Just how does an athlete register for meets and specific races?
Typically, athletes will run most of the meets available on the schedule. Beginning athletes sometimes wait to get some training under them; some jump right in with both feet. The decision for which meets and which races are made in conjunction with the the athlete’s personal coach. As the athlete ages in the sport, the choice of events becomes more focused. Caveat: We avoid racing injured. There are exceptions, but not many (Olympics being one of them). For the record, I am very cautious about this.
Distance runners will generally do one race per day from the list of meets (“Fixtures List”). In a two day meet, an athlete might run an 800m one day and a 400m OR 1500m the next day or some other selection. If the athletes personal schedule dictates it, perhaps only one race is done over the two days of the meet. On one day meets, one event is the norm (if you are a sprinter, sometimes you might do two, but the races would not be too long).
Two to three weeks before a meet, I will send out a tentative schedule for the meet which would indicate the date, and roughly what time the races are going to be run. As well, I would indicate a date by which I need a commitment from the athlete as to whether s/he will be at that meet. Your club fees cover the entries for the meet, so you do not have to pay anything; the club covers things once you are registered. If something arises at the last minute and the athlete cannot attend, please let me know as soon as you find out. You will not be billed for events you miss (unless it gets out of hand). (The club does not cover costs of road races, nor does it for out of the country races; it does however, cover costs for half of national championship registration.)
Once the registration date has passed, whomever is running the meet will generate a final schedule which I will send out upon receiving it. This usually occurs a couple of days before the meet.
Track meets are allowed to run up to fifteen minutes early, so I recommend that the athlete gets to the track an hour before their event and come and see me to check-in (it sounds dramatic, I really just want to know that the athlete is there so that we can talk about the race). I am usually near the back-straight of the track while the meet is going on.
Here is a link to the Athletics Manitoba page where all the meet information is contained.
Additional Information about the Meets
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!
Wombat Track 