New track format

Also needing Management Council approval is the Championships Committee’s endorsement of a new format for selecting participants in the men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field championships.

The proposed selection model is the same for indoor and outdoor track and field and standardizes event sizes by eliminating the participant cap. 

For the outdoor championships, the standard field size would be 20 for individual events and 16 for relays in the men’s championship, and 22 for individual events and 16 for relays in the women’s championship. The recommendation eliminates the participant cap of 796 (398 per gender) as a driver of field size.

For the indoor championships, the field sizes would be 13 for individual events (15 in the women’s championship) and 10 for relays (as opposed to the current field size of 223 per gender).

The Division III track and field committee believes the new model addresses drawbacks in the current system of filling events evenly to accommodate minimums until it is no longer possible to add to all events. 

Members believe by standardizing the event field sizes, the need to apply an at-large selection method for remaining positions is eliminated, along with the variance in participation numbers from one event to the next. 

Because the recommendation is a selection format change, it requires Management Council review. The track and field committee, though, cited support from coaches in requesting the change.