Actually, I believe a great deal of it has been determined:
The four regional meets would be held the final weekend of May. In
2003 there are five weekends in May, so it would be the latest
possible dates, May 30-31. The NCAA would be 2 weeks later, or in
2003 June 11-14.
In future years, May's schedule would become compressed, pushing
conference meets that have traditionally been the third weekend of
May onto the second weekend. (The main impact here is likely to come
in the East, where many schools have traditionally had two
conference meets -- their own, plus the IC4A/ECAC. That meet is now
under pressure to move to a new place on the calendar.)
The first 5 finishers in each region would qualify automatically for
the NCAA meet. In addition, some additional number -- 6 to 8 -- would
also be advanced to the national meet. These people would be
selected, based upon their performance during the season. They would
represent exemptions, because of extenuating circumstances such as
illness, a false start, a family illness that week. It's not clear
what would qualify as a legitimate excuse, and how it would be
authenticated. It's not clear how the honest-effort rule would work.
For example, what happens if a high-ranking athlete pulls up during a
race and doesn't finish? I believe, the way the rules are currently
written, that person would probably be advanced.
Athletes are required to participate in the Regionals. It's not clear
if simply participation is necessary. That is, can a good sprinter
run just a heat of the 100 and then sit out the rest of the meet?
(similar to Maurice Greene's approach to recent Nationals)
If an athlete who is high on the year's performance list is not
having a good day, it will probably in their interest not to complete
their competition at Regionals. For example, if you have two fouls in
the LJ, it would be better to pass the third mark, or foul badly, and
come up limping. In the HJ, again, if you have 2 misses at a low
height, it would be wise to pass and complain of an upset stomach.
On the other hand, if the list leader has a bad day and finishes 7th
in an event, will that person be passed on to the nationals anyway?
How will these situations be handled?
Presumably there would still be a declaration process as well, so
this could become very confusing a week after the regional meets. For
example, a school could have qualifiers in a number of distance
events, doubled and tripled, and then select the one event they
prefer a week later. This could then knock out people who had been
top-5 finishers. How are those slots filled? By people who finished
6th, 7th, 8th? What about the list of extra qualifiers? How are they
prioritized in such a system?
Qualification to regionals: All conference champions (which
conferences?) plus all athletes who meet performances equal to the
100th-best marks from the previous college season. It's not clear if
these lists will include wind-aided or altitude-assisted marks, or
indoor marks. I believe such lists have already been produced for the
2001 season, to give chances a look at how this will work next season.
It is likely that some teams will adjust their entries for conference
meets based in part on who has already qualified for Regionals from
their teams. If one of your runners is already on the Q list in the
800, then why run her in that event? If she can win the conference
1,500, regardless of her time, she can gain an additional qualifying
position. It also might help a teammate get a shot in the 800.
Distances -- It seems likely that all of the Regional 1500s, 5ks and
steeples will be slow, tactical affairs, because place -- and
preserving your best for 2 weeks later -- is primary. The exception
might be someone who feels they're second-tier. The rest of the field
might let him go anyway, preferring to angle for spots 2 through 5.
Relays -- How will they work? If a good team has one runner ill, can
the squad sit out the Regional and get passed in? Again, they would
be better off doing that than running and finishing 7th, correct? If
a good team drops the baton in the 4x1, can that team be passed in as
one of the at-large teams?
JP
Geoff Thurner asks:
although i doubt if anything's exactly definite, is there a url address for
a description of the d1 regional qualifying plan that's supposedly been
ratified
i want to get all the exact, official details - not rumors
if you mean details of how the meet is going to be run, the precise
geographical splits, etc., etc., the answer as TFN understands it
is no, simply becuase all this is scheduled to be worked out when
the coaches meet in Baton Rouge for nationals. For now, all that has
been approved is the concept, and the greater number of athletes for
nationals.
gh
