Whose decision was it to switch to the metric measurements for the field events?

The decision to move to the metric system was made by the Track & Field Advisory Committee, the Athletic Directors, and myself.



How did the decision come about?

The discussion was initiated at the NFHS Summer Meeting in June 2016. At that meeting, the question was asked about who in the Federation used metric to report field event performances. No states indicated they used it. I view our state as the best in the sport and a leader in the sport and quickly began asking the opinions of various coaches and official on the feasibility moving over to metric. Since all indications are that it's minimal, it made sense for us to move forward in getting in line with the national and international standard. Athletic Directors had no reservations about the change at the September 2016 meeting, so we made the final decision to roll with it. We decided to use the NCAA language with measurement on the vertical jumps and stick with the NFHS rules on measuring horizontal jumps.

The college and professional landscape use metric measurements. How important was it to just get on the same page as that next level?

Imperial measurement, while commonly understood here, is being phased out gradually. Anyone who's worked on a car made after 1990 knows this. The IAAF, USATF, and NCAA standard for measurement is the metric system. It only makes sense for us to join the rest of the world track & field community. It's also a great point for our state to be leading the way among high school sports in the nation.

There are a lot of people who are hesitant with change. Talk about the timetable of this getting in phased in. I know you mentioned postseason this year and then the goal being all meets next year correct?

The timetable is fairly cut and dry. In 2017, 100% metric measurement is required in all state series Track & Field meets and highly recommended during the regular season. In 2018, the entire track season will be 100% metric.