Track athlete didn't have to be at State Q's to make states

Before I begin to express my displeasure, know that I will not type the name of the individual ...

Last weekend in Cicero-North Syracuse, home of the New York state track and field championships, an athlete from Section 5 competed in two individual events -- one on the track, one in the field. This athlete, unlike each and every other Section 5 representative, did not compete at the State Qualifiers. Because this athlete is involved in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at her school, testing for this esteemed academic program took place on the day State Qualifiers were being held, thus presenting a dilemma for the athlete. In one way or another, officials from the athletes school contacted the higher powers from Section 5, explained the situation and the athlete was allowed to compete on the Monday before State Qualifiers.

As the rest of Section 5 competed on a Friday night at Penn Yan Academy with temperatures in the upper 60s and sheets of rain coming down, this athlete had already competed in two events, in the sunshine with temperatures in the upper 70s. Oh, and her performances were recorded using a stopwatch -- not an FAT timer like the rest of Section 5. And who knows about the wind factor -- athletes Friday night were running into the wind.

Regardless of these factors, what's unsettling is that an athlete was allowed to compete on a day that was not the designated date of competition. On a daily basis athletes have to make decisions about commitments in their lives. Athletes have missed prom to compete, or missed the competition because of prom. Athletes have also missed competitions because of the SATs, or rescheduled their SATs in order to compete. How significant the conflict is should not matter. The bottom line should be that State Qualifiers takes place on a certain day and time, and if an athlete is unable to make it then they are ineligible to compete. 

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