Why is the event spread over 2 days instead of 1?
Can students with disabilities participate?
Why don’t you do the event earlier in the year so it’s cooler?
What if it’s really hot on meet day?
Are parents allowed on the field?
Why don’t you limit the number of participants and heats so the event is shorter?
Who gets a medal and are there participation awards?
How are race winners determined?
How are heats assigned and winners determined?
How many times does my child get to run their race?
How many times does my child get to jump, throw, or vault during the field events?
How are the field events scored?
Why aren’t the 400m & 800m runners more staggered at the starting line?
Are spikes allowed on the track?
How are relay teams determined?
Will I get a photo of my child racing or participating on the track or field?
How do I know what races are happening when?
Can you give us more detailed start times for races?
Will my child miss their baseball or softball game on Saturday?
Who gets the profits from this event?
Before the pandemic, for many years the All City Track Meet was held on Friday afternoon starting at 4pm. As participation increased, the event began to gradually extend later into the evening. Additionally, with this Friday evening format, we used to run upper grade field events simultaneously with upper grade running events. This was extremely chaotic and stressful for volunteers, and often resulted in participants inadvertently missing one of their running or field events. In 2022, we made the decision to stop doing simultaneous field events and running events, which we knew would naturally result in a longer event, so we held it all in one day on Saturday. After much discussion with the SPHS Head Track & Field Coach and evaluation of the survey results from that year, we decided to try a 2-day format in 2023, which is the typical format for Track & Field invitational events. Overall, this more spread out format means more total hours than it used to be–because we do not run simultaneous field and running and events, because we have more participants each year, and because splitting the event into 2 days allows us to stop limiting students to only 3 events total–but it is much easier on volunteers and (believe it or not!) less chaotic, and gives 4th and 5th graders more opportunities to try out different events. Survey results from 2023 show an overwhelming preference for a 2-day format with field events on Friday and running events on Saturday morning.
This year (2025), the following adapted events for students with disabilities will be added to the Friday schedule:
Grades K - 2: Short Spring & Adapted Shot Put
Grades 3-5: Long Jump, Adapted Shot Put, Vertical Jump, Long Sprint
Students participating in adapted events on Friday are also welcome to participate in the standard running events on Saturday. Due to the large numbers of participants on Saturday, only accommodations that can be easily managed within the existing structure of the event will be allowed. Please reach out to us if you have questions.
It is not possible to do the event earlier in the school year because we require the High School Track team’s participation and must work around their schedule.
In the event that it’s a hot weekend, we will make the following accommodations:
On Friday for the field events, parent spectators are allowed on the field. On Saturday for the running events, they are not. Parent volunteers are allowed on the field if their job requires it.
The All City Track Meet values inclusivity and access for all who want to participate. We have no plans to limit the number of kids who can register, so plan for long days and events.
Medals are awarded to the top 3 finishers or teams in each heat plus ties. Participation medals or ribbons are not given for any grade, so please prepare your children accordingly.
The ACTM Committee strives to be as accurate as possible. However, we are a parent-volunteer-run event, which means we will have logistical and technical challenges that professional events do not. We understand that mistakes are sometimes made and we hope to be afforded grace regarding this. In 2024 we began using a photo/video finish app to help determine medal winners. While this has improved accuracy tremendously, it still is not foolproof.
Heats are formed randomly and on the spot, which means that some heats will be faster than others and it will be harder for students in faster heats to win a medal. While this may seem unfair from one perspective, it is necessary logistically and has the added benefit of giving lots of students a chance to be on the podium. We encourage you to talk to your kids about the format of the event, remind them that winning isn’t everything, and encourage them to be gracious and congratulate all medal winners. So much of the fun of the day is in the experience and learning to be a good sport.
Each child only runs once per event, as has always been the case at the ACTM. There are no semi-finals, finals, or extra turns. This means that students in grades K, 1, and 2 who are not doing the relay will only get one run of the 50 yard dash on race day. We acknowledge that this format means long waits for a short payoff. We encourage you to help your child value the experience, cheer for others, enjoy multiple races during practices, and look forward to 3rd grade when more events will be open to them.
At Long Jump, there will be 1 practice jump and 2 official jumps. At Shot Put, each child will have 2 throws. At High Jump, each child will have 2 chances at each height.
It is possible that we will not follow official rules for scoring of field events. We make procedural adjustments to help the very large event run quickly and smoothly.
Staggered starting positions allow for only 7 runners to run in a heat. Since we have so many competitors and we need to run more athletes per heat, we use a “waterfall start” instead. With a waterfall start, students line up on a line that is curved so that the outermost runners are slightly ahead of the innermost runners. Runners are instructed to move to the inside as quickly as possible once the race begins. Runners have the opportunity to practice this start at the SPHS practices. Parents are welcome to use the track at other times to help their children learn.
No, spikes are not allowed.
Each school has a different process for determining relay teams using timed tryouts. We encourage you to check with your school’s ACTM Committee Chair for details. Please remember that the people timing tryouts are volunteers and are doing their best.
Not necessarily. Parent volunteer photographers do not have the bandwidth or tracking capability to get an action photo of every single child. Photographers assigned to the podium strive to get a photo of every podium awards ceremony, but that is also not guaranteed. Since parents are allowed on the field on Friday, we encourage parents to take action photos of their own children participating in field events. If you are not volunteering on the field on Saturday during the running events and would like an action shot, we encourage you to ask a friend who is volunteering on the field.
Please refer to the website, spactm.org, for schedule details.
Unfortunately, we cannot plan exact times for races since we do not know ahead of time what types of issues we may run into or whether or not all participants will show up. Please familiarize yourself with the event order and try to plan accordingly, erring on the side of being early. We know that this means you may wait longer than expected for a short race that is over quickly. We ask for your patience and understanding that this is the nature of a track meet. If you must wait longer than expected, please enjoy cheering and being a spectator!
A bit of chaos is the nature of track meets and helps to create the exciting atmosphere enjoyed by most. All grades participating together adds to the fun, increases the school spirit, and allows the younger and older children to interact and cheer each other on. As a practical matter, we run events simultaneously to reduce the length of time the entire event will take. Also, since upper grades do multiple events, we cannot run their events consecutively because athletes would not have enough rest between events. All track meets follow these conventions.
We cannot predict exactly when the event will end. Based on past years, we expect and hope that Friday’s event will be over by 8pm and Saturday’s event will be over by noon.
The ACTM Committee works with SPLL and AYSO to schedule around baseball, softball, and soccer (if relevant) as much as possible. One of the pluses of the 2-day event (instead of all day on Saturday) is that there is a greater chance that children will be able to participate in both the track meet and their baseball or softball games. SPLL and AYSO are committed to doing the best they can to schedule most games after noon on Saturday.
Even though all the money is collected by Arroyo Vista PTA, all profits are donated to the SPHS Track & Field Team.