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University of Texas at Austin
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Track & Field

Assistant Athletic Director:
Joseph Garmon

Email:
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Department Phone:
512-471-5883

Department Fax:
512-471-6589

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Track & Field Manual Regular Season

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Regular Season

Practice Regulations

Practice Regulations.

Practice Regulations - When School is in Session - Individual Sports 

  • Eight-Hour Practice Rule – School districts shall adopt policies limiting extracurricular activities from the beginning of the school week through the end of the school week (excluding holidays) by limiting practice outside the school day to a maximum of eight hours per school week per activity.

Practice Regulations - OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL YEAR - INDIVIDUAL SPORTS 

Practice regulations for sports that practice outside of the school year are as follows- 

  • The maximum length of any single practice session is three hours. 
  • Student-athletes shall not engage in more than five hours of practice activities on those days during which more than one practice is conducted. 
  • Schools shall not schedule more than one practice on consecutive days and student-athletes shall not participate in multiple practices on consecutive days. Exception: Volleyball. 
  • On days when more than one practice is conducted, there shall be, at a minimum, two hours of rest/recovery time between the end of one practice and the beginning of the next practice.
  • What counts towards practice time? Actual on-court practice, sport specific skill instruction, mandatory conditioning, water breaks and rest breaks.
  • What doesn’t count? Meetings, weight training*, film study, injury treatment and voluntary conditioning. *Cannot be done during the two-hour rest between the two practices.

Sundays. A League participant school shall not participate in any athletic contest or conduct any practice, or teach any plays, formations, or skills on Sunday.

  • Violation. Any showing of films to, or meetings of athletes for the purpose of instructions or reviewing of plays, formations, or skills in any sport will be construed as a violation.
  • Coaches Sunday Meetings. This does not prevent coaches from meeting on Sunday or from viewing films or planning an instructional program, provided that no athletes are involved in this meeting.
Contest Scheduling Rules

Contest Scheduling Rules.

The following section combines State Law, State Board of Education regulations, and UIL rules regarding scheduling and participation in a contest.    

  • One contest per school week: According to State Board of Education mandates, students may only participate on one day per activity during the school week. School districts shall ensure no more than one contest or performance per activity is scheduled per student. 
  • *Exception: Tournaments and post-season competition may be scheduled as an exception to the school week limit. As well, district varsity contests postponed by weather or public disaster, provided that they are rescheduled and played on the next available date, other than Sunday, on which another district match is not scheduled.  Junior varsity, freshman and junior high teams may not play postponed matches as an exception.
    • Junior varsity, freshman and junior high teams may not play postponed matches as an exception. 
    • District varsity games that are postponed by weather or public disaster, and not played on the next available date, shall be rescheduled and played on a date determined by the District Executive Committee, but may not be made up as an exception to the school week limitation.
  • TEA and Participation: The Texas Education Agency defines participation as being involved with the activity, traveling with the team, or sitting on the bench. Example:  On a Tuesday night, the student’s name is on the scorebook but she remains on the bench and does not actually enter the game.  This counts as participation for TEA but not UIL, this student would not be able to participate again until after school on Friday, per TEA regulations.
  • UIL and Participation: UIL defines participation if a student athlete actually entered the contest as a player. In the example above, the contest does not count as one of the allowable games as determined by UIL policy.

Definitions:

  • Calendar week means 12:01 a.m. on Sunday through midnight on Saturday. 
  • School week means the week beginning at 12:01 a.m. on the first instructional day of a calendar week and ends at the close of instruction on the last instructional day of the calendar week, excluding holidays. 
  • Post-district play means competition in UIL playoff series or contests such as bi-district, area, regional, etc.
Track & Field Regulations
  • A student or team representing a member school shall participate in no more than one contest or meet per school week. 
  • No student representing a member school shall participate in more than eight invitational meets (more than three schools represented) during the school year, excluding district, one regional qualifier meet, regional and state meets. One regional qualifiers meet is allowed in addition to the allowable total of eight meets per student per year. 
  • Students are considered to be representing their school if they are wearing and/or using school equipment or being directed or transported by a school employee.
  • Students or teams representing a participant school are permitted to participate in an invitational track and field meet scheduled on a Saturday or school holiday. A meet may occur on the last day of the school week provided the first event starts after 2:30, or as early as the end of the academic school day for all participating schools on a day preceding a holiday or break. EXCEPTION: A student representing a member school may participate in a maximum of three meets Thursday or Friday, or the last day of the school week with no restriction on start time.
  • Students or teams representing a participant school are permitted to participate on any school day (other than the last day of the school week) with the following conditions:
    • Events shall not begin until after the end of the academic school day for all schools involved.
    • The meet must be limited to a one-day meet and no event shall start after 10pm. 
    • The school or individual shall not enter another track and field meet until after the close of the instructional day for the school week. 
  • Meets with more than three schools, it shall count as one of his/her eight track meets allowed during the school year. Meets with three or fewer schools shall count as a contest for the school week, however it does not count against the invitational meet allowance.
Track & Field Rules

National Federation Track and Field/Cross Country Rules Book shall be enforced at all UIL meets. NFHS rule books may be purchased from the NFHS Website. www.nfhs.org

Events & Scoring

A participant may be allowed to compete in a total of three running events (including relays) and no more than five events total. A participant could compete in five field events provided they are not in a running event. 

  • Events shall be held in the order provided in the UIL C&CR Track & Field Plan section 1320(c)(1).
  • Scoring shall be 1st-6th place and points will be awarded 10-8-6-4-2-1. Relays will be 20-16-12-8-4-2. 
  • Fully automatic timing is recommended and all manual times must be converted by NFHS calculation requirements. 
  • State records can only be set at the State Meet. 
  • Dual, triangular and invitational meets may determine the number of competitors to be placed in each section.
    • When determining the number of competitors to be placed in each section, it is important to consider the size of the field, the quality of the performances of the competitors involved and the relationship to risk minimization.
    • A section should not be so large as to create an environment that increases the risk for injury due to the competitors being too crowded and not able to freely run.
Equipment & Implements
All track and field markings and equipment must comply with the National Federation Track and Field specifications. Implements and vaulting poles must meet competitive requirements and the meet host shall determine the procedures regarding verification.
Uniforms

Each competitor shall wear a school issued track top and bottom or one-piece uniform per the NFHS specifications. 

  • Male participants must wear a loose-fitting track bottom, and they must wear shorts over the one-piece suit of compression style bottoms.  
  • Closed leg briefs are acceptable for girls, however high-cut apparel shall not be worn. 
  • Bare midriffs are not allowed for participants
  • Visible undergarments must the NFHS specifications including the relay members
  • Jewelry and wristwatches are allowed by NFHS rule. 

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