Meet management is defined, here, as how to get a meet started, make it run (and run efficiently), and to anticipate, recognize, and solve the common problems in the running of a meet.
While the direct responsibility for managing the meet usually falls to the Meet Director, all of the key meet officials must be aware of the principles. It certainly doesn't hurt if all meet workers know how the meet will be managed but getting the information to 30 to 60 people is difficult.
As with managing any system or process, success starts with the knowledge of how it operates. The Meet Director and key officials should be aware of and read the sections in this handbook on Announcing, Staging, Starting, the Finish Line and Awards as a minimum. Knowledge of the field events is also useful.
Prerequisite to successful meet day management are the early season and pre-meet preparation tasks. While the urgency of accomplishing the pre-season tasks is hard to develop, a meet cannot run successfully without them. The Meet Director (and others interested) should carefully read the section on pre-season/meet activities and consider them absolutely essential to having a successful and efficient meet. It's very difficult to imagine a good meet if an important task like arranging for the facility and having it ready isn't done.
One of the most important pre-meet items that can be done is to insure that meet staffing has been considered. The Staffing section in this book on how many, what types, and when to recruit the meet workers should also be read.
If the pre-meet activities are started and completed in time for the meet, a giant step has been taken toward the successful meet. The activities on meet day will simply be execution without panic or turmoil. Fail to do any one of the pre-meet tasks, and you have guaranteed a tough meet day and probably a bad experience for many.
Meet management on meet day is the management of a repetitive process. Actually, there is more than one process to manage: there is one for the running events, and at least one for each field event. If any one field event is contested at more than one pit (or area), then the two pits are separate processes.
The meet efficiency, and therefore its length, is primarily determined by the running events. Only in extreme cases can the field events affect the length of the meet. The field events can greatly affect the overall efficiency of the meet, however.
Since the running events are relatively independent from all of the field events, and the primary factor in meet length, the running event process will be discussed first.
All running events are run sequentially one after another through the same process. That process is:
1) Third call is made for the event.
2) Runners show up in staging and are organized into races by being places into flights and lanes. They are sent to the starting line.
3) The starter starts the race.
4) As the race finishes, the finish line records the times and places and sends the information to awards.
5) Awards records the results and makes out and distributes the awards.
Steps 1 through 4 are the controlling factor in timing. The awards can and actually do "pile-up" from time to time and do not need to be completed for one race before the next is run.
Get to know the process by heart. Have each area ready to do its part as soon as possible. There is a cosmic truth to a short meet and if you don't remember anything else about meet management, remember this:
THE INTERVAL BETWEEN THE RACES IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR TO CONTROL!
Specifically, the time from the finish of one race to the firing of the gun for the next should be your first concern. The interval is entirely under the control of the finish line. Most meets will "run long" exclusively because this interval is not managed or recognized as the important factor it really is. This entire manual was written because of the high number of long running meets in the 1988 season, which in turn were due primarily to the slow recovery of the finish line between races.
The interval can be judged as follows:
Less than 2 minutes - Good. You will have a very efficient meet. 1-2 minutes should be your limit for the 100s and 220s.
2 to 3 minutes - About average. Meet will be on-time. Except for the 100's and 220's, this should be your target.
3 to 4 minutes - Be careful - your meet is in jeopardy of running long.
Over 4 minutes - Something is wrong. Go to the finish and see what the problem is. Take some kind of action NOW.
If you want an idea of the impact of just 1 minute longer between races, consider that you will probably run at least 80 races during the day - 1 minute longer will increase your meet by a minimum of 1 HOUR and 20 MINUTES !!!
I consider the interval between the races the "pulse" of the meet. I take it often during the meet as a symptom of how the meet is going and I start with the very first race. It is THE place to start to diagnose and fix meet problems.
Here is a brief description of the diagnostic process to use during meets. You may not use it exactly, but it should provide some type of starting point:
Let's start by saying the "pulse" has just been taken and the interval was 6 minutes - definitely a danger sign !
1. Go to the finish line - try to determine if the finish line or starting line caused the delay. It's usually the finish line.
If its the finish line - Let's also assume you have read the Finish Line section in this book or know how the line should operate. Look for and correct the following:
- Is someone clearly in charge (Finish Coordinator) and do they know what to do ?
- Are there enough timers ?
- Are the timers assigned properly ? Are they timing and picking places not lanes?
- Are the timers recovering the tags and taking them to the finish clerk with the times?
- Are the timers involved in resolving discrepancies ? THEY SHOULDN'T BE !! Once they have given their tag and time to the finish clerk, the timer should immediately leave the area around the clerk.
- Is the clerk doing his/her job ? Does he/she know how to record the places and times (including the "rounding" of the times) ? IS THE FINISH CLERK MAINTAINING ORDER IN THE RECORDING PROCESS ?
- Is the finish line properly signalling their readiness to the start ? Is only one person doing the signaling (it should be the Finish Coordinator) ?
Most of the problems at the finish line can be attributed to either lack of knowledge or lack of control. The finish line needs an element of discipline as well as a sense of urgency but not panic. Most importantly, that very key official, the Finish Coordinator, needs to gain control of the finish line and move it quickly and efficiently through its paces.
If you determine that the finish line is not at fault in the delay, go to the starting line.
2. At the starting line see if the delay was due to the starting line or because the line had no runners to start. It is most often not the starting line's fault. If you think the starting line is at fault, look for and correct the following:
- The Starter delaying too long in beginning his instructions. Immediately after a race has started, the Starter should begin setting up the next race, by giving instructions, placing and setting blocks if necessary, and getting the runners to their marks.
For the 100's and 220's, the starter should begin getting the next race ready immediately following the departure of the preceding race.
- Is placing and setting the starting blocks taking too long ? Get extra help - 1 or 2 adults can really reduce the time block placing and setting takes. Are there enough hammers heavy enough to do the job ?
- Is the Starter communicating with the finish line ?
How soon can he tell the finish line is ready? Is the Finish Line Coordinator hard to contact?
3. At staging try to determine if the athletes are getting to staging in a timely fashion or not. If they are not, look for and correct:
- Is the stager able to communicate effectively with the Announcer? This is critical - if it's a problem, fix it immediately.
- Are the calls being made ? Can you hear them ?
- Who is deciding when the calls are to be made ?
- Are 3 calls being made for each event ? Are the calls spaced apart or do you hear "This is 1st, 2nd and 3rd call for ___"?
- Is the staging area clearly identified and can it be found ?
- Does the Stager know what to do and is he/she doing it effectively ?
- Is control maintained in staging ? Confusion and noise should be kept to a minimum.
- Is staging located so that it is convenient to the Start/Finish line? Can you see the starting line from staging (Can the stager tell when to send the next race ?) ?
- Does the Stager need help to escort the flights to the start?
As you can see, the diagnostic process starts with the end or "bottle neck" at the finish and steps backwards through the sequential process until the problem is found.
From time to time during the meet, I find a spot I can see the finish line, starting line and staging. It also helps if the position you take is also in an area where the calls should be heard. From the right position, you can take the "pulse" of the meet often and observe the flow of runners and events.
From your position, you can see or hear several things:
- Time the interval between races. Interval is started when the last runner in the prior race crosses the finish until the gun is fired for the following race.
- Listen to the calls. Are 3 calls being made for each event ? Are they space at least 5 minutes apart or are several calls for the same event made at the same time?
Can you hear the calls well ? Is the P.A. volume OK and can you hear it in needed areas ? Is the announcer making clear and distinct calls ?
- Are the runners spending a minimum amount of time in staging?
- Does the staging area seem to have a somewhat even flow of runners through it ? Are there times when no one is staged for long periods ?
- Is the starting line working efficiently in starting races as soon as possible ? How is the "pace" of the Starter's actions?
- Are there clear paths for the competitors from staging to the starting line and from the finish line away from the track ?
Above all, look for that interval between races to be 3 minutes or less and for the overall process to be smooth.
It is often a problem getting the meet started and then again, at a point somewhere after noon, a "slow down" will occur.
Getting started in the morning is important to ending the day at a reasonable time. An "on-time" start can be done if, and only if, your facility and pre-meet activities are complete AND you have the staff. If you have both of those items, the Meet Director sometimes must force the first call at about 8:15, possibly even before all is ready. Forcing the call will overcome the inertia that always exists in the early morning.
The slowdown just after noon typically occurs for several reasons. The Meet director must recognize when it begins to happen and take corrective actions. Some of the reasons the slowdown occurs are:
1) The meet officials who have worked since about 8:30 depart and the replacements don't show.
2) An element of fatigue sets in and, when accompanied by the slower pace of the races being run at that time (the 1 mile runs), the meet slows down.
3) Lunch is being served. Meet workers, competitors, and parents either stop completely for lunch or are slowed down by eating and working.
I'm sure there are even more reasons. The most important cause to recognize is the first one. Proper planning and staffing before the meet as described in the "Staffing" section of the handbook, will be your best preventative measure. If you see this happening, a quick recruiting round to the stands is in order.
Taking action is important. I have seen meets "on-time" at 12:00 to 1:00 and about 1 hour of competition left end at 3:30 to 4:00 because of the "slowdown".
Managing the field events is a much simpler matter than managing the running events since the field events do not depend on a "process" of so many areas working well together.
The field events are, as mentioned earlier, a particular challenge in that each needs to be managed separately and independently from the others. Just because high jump is running well doesn't mean that long jump will be. Also, if the event is contested in 2 pits as is many times the case, one high jump pit may be OK and the other in trouble.
Comparatively speaking, managing a field event is simple and only requires 4 things:
1. That the pit or throwing area be ready (sectors marked, pits leveled, run-up area clear, etc)
2. That the necessary equipment (pits, cross bars, standards, rakes, shovels, puts, etc) be there.
3. That the meet officials be there and knowledgeable on how to run the event. This handbook will help.
4. That the competitors are there.
Your pre-meet activities will take care of the first two and, hopefully, the third. This leaves only the consideration for when and how to make the calls for the event.
The main problem in getting the calls for the field events is that the different areas are seldom in contact directly with the announcer. The meet director should plan ahead on how the field event areas are to let the announcer know when calls are needed. If radios for each area are not practical, the meet director or referee can plan periodic visits to each area with a radio and contact the announcer for the field event judge. Runners might also be considered as an alternative. If the field event areas are near an area with a radio, plan ahead to let both areas know they will be sharing.
1) Where and how to get the calls made.
2) Where event entry/results sheets are to be obtained.
3) Where and how the event results are to sent.
4) Who to contact if there are problems.
5) What the order of events for that specific area is, ie, if 2 pits are to be used for HJ, what groups will be jumping in what order at that pit.
6) Any questions on how the event is to be run.
Once started, the field events typically run well without assistance or problems. I generally pay a lot of attention to the field events at the beginning of the meet and little after that unless the crew changes or there are problems.
The chief problem to anticipate is one of staffing. The field events are, in my opinion, more difficult to get and keep meet workers for since they usually involve less action and are usually located remote to the running events.
Often, the action will slow at a field event because the competitors are away at a running event (which does have priority over field events). The workers can and will disappear if not warned ahead and encouraged to stay.