wrist band rule?

[jr]

Are wrist bands illegal? At the Illinois state meet, an official told my son he had to remove his or tape over it. He put black tape over it and jumped. What changed? He still had his wrist covered and still had the wrist pad on. In a later flight a kid asked a different official if he could wear a wrist band and was allowed to.

Jerry

[stormvault]

jr, check your state association's website. Here is what Minnesota's says about jewelry.

Track and Field Jewelry Rule

The National Federation Track and Field Rules book includes a rule on jewelry, 4-3-3: Jewelry shall not be worn, except for religious or medical medals. A religious medal must be taped and worn under the uniform. A medical alert must be taped and may be visible.

The penalty for wearing jewelry is disqualification from the event.
Rule 3-4-8: Prior to the start of the meet, the referee shall, either by a meeting or written communication, address the following with all head coaches and team captains;
a. All team members are expected to exhibit good sportsmanship.
b. The head coach shall verify verbally, or in writing, that all of his/her competitors are properly equipped (uniform, equipment, and no jewelry) in compliance with these rules.
c. Any special circumstances, procedures and information pertaining to the meet.
While not inclusive, the following are some examples of allowed vs. prohibited items:

Legal items:
1. Watch (worn on the wrist).
2. Religious medal: medal must be taped to the body under the uniform, medical alert bracelet – taped to the wrist with the faceplate showing.
3. Insulin pump – is approved by the MSHSL.
4. Heart monitor – only with the physician’s statement documenting the need (shown to the meet referee).
5. Atomizer – only with physician’s statement documenting the need (shown to the meet referee).
6. Glasses.
7. Rubber bands or elastic bands to control the hair – even if the elastic band has a small piece of metal.
8. Scrunchies, rolled prewrap or a ribbon to control hair.
9. Cast or brace – unless on the throwing hand.
10. Tattoo – unless objectionable.
11. Regulation headband or knit cap – must be unadorned except for manufacturer’s logo/trademark/reference, school name, school nickname, or school mascot.
12. Regulation “sweat band’ for the head or wrists – must be unadorned except for manufacturer’s logo/trademark/reference, school name, school nickname, or school mascot.
13. An American flag not to exceed 2 x 3 inches.
14. A commemorative or memorial patch, not to exceed 4 square inches.
15. One manufacturer’s logo/trademark/reference, no more than 2 ¼ square inches with no dimension more than 2 ¼ inches is permitted on each piece of apparel.

Illegal items:
1. Cloth/yarn/hemp/etc., bracelets.
2. Rubber band(s) on wrist/ankle.
3. Earrings – even if covered with tape.
4. Rings or any other jewelry, i.e.., navel rings, tongue rings, eye brow rings, and other pierced body parts.
5. Barrettes or bobby pins/beads/etc.
6. Face/body paint and/or stickers.
7. Glitter.
8. Baseball hats, scarves, bandannas, do-rags, etc.
9. Pins, except to attach competitor numbers.
10. Ribbons, pins, etc., attached to shoes/shoelaces.

The above illegal items may be approved by the Minnesota State High School League, on a case by case basis, under specific guidelines. If the League has deemed an above illegal item legal, the athlete must carry proof of that rule exception and present to the meet referee prior to competing.

Clerks, the meet referee, starters, and field event judges, etc., must still do preventative officiating and check all athletes before they compete. However, if an athlete competes while wearing illegal uniform/other apparel, jewelry, and/or illegal items/equipment, the athlete will be disqualified.

[vcpvcoach]

Jerry,
What type of wrist band are you talking about? Was it a rubber band like the "Livestrong" bands? Was it a cloth wrist band? Was is a protective wrist band for a vaulters bruise?

What kind it is makes it legal or illegal.

[jr]

It was a wide sweat band,3-4", that he wears for the bruising. Probably under-armour. Black with the UA logo. The kid in the 3rd flight had one similar to it.

[vcpvcoach]

Cloth bands are considered jewelry in IL.

To combat the vaulter's bruise that your son is experiencing, go to your Trainer and ask him or her to cut a piece of dense foam rubber secured with elastic tape over the bruise. It will give him more protection than the wrist band and is allowed by IHSA rules.

If it gets really bad, get a youth soccer shin guard. They have a thin plastic piece in them which disburses the pressure from the pole.

[jr]

The thing that gets me is this. All he did was put some black tape over the wrist band and then was allowed to vault. What changed? Then there is the 3rd flight kid who was allowed to wear a wrist band simply because he asked another "official" They pay attention to things like this that really don't matter and let a kid grip his pole with his top hand over the weight band. I know of a girl who had a Mystic with a faded weight label that passed on Thursday but was rejected on Saturday. Every year I am amazed at things I see at the state meets. It clearly states that the warm up bar is 11' 6, but when my son asked for a bar he was told no. After telling the "official" that the girls were allowed warm up bars, he was allowed to have a bar put up. I just want the kids to have a chance to make a state meet, and have a good experience while there. Thanks for your feedback on the wrist band rule and the tips.

[vcpvcoach]

Like every other meet during the year, the State meet is run by volunteers. But, unlike the rest of the year, you have several officials that come together for one meet. They all interpret the rules differently. I can tell you how many times during the year I'm left scratching my head by an officials stupidity of the rules book. I almost got thrown out of meet for filming an athlete then reviewing the film. I did not let the athlete see the film but the official said if I reviewed the film in the field of play, he would throw me out.

As for the bar thing, I was baffled at the Girls Meet. The national rules say that no bar or bungee can be used as a warm up. But, I guess, the IHSA has made up it's own rule. The weird thing is that it is not written down anywhere. I asked and the Head PV official said it's a rule but it is not in any of the official docs that the IHSA put out.

You are luck that your athlete was able to keep the wrist band on. At sectionals for us, they would have made him remove it.

[jr]

Actually it is written down. I printed off the state finals info off the IHSA site and it clearly says-warm up bar 11' 6 and starting height 12'.