04/20/17 – Track & Field Unified Events

April 20, 2017 Track and Field Blog Updates

As we draw near the postseason for Track & Field, the KHSAA wanted to remind coaches and officials about Unified Events and Unified rosters. The KHSAA and Special Olympics of Kentucky will once again sponsor five (5) unified events at the regional and state meet: 2x50m relay, 2x200m relay, 4x100m relay, shot put and long jump. Two of these events are new and we wanted to clarify all events for those involved. 

Unified Track must include a partner athlete and a special athlete for each event. For definitions of those participants, please read our Interactive Explanatory Presentation and our Unified FAQs document. The following is information on how each event will be conducted:

• 2x50m Dash (one partner/one athlete)
  • Partner athlete must start at the 100m dash start line, special athlete waits at the 50m line (in the same lane as partner).
  • Partner must race 50m to the athlete, exchange the baton (or touch hands), and then the special athlete will race the final 50m to the finish.
• 2x200m Dash (one partner/one athlete)
  
  • Partner athlete must start at the 400m dash start line, special athlete waits at the 200m start line exchange zones (in the same lane as partner).
  • Partner must race 200m to the special athlete, exchange the baton (or touch hands), and then the special athlete will race the final 200m to the finish.
• 4x100m Relay (two partners/two athletes)
  
  • This event will include two (2) athletes and two (2) partners that must compete in this order: partner athlete, special athlete, partner athlete, special athlete.
• Long Jump (one partner/one athlete)
  
  • Unified partner athlete jumps first, then the special athlete jumps. Each participant gets two (2) jumps and the best jump for each athlete will be added together to determine final distance.
• Shot Put (one partner/one athlete)
  
  • Unified partner athlete throws first, then the special athlete throws. Each participant gets two (2) throws and the best throw for each athlete will be added together to determine final distance.

(Please note, any student-athlete who participates on their high school Varsity, Junior Varsity, or Freshmen track team will not be eligible to be a special athlete in the Unified division. Please see the FAQ document for inquiries about the partner athlete.) 

Coaches, a reminder that the KHSAA database school subdomain is now equipped for rosters for your Unified team. In order to participate, both partner athletes and special athletes must be loaded into the KHSAA database. Please contact Rob Catron (rcatron@khsaa.org) if you have any questions about entering the roster. 

Adapted (i.e. wheelchair) events are also available upon request. Please contact Sarah Bridenbaugh (sbridenbaugh@khsaa.org) immediately if your school has an athlete in the adapted division. 

– KHSAA –

The KHSAA staff routinely publishes blog posts to better communicate with its various constituencies and the public. For a list of those blogs, go to http://khsaa.org/news-stats-pubs/sports-blogs/