Track news for the week of March 15

Meet #1 recap

Our first official CYO meet of 2015 is in the bag! Here's what happens next:

• Results from the meet are keyed in by the league and will be sent to coordinators
• After we've corrected any obvious errors, they get published online
• I'll clean them up and post to our team page on Athletic.net  

Gina will be compiling the sign-in sheets to bestow credit upon your families. You're not penalized if you were unable to attend, but you are still responsible for meeting your family requirements this season. Thanks to all the families who braved sun and humidity (and no-shows!) to work. Your participation was greatly appreciated.

The first meet always has a few rough edges. (The hunt for the PA microphone comes to mind...) Volunteers and athletes get better as the season progresses, and by the Qualifying meet we're all champions of efficiency. This is a practice meet. We get more chances to practice.

Remember to keep perspective! This is all about the athletes having fun, and they had plenty of that. I checked.

Ribbons and other paraphernalia

The league manages our meet results. The top three finishers in each race heat and field event should receive a ribbon at a future practice. Placement at practice meets is determined by grade and gender: if we combined heats at the meet, the results are sorted out afterward.

Our team tracks personal bests, and hands out special gold ribbons. Returning athletes who broke their own records from previous seasons will get a ribbon at practice. First-time athletes now have set a mark for themselves to try and beat in the future.

Finally, we have a special "7-up Club" for athletes who set a mark in seven or more different individual events during one season. Relays don't count towards this total. There's a fancy embroidered patch that we'll start giving out after the third meet.

Practice:  Tuesday at PH Middle, Thursday at College Park

We're on our dual-locations for the rest of the season. Tuesday at Pleasant Hill Middle School, Thursdays at College Park. Practices are 5:00-6:30pm thanks to extra daylight.

Check Twitter (@ctktrack) or the front page of the team site for weather updates by 4:00pm on practice days.

Meet #2: Saturday March 21, Ygnacio Valley High in Concord

• Setup: 8:30am (quietly)
• First shift/athlete check-in: 9:00am
• Meet begins: 9:30am

Our next meet is at Ygnacio Valley High. Those of you who made it to the War Path will find it very familiar.

Because of neighborhood rules, we can't allow any athletes on the track before 9:00am, though I'll permit setup crew kids only if you have no other care arrangements and they can be quiet. No footraces in the bleachers or shouting.

Once the gates open at 9:00, we'll try to get everyone assembled. We may be able to do volunteer check-in outside the gate before 9. I'll send an update if we can arrange it.

Students-for-hire at YVH

You may hire a high school student to work for you at Saturday's meet. Hooray!

Here's the process:

1. Let both me and Gina know of your intent-to-hire. Gina will mark it on the schedule, and I will get a count for YVH. Gina's contact details are on the "Volunteers" page
2. Hand me an envelope at practice with your name on it and $25 per shift inside. Checks should be made out to the team: "CTK CYO Track"
3. The team pays the total amount to YVH and I deposit your payments after the meet

We must know in advance. You cannot show up Saturday morning and expect a student to be available. Thursday is your last day to notify us both and get payment to me.

Families already scheduled to work have first priority, and all hires are subject to YVH student availability. Don't delay!

Looking ahead

• Tuesday & Thursday practices 5:00-6:30pm
• Saturday March 21: meet #2 at YVH
• Saturday March 28: meet #3 at YVH
• Thursday April 2: start of Easter weekend

We have a meet scheduled at the end of next week on the 28th, and then Easter is upon us. There are no CYO activities starting the Thursday before Easter and continuing through that weekend.

If you're around during spring break week, we'll have a special meet the weekend after, but that's another newsletter. Keep your eye on the schedule page and I'll let you know what the league has in store for us in the weeks to come:

http://ctktrack.org/schedule.html