiates (spartans) unified as "one-body" -- what was instilled in them from their time of selection at birth -- to revolt while in captivity. In the movie Gladiator, the slaves similarly band together to be an impactful militia in the arena.

Second heat runners share that unique bond of dilemma and revolt in their effort.

Even better storyline IF the winner was unexpected to win and was marked ahead of runners he had not previously / recently beaten, possibly in the first heat, and the first place heat complains the upset is due to different race conditions.

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.

Paging @ctespn, put that ish on there. Nothing worse than an official making it all about themselves only to be proven incompetent (surprise).

Ignoring any discussion of it being a clearly "unfair" competition (The 1st heat runners didn't get to compete head to head with the winner so may have run a tactical race, and now the 2nd heat that wasn't supposed to exist knows the time to beat), you're still missing on crucial part of the story here.

The runners from the first heat who opted out of the race in protest of the disqualification of those 6 runners DID NOT GET TO RUN THE SECOND HEAT. So no, it's really not a great lesson in "meaningful revolt", it's quite the opposite. The runners most punished were the ones who revolted.

How about having one singular competent official making the final call on decisions of this magnitude? I appreciate the volunteers, but is having just ONE official with the absolute bare minimum level of critical thinking skill too much to ask?