- Part of the Life of an Elite Athlete
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- Imagine yourself as an elite athlete: the overseas trips, the National Squad training sessions, the international team kit, the drugs tests ... You may not miss these last just because you're not a star: the drugs testers could well appear at competitions such as the National League matches, the Area Championships, or even the English Schools Championships. And a refused test, even for the non-elite, counts as a failed test. Here's What Happens if you're called up for a test.
- The Countback Rule
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- The Countback rule in High Jump and Pole Vault -- possibly the most misunderstood rule in the sport? Here's how it operates.
- Seven Into Six Goes ... ?
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- Many Throws or Horizontal Jumps competitions run on the basis of "everybody gets three attempts, the best six (or some other number) have three further attempts. But there's a rare but significant Complication ...
The Joys Of Being an Athletics Secretary?
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- “Here, there, everywhere, now on the track, now in the dressing-room, now soothing the feelings of this or that grumbler
(for an athletic meeting is seldom without some competitor or spectator with an imaginary grievance), is Mr. Herbert, the energetic
and courteous secretary of the A.A.A., who has had all the burden of preparing for the meeting upon his shoulders”.
(From “Athletics and Football” by Montague Shearman(1894). He was one of the three men who met at the Randolph Hotel, Oxford on August 24th 1880 to begin the formation of the A.A.A. He later became a Judge (no, not a Track or Field one but a real live wig-wearing one).
Exchanging Race Numbers? Don't Do It!!!
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- If a runner pre-enters a race, then finds that for whatever reason that they can't run on the day, they may be tempted to pass the
number to someone who can. It's against UKA Rules. There have been cases where the race organisers have found themselves trying to present an award to
an ineligible athlete. And if the runner-on-the day has a medical emergency during the event, the consequences don't bear thinking about.
Some race organisers may accept the number back for re-allocation, but they don't have to. But none has (yet) advocated these measures, taken in the early 20th century:
"At the 1910 November monthly meeting, the Hon. Secretary read a newspaper report of proceedings at Banbury Police Court against an athlete who entered and competed at the Banbury Sports in the name of another athlete and on a false entry. The prosecution, which was undertaken at the expense of the AAA through Banbury Harriers resulted in the man being sent to prison for a month with hard labour".
(from the Centenary History of the Midland Counties AA).