Youth USATF - South Carolina Info

USATF Junior Olympics

The USATF Junior Olympics is a progression-based program. USATF athletes register for the Association meet. Those that qualify are allowed to register for the Regionals. Those that qualify at the Regionals may then register for the Nationals. Per USATF rules, by not registering for the Association meet you are not eligible to register for the Regional meet.

Membership

A current date-of-birth verified USATF Youth membership is required to participate in the USATF Junior Olympics program. This includes at the Association, the Regional, and the National levels, for both Track & Field and Cross-Country

Date of Birth Verification

Date of birth documents must be uploaded into the USATF Connect system through the athlete’s account. Please note the following:

- Only the USATF National Office can approve a date of birth document

- The USATF National Office requires up to 5 business days to approve

- Net will not allow registration with DOB approval

- USATF Associations cannot bypass or circumvent this process

Waivers

Rule 300 Waiver

A Rule 300 Waiver, submitted via the USATF Connect system, is for athletes competing in a different Association.

Competition Waiver

All Athletes who require a waiver to the Region meet due to ACT/SAT Testing or extraordinary circumstances that will prevent them from participating in the Association Championship, must notify the USATFSC Youth Chair in writing prior to the Association meet, and the Youth Chair will provide a meet-specific link for that waiver. All athletes requiring a waiver must be entered in, and pay entry fees for, the events in which they wish to advance prior to receiving the waiver link. ATHLETES MUST BE ENTERED IN THE FIRST ROUND OF COMPETITION IN ORDER TO ADVANCE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

Competition Waivers are not guaranteed. The USATF rule is that a waivered athlete cannot displace an athlete that qualified during the competition.

USATF Competition Rules.
Rule 306.1(f)

With the approval of the Association, athletes who miss their Association Championships because of extraordinary circumstances may be advanced to the Regional meet so long as such advancement does not displace an athlete who competed in the Association meet and does not exceed the Association’s allocation to the Regional meet. If an Association has an athlete who meets an extraordinary circumstance and advancement would exceed their allocation, then the athlete may advance so long as all the Associations within the Region agree to the advancement.

This generally is not a problem, as the Associations in Region 4 are very cooperative and understanding. Still, just remember, the Competition Waiver technically is not guaranteed.

JO Field Event Finals

Effective 2024, in all horizontal field events (Throws, Horizontal Jumps), only the top 8 will advance to the finals in the USATF South Carolina Association Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships