> Oh and I LOVE this one. If you go to a meet and the host school doesn't have an event facility that is safe all the coaches can get together >and declare the event over before it starts. All the team points will be divided equally between all competitors except the host school which >gets nothing.
That has been a rule in Massachusetts for a long time - several decades. It is primarily for the high jump and pole vault. I had to exercise this rule a couple times when I was coaching 10 years ago. In one case, the pole vault standards were bent about 3 feet inward so that many kids hit them on the way up. In another, they only had two of the three high jump pads and I refused my team's participation when a jumper in a warmup (from the other team as I recall) flew cleanly over the pads without even brushing the it. In both cases, the opposing coach did not complain at all and in fact apologized profusely. I think this rule makes good sense. I am NOT convinced that all the new "safety" rules from the past few years are a good idea - the fact that a school with a small budget can no longer have a 160 lb vaulter hold 2 feet down on a 15' pole rated at 150 lbs is absurd. - Ed Parrot
