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41st Annual Arcadia Invitational
Friday-Saturday, April 11-12, 2008 @ Arcadia HS

Dear High School Coaches:

       Welcome to the 2008 Arcadia Invitational! The meet date is fast approaching and we need you to make sure you're up to speed on all entry procedures and pertinent coaches information.
       Please review the areas outlined below to familiarize yourself with this year's meet. Keep in mind that there are some major changes regarding a new qualifying structure in place for certain events in regard to both the day and night meets on Saturday.

MEET FORMAT
       The Arcadia Invitational is a high school meet that takes place under the auspices of National Federation rules and those of the California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high school athletics in the state. All participants must represent their high school and compete in their high school uniform.
       There are three "sessions" to the Arcadia Invitational meet: (1) the Friday Night Relays and field events; (2) the Saturday daytime "Open" session track and field events and (3) the Saturday night-time "Invitational" session track and field events. The events offered are the same in sessions 2 and 3 while session 1 has relay track events that are not offered at all on Saturday.
       For the Saturday track events, the best verified seed marks will compete at night, with the next best competing in the day. For the field events, the best verified seed marks will compete Saturday night, the next best on Saturday during the day, and the next best on Friday evening.
       Athletes may compete in a maximum of four different events during the two-day meet. IMPORTANT: This year's meet will utilize a new format in that qualifying rounds and finals will be held for five track events (100, 200, 4x100, 110HH and 300 IH). The rest of the track events will be finals only. If an athlete competes in both the trials and the final of an event that offers qualifying rounds (the 100, 200, 110HH, 300H and the 4x100), it will count as only ONE event. See more details on qualifying for these five events below.
       Although an athlete may possess qualifying marks in four or more events to get into the meet, meet management reserves to right to avoid seeding athletes into overly difficult event combinations based on the meet's time schedule. The list of events and the time schedule is posted at www.ArcadiaInvitational.org

EVENTS OFFERED
100 | 200 | 400 | 800 | Mile | 3200 | 110 H | 300 H | 4x100 | 4x200 | 4x400 | 4x800 | 4xMile | 4x110 Shuttle Hurdles
800m Sprint Medley | 1600m Sprint Medley | Distance Medley | LJ | TJ | HJ | PV | SP | DT

TIME SCHEDULE
      The Arcadia Invitational traditionally follows a very tight time schedule that is well adhered to. The meet runs from 4:30 to 10 p.m. on Friday and a two-session format on Saturday, with the Open session beginning at 9:30 a.m. and the Invitational session ending at 10 p.m.  The tentative schedule can be viewed at this link. Only very minor changes to this schedule, if any, will be made from here forward.

MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR DATABASE ACCEPTANCE (*Does not ensure into the meet*)
     These verifiable cutoffs will not automatically qualify an athlete into the meet, but will be accepted into the seeding database for qualifying consideration. The best verified marks will then be seeded to compete on Saturday night, followed by the next best on Saturday morning/afternoon, and the next best on Friday evening.

Boys 100 Meters -- 11.13
Boys 200 Meters -- 22.78
Boys 400 Meters -- 50.89
Boys 800 Meters -- 2:01.00
Boys Mile -- 4:29.99
Boys Rising Stars Mile -- 4:38.99 (9th & 10th grade only)
Boys 3200 Meters -- 9:53.99
Boys 5,000 Meter Run -- 15:40.00 or 9:40.00 for 3200m
Boys 110m High Hurdles -- 15.77
Boys 300m Intermediate Hurdles -- 40.44
Boys 4x100 Meter Relay -- 44.80
Boys 4x200 Meter Relay -- 1:34.00
Boys 4x400 Meter Relay -- 3:29.50
Boys 4x800 Meter Relay -- 8:20.00
Boys 4x1600 Meter Relay -- 18:56.00
Boys 800m Sprint Medley Relay -- 1:39.00
Boys 1600m Sprint Medley Relay -- 3:44.00
Boys Distance Medley Relay -- 10:59.00
Boys 4x110HH Shuttle Hurdle Relay -- 1:09.60
Boys High Jump -- 6-02.00
Boys Pole Vault -- 13-06.00
Boys Long Jump -- 21-04.00
Boys Triple Jump -- 43-00.00
Boys Shot Put -- 50-03.00
Boys Discus -- 150-00

Girls 100 Meters -- 12.99
Girls 200 Meters -- 26.59
Girls 400 Meters -- 59.28
Girls 800 Meters -- 2:24.99
Girls Mile -- 5:19.00
Girls 3200 Meters -- 11:44.00
Girls 100m High Hurdles -- 16.50
Girls 300m Low Hurdles -- 48.95
Girls 4x100 Meter Relay -- 51.40
Girls 4x200 Meter Relay -- 1:49.60
Girls 4x400 Meter Relay -- 4:09.00
Girls 4x800 Meter Relay -- 10:08.00
Girls 4x1600 Meter Relay -- 23:30
Girls 800m Sprint Medley -- 1:55.00
Girls 1600m Sprint Medley -- 4:33.00
Girls Distance Medley -- 13:28.00
Girls 4x100m Shuttle Hurdle Relay -- 1:10.00
Girls High Jump -- 5-01.00
Girls Pole Vault -- 9-07.00
Girls Long Jump -- 16-10.00
Girls Triple Jump -- 34-10.00
Girls Shot Put -- 36-07.00
Girls Discus -- 113-00

QUALIFYING IN THE 100 | 200 | 110H | 300H | 4X100 & GENERAL SEEDING
      The top nine verified times in these five events will compete in the "Invitational" heat on Saturday night. From there, the best verified times from tenth and beyond will be seeded into the Saturday day meet until all day meet heats are filled and there are three alternates per heat. The talent will be spread evenly among these qualifying heats based on verified times. The heat winners in Saturday qualifying and the next fastest times (all heats combined) in Saturday qualifying will advance to the nine lanes of what is known as the "seeded heat" on Saturday night -- contested just before the invitational heat. The next five fastest performers from Saturday's qualifying will advance as alternates for the Saturday night meet should lanes become available in either the seeded or invitational heat.
       The size of the fields in the non-lane events (distances, field events, etc.) may vary due to multiple factors. Every effort will be made to allow as many deserving athletes to compete as possible without disrupting the flow and quality of the event.

ADVANCING TO A HIGHER SESSION IN THE FIELD EVENTS
      Sometimes the excitement of a big meet brings out the best in athletes, which is why we've added this change a few years ago which has been received with very positive comments by both athletes and coaches. Here's how it works: The official winner (after any ties are broken) of any field event competition on Friday night has the option to return (without an added entry fee charge) to compete in the same event during Saturday's day meet. The official winner (after any ties are broken) of any field event competition in Saturday's day meet has the option to return (without an added entry fee charge) to compete in the same event during Saturday's night meet.

ENTRY FEES
      Entry fees for the Arcadia Invitational are per athlete per event, with a maximum entry fee cap also being enforced. Schools will not be charged for any athletes that are entered into the database by the coach but are not accepted into the meet. Breakdown of entry fees for the 2008 meet are as follows:

      Saturday Night “Invitational” session: $60 per relay team and $15 per individual entry
      Saturday Day “Open” session: $48 per relay team and $12 per individual entry
      “Friday Night Burnin' Batons” relays session: $60 per invitational heat relay and $48 per non-invitational heat relay
      “Friday Night Rising Stars” field events session: $12 per field event entry

      The maximum possible entry fee per school has being lowered to $350 for 2008. The maximum fee for a single gender team is $200, with the maximum fee for a second gender team from the same school being at $150. So a scchool's total entry fee will range anywhere from $12 to $350 based upon how many athletes qualify into the meet and whether they qualify for the “invitational” or “non-invitational” heats/sections. Payment of fees can be made at the meet either in cash or with school or personal checks made payable to: Arcadia Invitational.
      Athletes that perform well enough based on their showing in the Saturday “Open” session (in the 100, 200, HH, IH and 4x100) to qualify into the Saturday “Invitational” session will only be charged the “Open” session fee. So if an athlete runs in the 100m in the “Open” meet and performs well enough to advance to the night meet in that event, the athlete will gain an additional race but will only be charged for the first race in that event - the one at the “Open” session rate.

AWARDS
     Invitational session event winners from either day will receive an Arcadia Invitational NikeID wristwatch as well as the custom-colored x-large Arcadia Invitational medal. Second through fifth place in invitational events on either day will receive the large, custom-colored Arcadia Invitational medal. Those athletes placing first through fifth in any Open session individual event on Saturday will receive the large, custom-colored Arcadia Invitational medal. Those teams/athletes placing first through third in any Open session relay event on Saturday, any non-invitational relay event on Friday or in any field event on Friday will receive the large, custom-colored Arcadia Invitational medal. One Athlete of the Meet award will be presented in each gender; the recipient will receive a Nike ID gift card. Athletes from various states may only accept awards that abide by the stipulations outlined in their respective state by-laws. If you are unsure of your state's policy on this, please contact the meet director.

ELIGIBILITY
     The National Federation of State High School Associations requires a final list of participating schools to be submitted three weeks before the meet date. You MUST declare your school by March 20, 2008 (details on how to declare are explained in the next section).
     Schools not declared by March 20th will not be allowed to compete. Coaches will be unable to view other pages or register their athletes until AFTER their school has declared. This step does not bind you to anything, but just makes sure you are listed on our sanction request form in case you decide to enter and then do have athletes qualify into the meet.
     The meet annually receives sanction approval from CIF and the NFHS. Out-of-state participation is allowed if the state from which the school represents has granted approval to the national office. A list of sanction states is usually made available by the national federation by late February, but may take longer in some cases. If you are unsure on your state's sanction status as the meet draws closer, contact the meet director.

ON-LINE REGISTRATION
      Only athletes entered via this online process at www.EPIsports.com will be considered for entry into the meet. No faxed or emailed entries will be considered. Coaches must first create an EPI.sports.com account for their school by logging on to http://arcadia.episports.com  Create your own username (which is your email address) and your own password (which only you will know). Then follow the steps for school declaration. Coaches must declare their school before being allowed to enter athletes online. Once you declare your school, it will appear in our database queue for approval. Once approved by the meet director, (usually within 2 to 24 hours), you will receive an email alerting you that you are now granted access the Arcadia Invitational athlete/entry registration page.

     Please be aware of these key points when registering your athletes online:

     • Only one coach per team (preferably the head coach) should have an EPIsports.com account for use with the Arcadia meet and that one coach shall be responsible for entering athlete names and marks online at www.EPIsports.com . Having more than one coach inputting athlete names and entry marks creates database problems with multiple accounts, repeated, unauthorized, or conflicting entries , etc. and will be grounds for having ALL marks by that school deleted from the database. Again, only ONE coach per team should handle the registration process.

    * During the registration process, coaches will enter an athlete's mark into an event. Once all marks are verified, those athletes that qualify into the Arcadia meet will then be placed in the appropriate session based on the rank of their performance mark against other athletes also seeking entry in that event. No entry request will be accepted in the on-line process without both a mark, and the name/date of the meet when the mark was achieved. This is done to ensure the most deserving athletes are granted entry.

     • Only athletes with verifiable marks from either the 2007 or 2008 seasons will be considered. Greater emphasis is often given to 2008 marks, but we realize that athletes from some states start their seasons later than California and also may be adversely affected by inclement weather and/or have less competitions in which to achieve marks in 2008 than their California counterparts. If you have any questions or uncertainties with this, please contact meet director Rich Gonzalez directly. Coaches of out-of-state teams are strongly encouraged to contact the meet director before purchasing airline tickets to gain a better idea as to the likelihood that certain athletes will qualify into the meet.

    • Marks can be achieved indoors or outdoors. Coaches should specify in the notes section of any particular details of their performances. (e.g., wind readings for performances in the wind-affected events; altitude levels for marks achieved at altitude; etc.) Only fully automatic times will be considered for the sprint events.

    * The EPIsports.com on-line registration system will not accept any mark that does not meet the minimum performance standards listed above. All marks are being verified, so please only submit only legitimate marks. Satisfying the minimum marks below does not guarantee entry; it merely is a mark good enough to be considered for entry into at least the lowest section of the meet. Any mark that does not meet the minimum standard will not be accepted into the database nor will it be considered for entry into the meet.

    * Please include any additional notes for each athlete in the "Notes" section as well. (state titles won, special academic or athletic honors, college destination commitment if he/she is a senior; unique note on the athlete/relay, etc)

    • Accumulated times of team members can be used when submitting marks for all relays except the 4x100. However, you must specify that these are accumulated times by stating "aggregate time" on the "Notes" field for that event. Relay splits are not allowed to be used.

    • Coaches can submit marks right away and can then update marks later on during the season. Coaches are responsible for updating any improvements by the "Best Marks Update" deadline of March 30th, 2008. This step is also done through EPISports.com, where coaches can edit their entry seed marks.

NIKE SOUVENIRS
       Particpants in the "invitational session" on Saturday night or in the invitational heats on Friday night will receive an embroidered Arcadia Invitational backpack made by Nike. Participants in the "Open" session on Saturday or in the non-invitational heats on Friday night will receive a silk-screened Arcadia Invitational gymsack made by Nike. Only one item per athlete; in the case of an athlete who participates in both the invitational and non-invitational portions of the meet, that athlete will receive the backpack. These souvenirs need to be claimed at the appropriate pick-ups times scheduled during the meet. More details will be in the 'Coaches' Final Instructions' document that will be emailed to coaches on April 3rd.


TRAVEL INFORMATION
        Discounted rates are available for a limited time at the Arcadia Invitational host hotels. Details on hotel rates, amenities and contact information for reservations can be viewed by logging on to the www.ArcadiaInvitational.org meet homepage and clicking the "Travel" link located near the top of the page.
        If you are flying into the area for the meet, please note that there are five major airports located within 40 miles of Arcadia High School. Be sure to check online for discounted fares from popular cities at JetBlue.com and Southwest.com as well as travel search engines such as Orbitz.com and Expedia.com in order to maximize your savings!
        If you are flying in for the meet, be very careful to only purchase airline tickets for those athletes who you are highly confident will qualify for the meet based on their entry marks. If you are unsure, contact the meet director to inquire about the chances of a certain athlete or relay making it into the meet based on his/her/their mark. If the entry mark is clearly strong, the meet director may indicate to the coach that the athlete indeed will be seeded into a heat or flight.

REMINDER OF KEY DATES

On-line Team Declaration & Athlete Data Entry Period: Opens 02/13/2008
Entry Declaration Deadline: Must declare intent to compete by 3/20/2008.
Entry Registration Deadline: 03/26/2008 @ 11:59 p.m. EST
Best Marks Update Deadline: 03/30/2008 @ 11:59 p.m. EST
Meet Dates for the Arcadia Invitational: 4/11-12, 2008

FINAL INSTRUCTIONS
       An email containing final instructions for the meet (check-in procedures, facility access, vendors' list, scratches, spike length, final time schedule, etc.) will be emailed to coaches of accepted athletes on Thursday, April 3rd.

 

       Online registration opens ......  Be sure to declare your school and register your athletes as soon as you can!

Regards,

Richard Gonzalez

Meet Director
Office Phone w/ Voicemail: (626) 445-7507  
Cell Phone: (626) 203-5166
Email: ArcadiaInvite@aol.com
Official Web Site: www.ArcadiaInvitational.org