Pat Henry??????

[Diesel19]

Has anyone spoken to Mr.Henry since the women 4x400 meter relay? The guy has to be beating himself up over that decision to mettle in UT's business.

[Oldtimer]

Re: Pat Henry??????

>Has anyone spoken to Mr.Henry since the women 4x400 meter relay? The guy has to be beating himself up over that decision to mettle in UT's business.

I am not up to speed on all of the different scoring possibilities. What would the team result had been had UCLA not been able to run in the 4x100?

[trackstar]

Re: Pat Henry??????

>I am
>not up to speed on all of the different scoring possibilities. What would the
>team result had been had UCLA not been able to run in the 4x100?

Assuming Texas wouldn't have beaten LSU in the 4x1 final, it would have been LSU 68, UCLA 61.

[Diesel19]

Re: Pat Henry??????

You have to be playing right??? Pat Henry turned Texas girls 4x100 meter relay team in for using tennis balls, to mark the marks for run-outs on the exchanges. Well if he keeps his mouth shut UCLA is not even in the Finals to score 8 points for placing 2nd because they had not made the finals.

But with the DQ of UT, UCLA replaces them in the finals and pick up 8 points that they wouldn't have had. UCLA won the team championship over LSU by 1 point. Thats right 1 little point. And by the way LSU also lost 8 points for a lane violation in the women's 200 final. You think maybe that judge over looks that violation if Pat had do the same?????? I know he wish he would have!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[trackstar]

Re: Pat Henry??????

I think I wrote this on another thread, but it bears repeating: Track has too damn many niggling little rules that don't have a damn thing to do with competition. tennis ball markers, uniform specifications, etc, etc. A columnist in our local daily wrote a great column on this, I recommend you all read it: http://www.statesman.com/sports/content ... 61104.html

Dammit, if a rule has nothing to do with an athlete's performance, impeding an opponent, or athlete/spectator safety, it should be done away with. Protests like Henry's only screw the athletes and fans (and, I'm happy to say, Henry) and detract from our sport. Stuff like this is why most sports fans laugh at, are puzzled by, and ultimately ignore our track & field.

[tafnut]

Re: Pat Henry??????

>http://www.statesman.com/sports/cont...06/061104.html

requires a PitB registration :-(

the rule of thumb should be that if an official doesn't call it before the fact, you get away with it. And by 'call it', I mean set it straight, not DQ you. Here in Florida, at the State freakin' Championships, they DQ'd a girl because she didn't have her shirt tucked in!!!! Before the start!!! She was one of the favorites!! I'm glad I wasn't right there, because I really have no respect for that and I would have started something ugly.

[trackstar]

Re: Pat Henry??????

> Here in Florida, at the State freakin'
>Championships, they DQ'd a girl because she didn't have her shirt tucked in!!!!
>Before the start!!! She was one of the favorites!!

That's EXACTLY the kind of BS I'm talking about.

[EPelle]

Re: Pat Henry??????

Officials tried to DQ 1987 San Jose Bellarmine 1,600m CA state champion (4.07,95) Scott Robinson for wearing a bandana during his races -- something he wore at Arcadia, league, sections, and state.

[Helen S]

Re: Pat Henry??????

I would guess the use of tennis balls is prohibited as a safety/ distraction issue- I would not want my runners stepping on or running into flying tennis ball halves. Now uniforms, jewelry, visible undergarments, etc. are another matter altogether.

[HOOKONAUSTIN]

Re: Pat Henry??????

Tennis balls are not prohibited, there used all of the time.. at track meets across the nation.

The rule says" only Tape shall be use or any material cleared by meet manegement"

And since an official said it was ok... you have your clearence.

As for safty, Texas was in lane 9, and since the infraction happen on the second exchange, the tennis ball halfs would have been place on the outside of lane 9.

[mike renfro]

Re: Pat Henry??????

On nit picky stuff, at our HS section meet in San Jose, one relay team was DQd because the leadoff runner was wearing a braclet. At all meets leading directly to section, athletes were cautioned about "no jewelry", but I guess it didn't sink in. If the guy had claimed it was a medical alert bracelet, he probably could have skated. The team was the leading qualifier coming into the meet, both on seed time and seasonal best. I would imagine his teammates were not amused.

[buckeye II]

Re: Pat Henry??????

What has happened to personal responsibility in the U.S.? If there are rules that people don't like, lobby coaches/officials associations to get the rule(s) changed. Until that time, know and follow the rules, regardless of your opinion of them. I lay the responsibility of the disqualifications mentioned squarely on the shoulders of the coaches of the guilty parties.

[HOOKONAUSTIN]

Re: Pat Henry??????

" only Tape shall be use or any material cleared by meet manegement"


Cleared by meet manegement?

[decafan]

Re: Pat Henry??????

>" only Tape shall be use or any material cleared by meet
>manegement"


Cleared by meet manegement?

This very question was asked in the technical meeting the day before the meet started. The officials were very clear on this point and so were the coaches in attendance. Only tape would be allowed.
I personally would not have filed a protest, but Texas was stupid or arrogant for not using tape.

[DTG]

Re: Pat Henry??????

"Meet management" was the NCAA Games Committee. It was not the officials on the track (who gave the UT women passive OK to use the tennis balls). The officials were wrong - they just didn't know the rules. It was an honest mistake (why would they have their home team put in a position to be DQ'ed in the first place?). I don't know every rule for every obscure situation in the NCAA Rule Book and I doubt that many of the posters on the forum do either.
In regards to the tennis balls being used instead of tape, the protest was because they gave UT an unfair advantage, being more easily seen than the tape on the ground. It could also have been said that the tape wouldn't stick to the track - the race was run in heavy intermittent rain. That was not the reason for the protest though. It was becasue of the visibility factor and the unfair advantage that the other teams didn't have.
BTW, there was a (Technical) meeting for all the coaches about this issue (among others). Tape and tacks (to hold the tape in place) were the only acceptable markers allowed on the track.