We have been receiving a lot of inquiries about the middle school state meet and qualifiers this year. Mostly everything is the same as last year, with the exception of our partnership with FLYRA.
FLYRA Partnership
In late February, we officially partnered with the newly-formed non-profit FLYRA (Florida Youth Running Association) to put on this event. The track & field championship becomes a signature event in their series that also includes the Cross Country Championship that was put on last November.
Materially speaking, this won't really change anything. However, it provides us additional resources, promotion, and credibility with their support. More details to be announced about that.
State Championship Meet
The championship will again be held at Holy Trinity Academy in Melbourne, Florida. It will be on May 7, 2011. Registration will open in April to qualifiers only. More meet info...
Regional Championship Qualifiers
Our regional qualifying meets allow athletes to compete and qualify by hitting the qualifying standards (like any qualifier) but also the winner in each event will automatically qualify for the state meet. Registration for all of our regional championships are now open.
East Region - Melbourne, Florida
West Region - St. Petersburg, Florida
South Region - Miami, Florida
North Region - Jacksonville, Florida
Panhandle Region - Ft. Walton Beach, Florida
Southeast Region - We are looking for someone willing to host a qualifier in Collier, Lee, or Charlotte Counties. Contact jason@flrunners.com
FHSAA District/Region/State as Qualifiers
Some middle school athletes in 1A and 2A schools (especially private schools) may find themselves competing in their high school season and thus it is hard to compete in one of the designated qualifiers. For this reason, we will recognize performances meeting the qualifying standards at the FHSAA district, region, or state meet as well.
Other Qualifying Meets
Besides the regional championships, we recnogize many other large meets as qualifiers. We will consider any official county championship meet as a qualifier, others will be considered on a case-by-case basis (contact jason@flrunners.com to be considered). But the basic requirements are a well-run meet with fully-automatic timing, well-maintained and safe facility, and sufficient trained officials/staff.
The currently recognized qualifying meets are listed on our state championship meet homepage.
Qualifying Standards and Rules
The qualifying standards and rules are the same as last year and can be found in the official meet handbook. Please look through the handbook, but for your ease, here are the standards:
GIRLS BOYS
100m 13.25 12.25
200m 27.50 25.25
400m 64.00 58.00
800m 2:40.00 2:20.00
1500m 5:35.00 4:55.00
1600m* 6:00.00 5:15.00
3000m 12:10.00 11:00.00
3200m* 13:00.00 11:45.00
100H 19.50 18.50
200H 35.00 31.50
300H 53.00 46.00
GIRLS BOYS
4x100 54.00 49.00
4x400 4:40.00 4:00.00
4x800 11:40.00 10:10.00
Shot 28-0 38-0
Disc 70-0 90-0
LJ 14-6 17-6
TJ 24-0 30-0
HJ 4-4 5-0
PV 6-0 7-0
* = Not contested at state meet, but can be used to qualify
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can participate?
Any Florida residents from 3rd to 8th grades (see age requirements and more details in handbook). This includes unattached individuals, public school teams, private school teams, club teams, or home-school teams. If you are a member of an FHSAA school then you should be aware of their requirements and may need to compete as a "club"; however, that is an FHSAA requirement not ours.
What region am I? Can I compete in another regional meet?
We no longer make a rule of strictly defined regions (in the past we had done so by county). Just compete in the region that is closest to you or easiest for you to get to. Teams/athletes are encouraged to compete within their local region; however, we will not enforce it so you can compete out of region or even in multiple regional meets.
More Information
We'll post more info, but feel free to email or post a comment to this article.
