From Teacher to Track Official: Middle School Track and Field Season

The summer weather has arrived and with school almost over that means it is track and field season for our school board. With well over 125 schools in our board, that means that there are track meets going on almost every day for the first few weeks of June. These are really big events to organize with hundreds of kids participating in each meet. This requires a great deal of planning and coordination from many teachers to pull these events off. Each track meet will have a convenor who is responsible for running the entire event. This person has a huge job and needs quite a few other teachers to help out and support along the way. I have been involved with the track and field meets in our region for three years now and I absolutely love doing it. I am especially fond of track and field because so many students get to participate. Often, it is the opportunity for students who miss out on making smaller teams to shine and have their moment in the spotlight.

Teams preparing to run



For the three years that I have been working these track meets I have been the starter. For those of you who might not know, the starter is the person that shoots the gun to signal the start of the race. I was really excited when I was first asked to take on this position at the track meets. I mean, who wouldn’t be? I was going to be the guy who shot the gun. How cool was that? I quickly realized that there was much more to my role than just

RUNNERS…… TAKE YOUR MARK….. SET…… BANG

My weapon tool for the job



Yes, this was certainly part of my job but I was also responsible for helping the official race starter. This person was in charge of organizing every runner and setting up each individual heat for every event. That is a massive undertaking with so many runners and events taking place. To assist with this job, I would position kids in the correct lanes and positions as he called out their names. As you can imagine there is always the element of dealing with kids who “might” not be paying as close attention as they need to while they are being organized. There is also the pre-race instructions that must be given before each race. Things that if you don’t remind the runners about will very often be forgotten and still are by some even with the reminders.

The pre-race instructions include the following:

• Make sure to ALWAYS stay in your lanes. (So many runners get disqualified for changing lanes)
• If you hear a second gunshot STOP. (This signals a false start and the race must restart)
• Don’t look at the starter (ME). Look forward and be ready to get a good start. (So many kids watch me trying to guess when the gun will go off, even when I am behind them.)
  
  
  It was so wet
  
  
  

The middle school meet this year was a fantastic day even though the weather didn’t quite cooperate. It was gloomy and rainy the entire day but that didn't squash the determination and drive that these young athletes showed up with. As officials, we get to watch every single race and on this day we were treated to some fantastic performances. The kids competing at these regional meets are fighting for a spot at the board championships where they will compete against the best competitor in their age group from across the entire school board. Besides all the running events there are also several field events happening. Events like Shot Put, Long Jump, High Jump and Triple Jump as well as Javelin. Unfortunately, as the gun starter for all the running events, I don’t get to see those events take place.

Here are some pictures from the wet and rainy Intermediate Track and Field meet this year:

The track



The start of the 4 X 100M relay



4 X 100M finish line

A fun aspect of being an official at these meets is that I also get to act in the role of coach. When athletes are called up to the events they are often very nervous and a little unsure about how this will all play out. For most of them, they have never actually run in a “real” race on a real track. The students who make it to this meet are usually there because they had the best-timed run at school and earned a trip to the track meet. The spotlight can be a little overwhelming at times. This is where us officials are able to offer some last minute advice and encouragement to help settle nerves and get runners prepared. It is so much fun to see the calmness that comes over them as they start feeling more comfortable and the determination as they are about to give it all they have.

The start of the boys 100M final

The day is capped off with the finals in both the 200M and 100M events. These are the kids that had the best times in the preliminary heats and will now run one race for all the marbles. The top 6 of 8 get to advance to the board finals the following week. The excitement in the runners and with the crowd is fantastic even though the weather hasn’t brightened even a little. It was an extremely successful day for everyone involved and there were so many smiles on students faces at the end. My own school had an amazing day and finished with 31 athletes making it to the board championships. What a fantastic showing for these youngsters. I was so proud of all their hard work.


Girls 100M Final



I am already looking forward to next year's meets. They really are so much fun to be involved with and I love being able to be involved in something that provides opportunities for these kids to showcase their abilities. This might be the last year that I am shooting the gun, however. Rumour has it that the head convenor might be moving on from his post and that means there is a position opening in a different role. I already organize a few other sports events in the region and this is one that I would be happy to do more to help out with.


All images and the video were taken by me