Final list of competitors in McDonald’s All School ready tomorrow

The final list of athletes that will compete in this Saturday’s 2006 McDonald’s All Schools Track and Field Championships is expected to be finalized tomorrow and will be released Friday.

Coaches from various schools participating in the annual event met with Northern Marianas Athletics officials yesterday afternoon at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium and were briefed on all matters relating to the event.

Among the issues discussed were the limitation on athletes per school for each event. Each school will be limited to three athletes per event in a division, which NMA secretary general Robin Sapong said would enable participants from other schools to compete.

Sapong provided a master list of qualifiers for each event, and informed school representatives and coaches that if they have more than three athletes that qualified in an event, the school must determine which three athletes will compete.

Also, because many schools did not have participants in the 4X100m and 4X400m relays, NMA decided to give each school a slot in each of the events. NMA gave the coaches at yesterday’s meeting the final say in the idea, and it was upheld as all coaches agreed.

Coaches were also briefed on the process of raising a protest, which must be lodged initially with the referee. Appeals to the jury are to be made in writing on the appropriate appeal form, which will be available at the information center.

Also, an athlete will be excluded from participating in all further events in the competition if he or she fails to participate in events in which they qualified for without a reasonable excuse. The exclusion also includes relays where an athlete has qualified.

Qualifiers for the Championships concluded on Monday, with more than 1,200 total entries. The number is expected to increase as it does not include entries for Tinian athletes.

NMA also disclosed that athletes from Rota will not be able to compete.

The qualifiers presented the students with opportunities to compete for one of six slots available in each track and field event. After today’s qualifier, NMA officials will finalize the list of qualifiers for all events.

An individual is limited to just four events for the Championships, with exception to the 11-and-under and 9-and-under participants who are competing in the 800m and 1,500m events, who will be competing in only three events.

Six slots will be available for Saipan athletes as the two remaining spots will be occupied by Tinian and Rota. In the case that Rota or Tinian does not have a competitor in an event, the next best finisher from the Saipan qualifiers will take the slot.

Each event will also count in the team scoring, with each first place finish earning 10 points, second place earning eight points, third place six points, fourth place four points, fifth place two points, and sixth place one point.

Team trophies will be awarded to the top three schools in each age category for boys and girls. Medals will also be presented to the top three performers in each event.

For more information about the Nationals or McDonald’s events, contact NMA coaches director Elias Rangamar at 664-2502 or email to eli_rang@yahoo.com or email Sapong at sapong@pticom.com.