3A/4A UPDATES - 5/3/2014
1AM - Saturday is looking slightly better than Friday. The FHSAA announced the current plan is for events to go off on their scheduled times, starting at 9AM. Any schedule updates for inclement weather will be decided on by 10AM if needed. Follow the FHSAA on Twitter for the latest.
1A/2A UPDATES! - 5/2/2014
1PM - Field events have resumed, timed finals have started.
12PM - Field events are suspended due to heavy railfall. Hope to restart in next break in the weather.
10AM - Packet pickup changed to north end of the stadium. 1A/2A changed to a TIMED FINALS format beginning at 1PM with a "rolling schedule". Check out the updated heat sheets.
1AM - FHSAA says that all athletes and coaches should report to their event WELL BEFORE the schedule start time for 1A/2A on Friday May 2. This is because a ROLLING SCHEDULE will be used for ALL RUNNING EVENTS after the 4x800. An announcement will be made by 10AM for an adjusted schedule. Follow the FHSAA on Twitter for the latest.
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Weather (Again) Threatens FHSAA State Meet
Baseball hall-of-famer Yogi Bera famously once said: "It's déjà vu all over again." And that's exactly how athletes and coaches around the state are feeling today as they watch the weather forecast for this weekend.
The Weather Channel is calling for a 70% chance of rain on both Friday and Saturday, while Sunday (of course) is set to be perfectly beautiful. Friday morning hours offer a glimmer of sun through the cloud and could mean the 4x800, prelims, and some field events should be good to go. However, things start to turn ugly around 3:00 on Friday with a reported 100% chance of rain and thunderstorms. Friday night looks only slightly better with 50% chance of rain and scattered thunderstorms. Saturday looks to be pretty wet as well with 50-70% chance of rain all day, but on a positive note there will be reportedly less electricity in the storms.
The biggest issue for the FHSAA this weekend will be communication. Under similar circumstances last year, many criticized the state association for not giving timely updates and changing things last minute. This caused some athletes to be taken by surprise and many had to rush to the track and throw on spikes to race without even time to stretch. Other athletes completely missed their races. Certainly lessons were learned last year on all parts, so hopefully everyone will be better prepared going in for a fluid schedule.
From FHSAA.org In the case of inclement weather during the FHSAA State Finals Track & Field Meet, the FHSAA will use all communication avenues to get the message out to coaches, athletic directors, athletes and fans. Please take the time to bookmark our track and field webpage at www.fhsaa.org/sports/track-field, follow us on twitter @FHSAA, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/fhsaa. We will post the most up-to-date information on these social media networks. Please keep your athletes aware of the weather issues if they arise. This may affect their warmup and time schedules. If you have any questions please email Shanell Young at syoung@fhsaa.org.
We will keep everyone posted on any updates, as we get them. So stay posted here. You can also follow these links for updates:
Rain or shine, our coverage team will be on-site and bring you results, articles, photos, video interviews, and video race highlights.