Ohio's Indoor Track & Field Season has been growing each year. The first meet of the 2017 Indoor season is this weekend at Tiffin. Ohio does not have established Indoor State qualification times or marks. If your a veteran to our Indoor T&F season or if you are new to the system or a freshman, here's a review of what you need to know about Ohio's Indoor season and qualification for the OATCCC Indoor State Meet on March 4th at the University of Akron.
First, the OATCCC runs the Indoor State Meet, not OHSAA. They have a web site that explains the Ohio Indoor season in detail, as well as listing the specific Indoor State qualifying meets. The link is below. Please note thatThe indoor meet Calendar list is tentative and subject to change. Please contact the host sites for meet information and registration with the exception of the Indoor Championships. Also, some athlete qualifying performances will be accepted from out of State competitions that some athletes may compete at. The goal is to make sure that the best Ohio athletes that are eligible for the Indoor Championships qualify.
The OATCCC Indoor State Championshipswill be held at the University of Akron this year. The date of the meet isSaturday, March 4, 2016. The Division I meet will begin at 9:30 AM(DI schedule) and the Division II/III meet will begin at3:30 PM (DII/III schedule). This meet is the Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches indoor championship meet andis only open to 2016 paid members of our association.
ELIGIBILITY
At the time of this posting, the State Meet Information is not yet available. However, when it is available it will be on the OATCCC Web Site and all Top 35 Weekly Rankings on Ohio MileSplit will have a link to this information. Please note, that the State Meet information on the OATCCC Web Site will be your official information source. However, here is what is important to know:
For an athlete to be eligible, two major criteria must be met:
First, the following criteria must be met by the athlete and the coach.
"To be eligibleto participate in the OATCCC indoor championships anathlete must be a competitor on a high school team where the athlete attends school.The team must be approved and recognized by the local Board of Education(check with your athletic director). All athletes from an approved high school team must meet all of the local eligibility requirements for participation just as they would for participation on any OHSAA recognized athletic teams at that school.The high school team must be coached by a Board of Education recognized coach. The coach must also be a paid member of the Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches.The coaches OATCCC membership number is required during all phases of this process. In addition, coaches must print and complete theVerification Form.(link not available yet).No athlete will be permitted to compete if any of the previous criteria are known to have not been met,or if the official coach is not present at the meet or if any of the required "Eligibility Verification" form is not completed.This form must be signed by the high school athletic director or principal."
Note: The official coach"MUST'' bepresent at the OATCCC Indoor State Championship meet.Club coaches, unless they are the paid, Board of Education recognized coach, are not permitted to coach an athlete.
Second, an athlete must be listed in the TOP 35 in an event on the PERFORMANCE LIST.
"PERFORMANCE LISTS:The lists will reflect the TOP 35 in each event and the TOP 18 entered performances will qualify to the State Championship, an increase of two additional athletes invited to compete.
To qualifyfor participation in the championship meet any athlete (or relay team) must meet the following requirement. The athlete or relay team must be listed on the final Top 35 Performance List for each event in which they will be entered. Only athletes entered in meets with their official school name are included on the performance list.Athletes listed as unattached or coached by a team not meeting the previously stated criteria are not eligible.No club affiliated or unattached athletes will be listed or are eligible to compete. Abbreviated school names should match known abbreviations used by the OHSAA for the outdoor tournament. Abbreviated school names will not be listed if the school is unknown. Each high school team may only qualify one relay team per event.
"One very common problem that we are having is that there are still high school coaches who do not know if their school recognizes indoor track and field. In some instances, it is only a before week the OATCCC Championship and coaches are attempting to get their school to recognize indoor track and field so that they can compete. Coaches - you need to know in January if your school recognizes indoor track and field. Do not wait until March to know if your school recognizes indoor track and field. It is your responsibility to know if your school board has approved and recognizes indoor track."
