Introduction
Qualifying Meets
Karen Assal Memorial Meet
Region 20 Championship Meet
Area C Championship Meet
Archdiocesan Championship Meet
Summary
|
Introduction
This article is intended for those new to the “CYO Track Experience”. It will also benefit
'old hands' who never quite understood what all these different meets are and how the
whole thing fits together.
It will answer questions like, 'Just what is a "Region 20"
anyway?', and 'Qualifying Meet? Qualifying for what?'
|
The Region 20 Qualifying Meets
Region 20 holds a series of meets prior to the Region 20 Karen Assal Memorial Qualifying
Meet called the Region 20 Qualifying Meets. In years past there have been as few as four
and as many as seven Qualifying Meets.
The Qualifying Meets are non-competitive. There are no points scored, trophies awarded,
or winners declared. The Qualifying Meets are where individuals practice their skills,
experiment with new techniques developed during team practice sessions, and demonstrate
their abilities.
All Qualifying Meets, including the Karen Assal, have no entry restrictions. Anyone can
perform in as many events as they choose, subject to the dictates of their coach.
Track meets tend to be rather time-consuming. For this reason, at most of the Qualifying
Meets, something less than a full compliment of events is held.
|
The Region 20 Karen Assal Memorial Qualifying Meet
The Region 20 Karen Assal Memorial Qualifying Meet is the last in the series of
qualifying meets hosted by Region 20. Unlike the other qualifying meets, the Karen Assal
meet is the only qualifying meet at which the full slate of events is conducted.
The Karen Assal meet provides the last opportunity for you to put into practice the
techniques you’ve learned during the year and to display the results of your hard work
and training prior to your coach’s selections of your team’s representatives to attend
the Region 20 Championship meet.
The Region 20 Karen Assal Memorial Qualifying Meet might be described as semi-competitive.
While no points or trophies are awarded, ribbons are presented. Placement ribbons are
given to the first six finishers in each event and Honorable Mention ribbons are presented
to all other competitors.
|
The Region 20 Championship Meet
Each of the four Areas is divided into Regions. In total there are twenty regions in the four areas. While a letter designates an Area, a number is used to designate a Region. In Area “C” there are three Regions. Ours is Region 20. Typically there are about ten parishes fielding teams in Region 20, consisting of about 600 children.
Each year, a week or two before the Area “C” Championship Meet, Region 20 holds its own track meet. There is only one Region 20 Championship Meet held each year. As with the other 'Championship' meets, it too is a competitive meet involving points and trophies. The top finishers in the Region 20 Championship Meet advance to the Area “C” Championship Meet.
As are both the Archdiocesan and Area “C” Championship Meets, the Region 20 Championship Meet is also not an ‘open’ meet. However, unlike the other two meets, you cannot earn the right to compete in the Region 20 meet. Instead, you must be ‘invited’ or ‘chosen’ by your coach to represent your team at this meet.
In the week prior to the Region 20 Championship Meet, each parish coach must select the competitors who will represent the parish's team at the Region 20 Championship meet and possibly beyond. For smaller teams this selection process is not especially difficult, but for larger teams it may be somewhat traumatic. This is because of the entry restrictions, imposed by the Archdiocese, governing all three of the Championship meets.
The first of these restrictions is that no one is allowed to compete in more than three events. (There are exceptions when it comes to some of the field events.) Even if you’re the best on your team in four events; you can only compete in three of them.
The second restriction is that no team may enter more than three competitors in any event. In the Novice Boys group there are 9 events, which means that each parish coach has a total of 27 spots to fill with novice boys. For smaller teams, some of those 27 spots may go unfilled. (If a team has only 5 novice boys, it can only fill 15 of the 27 spots because of the first restriction.) Large teams, with more than 27 novice boys, will not be able to field their entire roster, even if each boy competes in but a single event.
These restrictions are consistent with the overall intent and philosophy of CYO sports and are specifically designed to prevent “runaway” or “blowout” situations. Extremely talented individuals will not be able to demonstrate their prowess by winning 9 gold medals because the first restriction will only allow them to compete in three events. Large teams, with an abundance of talent, will find it difficult to get their entire team on the field due to the second restriction.
Because of these restrictions, it's not possible to state any objective criteria that will guarantee you'll be selected by your coach to be in the Region 20 Championship Meet. In making their selections, coaches are faced with the task of balancing your personal wishes with the best interests of the team as a whole, all the while staying within the rules and conforming to the entry restrictions. The best suggestion is simply to do your best and demonstrate your abilities to your coach at the qualifying meets.
|
The Area C Championship Meet
For the purpose of CYO sports, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is divided into Areas. There are four areas and a letter is assigned to each. Our area is called Area “C”.
Each year, a week or two before the Archdiocesan Championship Meet, Area “C” holds its own track meet. There is only one Area “C” Championship Meet held each year. It is also a competitive meet involving points and trophies. The top individual finishers in the Area "C" Championship Meet advance to the Archdiocesan Championship Meet.
As with the Archdiocesan Championship Meet, the Area “C” Championship Meet is also not an ‘open’ meet. You earn the right to compete in the Area “C” Championship Meet by distinguishing yourself at the Region 20 Championship Meet.
|
The Archdiocesan Championship Meet
Each year the Archdiocese of Philadelphia holds a track meet. There’s only one. It’s called “The Archdiocesan Championship Meet” and it’s the last event of the Track-and-Field year. This is a competitive meet. Points are awarded to the top individual finishers in each event and their parish teams are awarded trophies based on their accumulation of points.
The Archdiocesan Championship Meet is not an ‘open’ meet. You can’t just decide on your own to compete in that meet. You must, instead, earn the right to be there. You earn that right by distinguishing yourself at the Area "C" Championship Meet.
|
Summary
So that, in a nutshell, explains the structure of meets held during the track and field year. Here's a quick summary:
The Region 20 Qualifying Meets (4 to 6 non-competitive meets)
The Region 20 Karen Assal Memorial Qualifying Meet (1 semi-competitive meet)
The Region 20 Championship Meet (1 competitive meet)
The Area “C” Championship Meet (1 competitive meet)
The Archdiocesan Championship Meet (1 competitive meet)
Another way to look at this is to consider the Qualifying Meets as ‘the season’ and the three Championship meets at the ‘post-season’. Being chosen to compete in the post-season is an honor earned by dedication and perseverance during the regular season.
|
|
|
|
