NEW ENGLAND DIVISION III TRACK & FIELD AND XC ASSOCIATION
CONSTITUTION OF THE NEW ENGLAND DIVISION III
TRACK AND FIELD AND CROSS COUNTRY ASS0CIATION
LAST EDITED May 14, 2003
ARTICLE I
Name and Objective
Section 1 The name of this association shall be the New England Division III Track and Field Association.
Section 2 The objective of the association shall be the promotion of men's intercollegiate competition in
Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field among the member colleges and to conduct a
championship in each season.
ARTICLE II
Membership
Section 1 Membership in the association shall be restricted to colleges who meet the following requirements:
A. Located within the New England six-state region
B. Membership in the ECAC
C. Conduct cross country and/or track & field programs at the NCAA Div. III level
Section 2 Any university or college desiring to be admitted to the association shall make application for
admission to the Secretary-Treasurer at least four (4) weeks in advance of the Spring Convention.
Admission will take place the following year.
Section 3 Admission to the association shall require a two-thirds vote of the membership represented at a
Spring Convention. Voting may be done by closed ballot.
Section 4 Each university or college upon joining the association thereby agrees to accept the constitution,
by-laws, and rules of the association.
ARTICLE III
Jurisdiction
Section 1 This association shall be an independent organization governed entirely by its own constitution,
by-laws, and rules of athletics.
Section 2 All competitions held by the association shall be in accord with the Constitution and the Official
Collegiate Track and Field Guide (NCAA rule book). If the two are in conflict, the Constitution
takes precedent.
Section 3 All track and field meets between colleges belonging to this association shall be conducted in
accord with ARTICLE III Section 2.ARTICLE IV
Government and Management
Section 1 The management and general supervision of the association shall be entrusted to a convention for
each season composed of the coaches, or a representative of the universities or colleges which are
members of the association.
Section 2 The officers of this association, who shall act as the Executive Committee, shall be a President,
a Vice-President, and a Secretary-Treasurer. The President and Vice-President are elected for two
year terms at the Spring Convention. When the President retires after a two year term, the
Vice-President becomes the new President and a new Vice-president is elected. The Secretary-
Treasurer shall be elected by the association for a three year term, receiving a stipend of $200.00
per year.
Section 3 A. A nominating committee (3) composed of the past president, secretary-treasurer, plus one coach
appointed by the president shall prepare a slate of officers for president and vice president.
B. The nominating committee (3) for secretary-treasurer shall include the past president,
vice-president, plus one coach appointed by the president.
C. Voting is one vote per school, by the Head Coach. Another representative must have authorization
of the Head Coach.
Section 4 As of 2000-01, the Association will house the history of the conference as well as
important information regarding the member institutions on a webpage set up by the
Associations webmaster. The fee for this service was $500 at startup and $150
annually thereafter. The site is http://www.bates.edu/~afereshe/NE3OTHP.html
ARTICLE V
Finances
Section 1 The yearly dues shall be one hundred dollars and shall be due October 1 for each year. This bill
will be sent directly to the Athletic Director of each member institution. All other bills will
be sent directly to the head coaches of cross country or track & field.
Section 2 Expenses incurred in conducting the championship meets will be met in the following manner:
A. Entry Fees: Cross Country $20 per team. Indoor and Outdoor meets $4 per entry.
B. Expenses to be borne by the association: Officials (salaries, badges, refreshments),
Refreshments for meetings (games committee, seeding committee & convention), Awards
(medals, plaques).
C. Expenses to be borne by the host school: Equipment used (numbers, pins, implements, etc.),
Secretarial and mailing (typing, entries, results), Labor (ground crew, ticket takers, police,
etc.), Program, and Timing System.
D. Admission fees charged by the host school may be used to defray their expenses. The host school
shall submit an itemized statement of expenses to the secretary-treasurer.
E. All expenses incurred by the cross country championship shall be borne by the association unless
the race is run on a member's campus, whereby financial responsibility will be similar to track
field.
Section 3 Outstanding bills (dues, entry fees, fines & penalties) must be paid prior to the next championship
or that team will be declared ineligible (the secretary-treasurer announces or posts schools with
outstanding bills at the convention, and in such cases, bills must be paid before competition).
Section 4 All bills against the association shall be submitted to the Secretary-Treasurer for payment.
Section 5 A committee of three members shall be appointed by the President at the annual Spring Convention to
audit the books of the Secretary-Treasurer.
Section 6 A stipend of up to $200.00 will be given to the Regional Track and Field Representative of the USA
Track Coaches Association, to offset travel expenses to the annual convention not paid by the
representative’s institution. A detailed account of such expenses must be turned in to the treasurer.
This sum would be withdrawn by the treasurer form the annual interest being generated by the
Association’s Certificate of Deposit.
ARTICLE VI
Expulsions
Section 1 Any member may be expelled from the association at any regular convention by the vote of two-thirds
of all of the members present. The Secretary-Treasurer must serve an official notice upon the member
against which the charges are referred, and must notify all other members of such proceedings at
least one week before the convention.
Section 2 Causes for which a member may be expelled from the association are: violations of ARTICLE II,
Section 4, failure to pay all assessments and fines as herein specified, refusal to abide by the
decisions of the Games Committee, Referee or Jury of Appeal, or any conduct by a coach, athlete,
or other representative that is considered to be detrimental and not in the best interest of the
association. Any member so expelled may be readmitted only in the manner in which new applicants
become members.
ARTICLE VII
Conventions
Section 1 Conventions of the association shall be held on the Friday night preceding both the annual Indoor
and Outdoor Track and Field Championships. There shall be a Fall Convention held, preferably, in
conjunction with the Fall NEIAAA meeting.
Section 2 Special conventions of the association may be called by the President or at the request of any
three member schools of the association, provided that a notice of such a meeting is sent by the
Secretary-Treasurer to each member at least fifteen days before the date assigned for the meeting.
Section 3 The order of business for a convention shall be as follows: (1) roll call (2) reading, correction
and adoption of the minutes of the previous meeting (3) unfinished business (4) reports of
committees (5) new business (6) election of officers.
Section 4 In decision matters requiring a vote, each member school shall be entitled to one vote.
Section 5 When the President of the Association is the only representative of his school, that member school
shall lose its vote, except if a tie or when one vote will have an impact on the majority occurs in
which case the President may cast his vote.
ARTICLE VIII
Eligibility
Section 1 All competitors in the championships must comply with the standards of the ECAC as stated under
the Rules of Eligibility in the handbook of that conference.
Section 2 To compete in any championship a member college must be listed by the NCAA as sponsoring the sport
(cross country, indoor or outdoor track) for that season at the Div. III level.
ARTICLE IX
Championships
Section 1 The annual Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships shall be held, when appropriate, on the
Saturday preceding by one (1) week the annual Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships of the
NEIAAA at such location and under such auspices as decided by the association at a convention.
Section 2 The annual Cross Country Championship shall be held in conjunction with the NCAA Div. III qualifying
meet for District I unless otherwise voted by the membership.
Section 3 It is strongly recommended that the host school of the annual Cross Country Championship conduct an
open meet on the championship course sometime during the season.
Section 4 The Meet Director shall mail or email entry blanks and other pertinent information to each member of
the association at least three weeks before the annual Cross Country and the annual Indoor and Outdoor
Track & Field Championships. All rosters shall be forwarded to the Meet Director or his replacement
and must be received at least ten (10) days prior to the Saturday of the championship. Declarations
of actual competitors shall be received by the Tuesday prior to the championship (pentathlon and
decathlon entries earlier as established by the Meet Director) by 6:00 PM. Late declarations will
not be accepted after the Wednesday at 6:00 PM prior to the Championship. Entries will be posted on
a web site for the coaches convenience. This web site will indicate that these entries are not the
final listing and not necessarily those accepted into the meet until after the seeding meeting takes
place. Coaches call-in will be on the Wednesday preceding the championship.
A. In the case where the Meet Director does not want the responsibility of receiving rosters, final
entries, and handling the coaches call-in; the Rankings Chair will assume those duties. In the
absence of a Rankings Chair this duty will be inherited by the Vice-President.
Section 5 The final date to qualify for the indoor and outdoor track and field Championships will be the
preceding Sunday. No performance may be upgraded due to a mark achieved after that Sunday.
Section 6 Protests of entries shall be acted upon by the Games Committee. Such protests shall be submitted in
writing to the Chairman before the start of competition in the first event in which the athlete in
question is entered.
Section 7 Late Entries:
A. Alphabetical roster - late team $5 per day; individuals added up to final entry deadline at double
original entry fee.
B. Late final entries - up to Wednesday prior to Championship
1. Team - $10 per day
2. Individuals
a) if on alphabetical roster-$5 penalty fee (not to be used for switching or adding events
petition to Games Committee necessary in such cases)
b) if not on alphabetical roster-$15 penalty plus entry fee if approved by Games Committee
c) $10 penalty plus entry fee for an on-time final entry who does not appear on the alphabetical
roster
C. The penalty for using a competitor not properly entered is disqualification plus a $25 penalty
fee and a letter of explanation to the school's Athletic Director.
D. All fines and penalty fees are payable before competition or will be billed to the school.
E. All entries must be in writing or made electronically (penalty fees will not be eliminated by
telephone information).
Section 8 For the annual indoor and outdoor track & field meets, each school may enter and compete as many
athletes as there are scoring places in the individual events.
Section 9 For the annual cross country meet, there are no limits on entries; however, a team may start not
more than seven (7) runners.
Section 10 Standards for the championships shall be established by a committee appointed by the President.
No indoor marks shall qualify for the Outdoor Championship, except to sum performances for
decathlon qualifying. If less than 16 entries make the standard, are declared, or check-in indoors
or outdoors, others (provisional entries) will be added up to that number from the final entry list.
A. Provisional Entries (non-qualified entries)
1. A qualified athlete may be a provisional entry in another event (the provisional entry may
displace the qualified entry if so stated on the entry).
a) Example: Athlete qualified in 800, but would prefer 1000 as a non-qualifier. Coach files
two final entry slips and states on 800 entry "only if not accepted in the 1000."
2. Multiple provisional entries may be filed provided the coach declares on the entry, the
priority order, which will be in effect until the seeding meeting, after which the athlete,
if accepted into an event based on priority or the only field allowed, must compete in that
event.
3. Provisional entries, accepted into the top sixteen at the seeding meeting become declared
entries and are subject to the honest effort rule. Those accepted due to scratches
thereafter have the option of competing (they declare at check-in).
a) Declared provisional entries cannot be bumped by a late entry under Article IX, Section
5C.
4. Those that remain in a provisional status the day of the meet must check-in with the clerk
or head judge at check-in time for possible scratches which may reduce the field below
sixteen. The clerk and head judges shall be given a list by the Seeding Committee of all
provisional entries and their priority order.
5. An athlete who is accepted into a field after the seeding meeting has concluded, and accepts
going into that field, must still compete in his declared events, if there are any, or be
disqualified from the meet.
Section 11 The Rankings Chair, or in his stead, the Vice-President will be responsible for providing rankings,
via the internet, to the membership. A stipend of $450.00 dollars per year (or $150.00 per season)
all be paid for this service. These rankings are a list of official meet results that must be
received by the seeding meeting prior to the annual indoor and outdoor championships. Any athlete
whose performance cannot be verified will be scratched from that event.
A. A $25.00 fine will be imposed on any team whose individual proof of performance or meet results
are not received by the first Tuesday following a meet.
Section 12 A Seeding Committee of three shall be appointed by the host coach to rank competitors and make
conduct recommendations to the Games Committee.
Section 13 The Games Committee shall consist of the Executive Committee plus the host coach and one other
coach appointed by the host coach (if the host coach is a member of the Executive Committee, two
appointments should be made to make a committee of five). In the event members of the Executive
Committee cannot attend the meet or games committee meeting, the host coach will appoint
substitutes from the member coaches who will be in attendance.
Section 14 The Games Committee shall serve as the Jury of Appeal.
Section 15 The Order of Events for the annual Indoor Track and Field Championship shall be as listed below
(facilities may dictate a change in field event times):
Order of Events and Time Schedule
FRI. 12:00 PENTATHLON
SAT. 11:00 35LB. WT./TRIALS AND FINAL; LONG JUMP/TRIALS AND FINAL; SHOT
PUT FOLLOWS WEIGHT.
11:30 55 METER TRIALS
11:45 55 METER HH TRIALS
12:00 400 METER TRIALS
12:15 600 METER TRIALS
12:30 200 METER TRIALS
12:45 DISTANCE UNSEEDED SECTION IF NECESSARY
1:00 HIGH JUMP FINAL; POLE VAULT FINAL
1:10 55 METER HH SEMI-FINALS IF NECESSARY
1:20 55 METER SEMI-FINALS IF NECESSARY
1:45 TRIPLE JUMP/TRIALS AND FINAL
1:30 1500 METER UNSEEDED SECTION
1:40 1500 METER SEEDED SECTION
1:50 55 METER HH FINAL
2:00 400 METER FINAL (SECTIONS ON TIME)
2:10 600 METER FINAL (SECTIONS ON TIME)
2:20 55 METER FINAL
2:30 800 METER FINAL (SECTIONS ON TIME)
2:45 1000 METER FINAL (SECTIONS ON TIME)
3:00 200 METER FINAL (SECTIONS ON TIME)
3:10 3000 METER SEEDED SECTION
3:25 5000 METER SEEDED SECTION
3:45 DISTANCE MEDLEY RELAY - SEEDED SECTIONS, TIME BASIS, FASTEST
SECTION LAST
4:00 1600 METER RELAY - SEEDED SECTIONS, TIME BASIS, FASTEST
SECTION LAST
4:15 3200 METER RELAY - SEEDED SECTIONS, TIME BASIS, FASTEST
SECTION LAST
Section 16 The Order of Events for the annual Outdoor Track & Field Championship shall be the same as listed
below (facilities may dictate a change in field event times):
Order of Events and Time Schedule
THU. 3:00 DECATHLON
FRI. 11:00 DECATHLON
SAT. 10:15 10,000 METER FINAL
11:00 HAMMER/TRIALS AND FINAL; LONG JUMP/TRIALS AND FINAL
11:00 110 METER HH TRIALS
11:20 100 METER TRIALS
11:40 400 METER TRIALS
12:00 400 METER IH TRIALS
12:20 200 METER TRIALS
12:40 100 METER SEMI-FINAL
12:15 DISCUS/TRIALS AND FINAL
1:00 110 METER HH SEMI-FINAL
1:00 POLE VAULT FINAL
1:20 200 METER SEMI-FINAL
1:30 HIGH JUMP FINAL; JAVELIN/TRIALS AND FINAL; TRIPLE JUMP/TRIALS AND FINAL
2:00 400 METER RELAY - SEEDED SECTIONS, TIME BASIS, FASTEST
SECTION LAST
2:15 3000 METER STEEPLECHASE FINAL
2:30 1500 METER FINAL - SEEDED SECTIONS, TIME BASIS, FASTEST
SECTION LAST
2:30 SHOT PUT/TRIALS AND FINAL
2:45 110 METER HH FINAL
2:55 400 METER FINAL
3:05 100 METER FINAL
3:15 800 METER FINAL (SECTIONS ON TIME)
3:30 400 METER IH FINAL
3:40 200 METER FINAL
3:50 5000 METER FINAL
4:10 1600 METER RELAY - SEEDED SECTIONS, TIME BASIS, FASTEST
SECTION LAST
Section 16 Special Championship Regulations
A. The outdoor championships shall be held only on tracks with a minimum of six 42" lanes. The
throwing circles and jumping approaches shall be as regulated by the NCAA Guide.
B. The indoor meet may be run in yards if the host facility dictates.
C. Semi-finals must be held in sprints and hurdles unless it is possible to qualify the first
three to finish from each heat directly to the final.
D. Trials in the 200-400-400IH-600 (or equivalent yds.) shall be on a place and time basis for
advancement to the final(s) with a minimum of one and as many as three participants per heat,
per event to qualify on the basis of place. At least two individuals per event will advance
on the basis of time. Preference for advancing to the final round shall be on the basis of
place. Indoors, there will be a two section final in the 200-400-600 with the same number of
qualifiers in each section. The heat winners and next fastest times will run together in the
second section. In the 200, only the heat winners will run together in the second section.
Lane 1 will not be used in either the trials or finals of the 200.
E. There will be a minimum of 8 finalists in all field events where advancement takes place as well
as all running events.
F. Check-in for all athletes in all events, including alternates in provisional status, will be
20 minutes prior to the listed time for that event. NOTE: check-in may be made by any
representative of the athletes team.
G. Games Committee Policies and Procedures for Indoor & Outdoor Championships
1. 1500M - If 14 or fewer competitors are declared, the race shall be run in one section. When
two sections are necessary, the field is evenly divided. If an odd number of entries, the
higher number runs in the seeded section. When this method does not provide for the most
reasonably competitive situation, the games committee may make adjustments to the field
while assuring at least eight in the seeded section.
2. 800 thru 1000M - If 9 or fewer competitors are declared, the race shall be run in one
section. When two sections are necessary, the field is evenly divided. If an odd number
of entries, the higher number runs in the seeded section. When this method does not
provide for the most reasonably competitive situation, the games committee may make
adjustments to the field while assuring at least eight in the seeded section.
3. 3000/5000M/Steeplechase - If 18 (16 indoors) or fewer competitors are declared, the race
shall be run in one section. When two sections are necessary, the field is evenly divided.
If an odd number of entries, the higher number runs in the seeded section. When this
method does not provide for the most reasonably competitive situation, the games committee
may make adjustments to the field while assuring at least eight in the seeded section.
4. 3200 Meter Relay - Same as 800M/lOOOM (one section with 9 or fewer teams). When this method
does not provide for the most reasonably competitive situation, the games committee may
make adjustments to the field.
5. DMR - If 12 or less teams are declared, the race shall be run in one section. When two
sections are necessary, the field is evenly divided. If an odd number of entries, the
higher number runs in the seeded section. When this method does not provide for the
most reasonably competitive situation, the games committee may make adjustments to the
field.
6. PV - 6" increments until 3 or less competitors, then 3" (1 warm-up at entering ht. - no bar).
7. HJ - 2" increments until 3 or less competitors, then 1" (1 warm-up at entering ht. - no bar).
8. Throws & Jumps - Flights of 6-9 (Up to 10 minutes warmup before flights and before finals
with the last 10 minutes prior to the first flight being dedicated to those in the first
flight). The number of finalists will be by the games committee, while keeping in mind to
be consistent in their thinking and guaranteeing at least 8 make the finals. If a tie for
the last declared position by provisional entries results in more than 16 athletes being
accepted into the field, the games committee may make adjustments to the flights to
accomodate the field, if they so choose. When necessary, the Games Committee may have the
flexibility to expand or reduce flights to include fewer or greater numbers than prescribed
by the Constitution.
9. In running events, if semi-finals are provided for, but are unnecessary because of fewer
entries, athletes run at the time of trials and finals, eliminating the semi-finals.
H. The Seeding Committee and Games Committee shall meet during the afternoon of the convention
day per direction of the Meet Director. Scratches in events effected by the honest
effort rule must be made prior to the final entry deadline. The NCAA honest effort rule
is in effect for the championship meets.
I. Relays will be seeded on the basis of qualifying times, not personnel. Coaches may
request demotion, not promotion, in the seeding order. At check-in ( 20 minutes prior
to the event as listed on the meet schedule), names and order will be listed by member
of team doing check-in
J. Scoring will be 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 for both the Indoor and Outdoor Championship.
K. The pentathlon and decathlon events will be scratched from the indoor and outdoor program,
for that year, if less than six competitors make final entry.
1. 2900 point scorers plus provisional qualifiers up to 16 in the Pentathlon and the top
16 in the Decathlon, since December 1 of that season shall qualify for the Championships.
If the field is not filled with complete Pentathlon or Decathlon scores, three events
point scores will be used, one from each discipline (1 throw, 1 jump, 1 run), to
fill the field and will be selected by the games committee. Individuals who do not
have at least one performance in each of the three disciplines will not be
considered for entry.
L. Records may be established at any championship meet of the association. Signatures of the
referee and the officials in charge of the event shall be required as evidence of the
record for approval by the Executive Committee.
M. Cross Country - The distance of the varsity championship race shall be a minimum of five miles
(or 8000 meters).
N. All cases of dispute and any questions that may arise that are not provided for in the
constitution, by-laws, or NCAA rule book shall be referred to and decided by the
Executive Committee. During the conduct of a track & field championship, all disputes
will be settled by the Referee or Jury of Appeal.
ARTICLE X
Constitutional Changes
Section 1 Changes in the constitution, by-laws, and rules to govern the annual meets may be made by a two-thirds
vote of the membership represented at a convention of the association, provided subject changes
were mailed by the Secretary-Treasurer to the members one week in advance of the convention.
A. There will be a two year moratorium on revotes of constitutional matters unless overturned by
unanimous vote to reconsider.
Section 2 No amendment shall be made under Section 1 of this ARTICLE unless written copy of the proposed
amendment is sent to the member schools of the association at least one week before a convention
of the association. Amendments also require a two-thirds vote of the membership represented at a
convention.
A. This section may be suspended by a unanimous vote of the membership present at a convention.
Section 3 Mail Vote - In an interval between conventions of the association, the President, after consulting
the Executive Committee, may order a mail vote of the membership. The vote should be conducted by
the Secretary-Treasurer and requires a two-thirds vote of the entire membership to effect a change.
ARTICLE XI
Awards
Section 1 Cross Country Championship awards shall be as follows:
A. A suitable inscribed trophy or plaque shall be awarded the championship team. A trophy or plaque shall be
awarded the second and third place teams. Appropriate awards shall be given to the first 35
finishers in the varsity race.
Section 2 Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championship awards shall be as follows:
A. A suitably inscribed plaque or trophy shall be awarded the top three teams.
B. Appropriate medals shall be awarded to those competitors finishing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in each
event (including relays).
C. All New England Cetificates will be awarded to the top 8 individuals in each event in the Indoor
and Outdoor Championships.
D. Most Valuable Performer (MVP) Awards for field and track athletes, both
indoors and outdoors, as voted on by the association by the Wednesday preceeding the NEIAAA
Championship (nominations and voting will be done via the WWW), are as follows:
1. Indoor (track) Gordon Kelly Award
2. Indoor (field) Walter Slovenski Award
3. Outdoor (track) Elmer Swanson Award
4. Outdoor (field) Frank Sebasteanski Award
E. The Games Committee will solicit nominations from the coaches following the annual
Indoor and Outdoor Championship, post the nominations on the internet, and call for a
vote, which is to be completed in time for the announcement of the awards the following
weekend at the NEIAAA Championship.
BY-LAWS
ARTICLE I
Duties of the Officers
Section 1 It shall be the duty of the President, and in his absence the Vice President, to preside at all
conventions of the association and all meetings of the Executive Committee. Meetings of the
Executive Committee shall be called by the President whenever he deems it necessary.
A. The Secretary-Treasurer shall stand-in for the Vice President, if necessary.
Section 2 The President of the association shall act as Chairman of the Executive Committee, but in his
absence the Vice President shall be Chairman.
Section 3 It shall be the duty of the Secretary-Treasurer to keep an accurate record of all proceedings of
the Association and the Executive Committee, to issue notices of meetings, and to keep an account
of the annual championship meets of the association. Such an account shall contain an accurate
record of competitions including meet records. He shall notify the membership of any changes in
officers or committee chairmanships. He shall notify members of the association of any applications
for membership at least one week before the annual Spring Convention.
Section 4 It shall be the duty of the Secretary-Treasurer to collect and take charge of the funds of the
association. He shall keep an account of all money received and expended by the association, and
his accounts shall at all times be open to inspection by any officer of the association. A
Treasurer's Report shall be submitted and audited at the annual Spring Convention.ARTICLE II
Executive Committee
Section 1 The President, Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer form the Executive Committee.
Section 2 The Executive Committee shal1 rule on all matters not covered by the constitution.
Section 3 The Executive Committee will serve on the Games Committee at the annual championships
(the President shall serve as Chairman of both committees).
Section 4 The President shall advise, and if necessary, direct the Meet Director in matters of
Championship conduct.
ARTICLE III
Parliamentary Proceedings
Section 1 Parliamentary proceedings of this association, not herein provided, shall be governed by the
Robert's Rules of Order.