Track & Field

Registration has ended for postseason play.

After registering, your organization will need to pay TAIAO Membership dues (unless this had already been paid).  Teams whose TAIAO membership dues have not been received by April 6th will not be able to participate unless granted a waiver.

Once your TAIAO Membership dues and team / individual athlete fees have been paid, you can register your athletes on Athletics.net. 

Track & Field fees are the lesser of  $25 per athlete or $525 for all athletes.  For example, if your organization has 5 JH athletes and 5 varsity athletes then you would pay $250 as this is less than $525. Please ask during registration to be invoiced for a team payment.

ALL PAYMENTS NEED TO BE MADE ONLINE OR VIA MAILED CHECKS. WE WILL NOT ACCEPT PAYMENT AT THE MEETS

CLICK HERE If you would like to pay for 20 or fewer athletes.

If you are having problems with payment, email admin@taiao.org and request an invoice with a payment link. Please be sure to include then number of athletes with your request.

$525 maximum payments must be paid before April 6th! TAIAO accepts online payment (request a payment link) or checks. Checks received after the 6th will be applied to your balance for the total number of athletes at $25 p/athlete.  For example, team has 40 athletes and we receive the check on April 10th for $525.  The team will owe an additional $475 at the gate (40x$25=$1000 minus $525 equals $475)

Please read the information below regarding varsity roster submission, transfer athletes and player eligibility. 

Finally, each organization is responsible for reading and abiding by the General Rules as well as the eligibility guidelines and sports plan.

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WEATHER UPDATE (4/17/24 12:00 pm)

Due to severe weather projected for Saturday afternoon at the North regional, the Varsity meet has been moved to Friday the 19th and JH Saturday morning on the 20th.   Varsity will compete on Friday starting at 5:00 pm (scratch meeting 4:30pm) with the gates opening at 4:00 pm (no early birds).

The junior high will compete on Saturday with the gates opening at 8:00 am (scratch meeting 8:30 am) and competition starting at 9:00am

READ MORE HERE

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The North and South Regional Track Meets will be Friday April 19th for varsity and Saturday, April 20th for junior high.  

North Regional – Keene Track and Field Stadium
404 Charger Drive, Keene, TX 76059
FINAL NORTH REGION TRACK MEET SCHEDULE
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South Regional – Lockhart Lions Stadium (Lockhart, Tx)

The top contenders and teams will compete in the state meet on April 27th.
FINAL SOUTH REGION TRACK MEET SCHEDULE

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State Finals – La Vega HS (Waco, Tx)

FINAL STATE FINAL TRACK MEET SCHEDULE

Click here for additional information on State Finals

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Click here for additional information on regionals

Click here for additional information on new state finals location

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Everyone in the meet will need to be wearing a wrist band.  This includes athletes, coaches and spectators six and older.

Tickets will be more at the event so we encourage you to purchase in advance.  Online ticket sales will end April 19th for south regional and April 18th for the north regional. 

North Regional
Tickets will be $10-$15 at the gate
 

South Regional
PURCHASE SOUTH REGIONAL TICKETS ($5-$10)
Tickets will be $10-$15 at the gate

State Meet
PURCHASE STATE MEET TICKETS ($5-$15)
Tickets will be $10-$15 at the gate

THERE ARE NO FAMILY PASSES AVAILABLE FOR THESE  EVENTS

It has come to our attention that programs are struggling with the classification of athletes.  It is very important all athletes are properly classified.  To this end please be sure you follow these guidelines:
 

If your athlete attended a traditional public or private school between K-8 then they should be classified with respect to the grade at which the athlete attended the school.  To classify an athlete using the “traditional school method” the school must have been an accredited entity with the state of Texas (so Co-ops and micro schools do not count).

If an athlete is currently homeschooled then you need to follow these guidelines for the 2023-2024 season. 

  • No homeschool athletes born before Sept 1, 2005 should be playing in TAIAO without having received an exemption.
  • Athletes born between Aug 31, 2005 and Sept 1, 2006 should be classified as Seniors
  • Athletes born between Aug 31, 2006 and Sept 1, 2007 should be classified as Juniors
  • Athletes born between Aug 31, 2007 and June 1, 2008 can be classified as Sophomores (or Juniors if they have already played 2 years of varsity sports)
  • Athletes born between May 31,2008 and June 1, 2009  can be classified as Freshman (or Sophomores if they have already played 1 year of varsity sports).
If an athlete starts playing any varsity sport at any age then they may only play 4 consecutive years. Exemptions to play younger players are rarely granted and must be given before the player starts playing varsity sports.

If your athletes did not obtain an age exemption before they became a varsity athlete they CAN NOT apply for an exemption after the fact. For example, if an athlete turned 14 years old before the season and did not apply for an exemption, the athlete would be classified as a Sophomore when entering play the following year.
 
Penalties for noncompliance have consistently been forfeits of games and the inability to participate in post season play.
 
Finally, it has come to our attention that some teams are not listing all their high school age eligible athletes on their varsity rosters.  If your athletes are high school age (born after May 31, 2008) and have not received an exemption to play in junior high, then not reporting them will result in the inability to participate in post season play. You must report all varsity athletes regardless of what level of team (Freshman, JV, etc) they play on.
 
If you have any questions, please direct them to Brent Golemon on the Steering Committee.  He can be reached at bgolemon@gmail.com
 

TAIAO has policies restricting athlete transfers to maintain fair competition, prevent recruiting, and to uphold the integrity of the sport.

These policies aim to discourage organizations from gaining a competitive advantage by acquiring talented athletes from other organizations, ensuring a level playing field for all participants.  Furthermore, it prevents athletes from cherry picking the sports they want to play in with different organizations.

Transfer restrictions also promote loyalty and commitment to a particular team, fostering a sense of continuity and team cohesion.

Overall, these policies contribute to the overall fairness, stability, and ethical standards within the athletic community.

Subchapter H of TAIAO’s General Rules  govern transfers.  Please familiarize yourself with them before engaging in the process. The process requires a co-signed document (sent from TAIAO) which requires the signatures of the Athletle. Parent. Current Coach & AD,  the New Coach & AD as well as the TAIAO Chair of the sport(s).

Homeshool organizations please read: It is written in the General Rules: 

Home school students, by nature, have more options to affiliate with multiple organizations in respect to their athletic and academic objectives. Home school students are strongly encouraged to NOT transfer from one Member Organization to another for the purpose of gaining a competitive advantage in any given contest, event or activity.

An affiliation with another Member Organization involving any contest, event or activity shall be viewed as at least a “limited transfer” for that student. For example, if a student played baseball at Member Organization A and now desires to play football at Member Organization B; the student would need to submit a transfer request for Member Organization B from Member Organization A.

REQUEST A TRANSFER FORM

An athlete is not eligible to compete unless all have been completed:

Contact admin@taiao.org if you have any problems uploading your rosters.

Shantel Leininger

Committee Chair
Have questions? Click here to contact us.