"Home of National Records!"

21 National Records! -- 79 U.S. Olympic Team Alumni!

Coaches can now request your username/passwords for online registration by going to
www.DirectAthletics.com.    If you are using DirectAthletics for the first time,
you will need to click the 'new user' button located below the password box
to get registration directions. Online registration is quick and easy!

"Registration closes March 24th. Marks can be updated through March 29th!"

Dear Coaches,

          We thank you for your continued interest in the 2004 Arcadia Invitational, which is slated for Friday-Saturday, April 9-10, at Arcadia High School, located approximately 17 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. Based upon early response, it once again appears that most of the nation's premier athletes will converge at Arcadia High for a great weekend of competition. As of mid-February, leading athletes from a whopping 26 states have committed to attending the 2004 meet!

          This letter serves to provide you wish meet entry information and registration details. Also, you might wish to strongly consider making your hotel reservations at this time, before our allotted blocks of rooms are all claimed. Please consult www.ArcadiaInvitational.org and click on the "Travel Info" link for more information on airline and hotel specifics.

          We are confident we will be able to accommodate nearly every relay team requesting entry into the Arcadia Friday Night Relays, which has become a very popular addition in its first two years since inception. Additionally, we are adding a third section of field events on Friday evening, to help accomodate those 'developmental standouts' within your program that otherwise might barely miss qualifying for the Saturday Open Meet.

          As for the Saturday portion of the meet, the top verified marks will compete in the featured Invitational (evening) portion, with those missing the seeding cutoff then being considered for seeding purposes into the very competitive Open (day) Meet. Please keep in mind that most running events will feature at least two heats in the evening, and field events usually allow for approximately 20-22 entrants per event at night. Additionally, the depth of talent attending allows for great competition in the day session as well, with leading marks achieved there also often ranking among the top handful in the country. ... until the night meet arrives!

          Whoever you decide to bring, your athletes will find exceptional competition on a very fast surface in front of a packed house, all lending to great atmosphere for what annually ranks as the premier in-season meet in the country in terms of depth of quality performance marks (277 DyeStatElite marks in 2003, a national all-time high for an in-season meet).

         Here are some general reminders for entry registration, which you can now do at www.DirectAthletics.com

• In the "Seed Mark" section for each athlete, only include his her best mark for the 2004 season.
• In the "Seed Notes" section for each athlete, include the meet date and meet name where the performance mark was achieved, also noting if the marks was achieved indoors, at altitude, etc.  Please include any other key note (such as 'national champion', 'state champion' etc.). Also, please include the athlete's lifetime best mark in this area, if it is faster than his/her 2004 best mark. Seeding decisions are made based on verifying marks.
• Complete accuracy in seed marks is the only means of fairness for each athlete and coach. All marks will be verified through the prep editors at Track & Field News, with DyeStat.com and DyeStatCal.com also used for reference.
• You are welcomed to enter your athletes in any number of events, but we reserve the right to make adjustments for what we feel are impossible combinations within the schedule. Also, each athlete can only compete in a maximum of four events for the 2-day meet.
• Athletes not qualifying into the night meet will automatically be placed for consideration into the day meet (athletes can qualify into BOTH day and night events). If you are specifically interested in night-meet participation only" for a particular athlete, please put "Night Meet Only" in the seed notes. Please understand that if you state "Night Meet Only" for an athlete and he/she does not qualify into the night meet, he/she will not be seeded into the day meet.
• DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING ENTRIES IS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24TH.   However, coaches may update their seed marks online between March 25th and noon on Monday, March 29th, or fax these updates to (626) 445-8564 or by calling to (626) 445-7507. Once the final update deadline has passed, our committee will meet to select those athletes with the best verifiable marks into each meet session. Notification of entry selection, final time schedule and final meet instructions will be posted online at www.ArcadiaInvitational.org on April 1st. Team-by-team entries will be listed for easiest reference, followed soon thereafter by the meet's heat sheets.
• We will also seed multiple alternates into each running event that is contested in lanes. If you have an alternate listed in your entries after the selection process (denoted by "Alt-Carl Lewis", as an example), please be aware that we will phone you between April 2nd and April 8th if a lane becomes available. If you are not contacted regarding your alternate in that time frame, we strongly encourage you to bring your athlete, as there are always scratches at any meet on meet day.
• If you need to scratch an athlete for any reason, you may do so by phone by calling (626) 445-7507, or by emailing [email protected]  Schools will not be charged for any scratch that is made by 3 p.m. on April 7th. Otherwise, a school will be charged for the entry.
• Entry fees are as follows: Friday night and Saturday night, $15 for individual events and $60 for relays. Saturday morning/afternoon, $10 for individual events and $40 for relay events. New for 2004, there will be a maximum cap of $150 for all girls entries or all boys entries, and a maximum cap of $250 for combined boys/girls entries from one school. (A cap of $500 was imposed in 2002, lowered to $400 in 2003, and now lowered to $250 in 2004!)
• Payment of entry fees may be made prior to the meet or at the credentials (packet pick-up) area on the day of the meet. If a school check cannot be obtained prior to the meet, a personal check from the coach will suffice. Do not send payment until entries have been determined and posted.
• All competing athletes originally seeded into an event on April 1st will receive a meet souvenir (either a meet backpack or a shoe/spie bag) courtesy of Nike, which will also be retailing official meet apparel. Athletes must compete (not merely be entered) in order to receive this souvenir.
• There are no rain make-up dates. This meet will proceed, rain or shine. Every safe effort will be made to conduct each event through inclement weather, if need be.
• Important note for traveling schools: Because of the added cost of travel, we understand that waiting to purchase airline tickets until after selections have officially been made can be unduly expensive. If you have a very exceptional athlete that is faairly certain to make the night meet and wish to confirm well in advance (so you can proceed in purchasing tickets at a lower rate), you can contact us at (626) 445-7507 to see if athletes can be confirmed a spot. In fairness to all, these confirmations will not be given to athletes projecting to be "on the bubble" of being seeded into the meet.
• Check out our meet website (www.ArcadiaInvitational.org) for continually updated meet information and downloadable mailings beginning March 1st.

         Should you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at the above phone number and we would be glad to provide assistance in addressing your needs and concerns. We appreciate your involvement in what promises to be the best Arcadia yet!

In the spirit of education/athletics,

Richard Gonzalez
Meet Director