"I adapted an antiquated style and modernized it to something that was efficient.
I didn't know anyone else in the world would be able to use it,
and I never imagined it would revolutionize the event."
~Dick Fosbury
"If you don't raise the bar,
how will ever know your potential?"
~Tom Perry
The Arcadia Invitational is a high school track and field meet that is considered to be one of the most competitive meets in the country. It is held at Arcadia High School. It has forty years of history and has been billed as the "Home of National Records." The meet attracts the top prep athletes in the United States and Internationally. The meet has played host to 25 national high school records and has helped to produce 152 U.S. Olympians. This year, the Open Running and Field Events were held during the day on Saturday, April 7th, and the Invitational Events were held that evening.
I started as a Meet Official in 2006 when I managed the Men's Open Long Jump. In 2007 I managed the Men's Open High Jump, and have managed the Women's Open High Jump every year from 2008 through 2017. When I created my Updated Bucket List for YEAR 77, I included an item to volunteer with the meet officials to manage the Women's Open High Jump again this year. Christel Donley is Chief of Officials for the meet and I received notification from her that I had been selected and that my recommendation that Harry work the High Jump with me had been approved. This is my 13th year of working at this prestigious event.
The events were scheduled to begin Saturday morning at 9:30 am, so I went to the school about that time so I could watch a couple of the running events before beginning to check the girls in for the high jump, which was scheduled to begin at 11:00 am. The weather was partly cloudy and mild - pretty nice for a track meet. The attendance at the meet varies during the course of the day, and I assume it increases during the Invitational Events in the evening. In any event, there was already a big crowd when I arrived. The first two photos show the crowds in the two main north and south grandstands. The second two photos are Christel, then Christel and I.
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Harry joined me about 10:30 am and we checked the measuring bar and standards for accuracy and gave instructions to the two Arcadia High students who were there to help us. I checked in the jumpers as they arrived and had 25 jumpers check in, which is a pretty big field. The starting height this year was 5 feet, one inch. The guidelines are, the girls jump in the sequence on the printed roster I was given, they each get three attempts to make a height (in their jump sequence), and they get only one minute after their name is called to complete the jump. I don't enforce that rule stringently, particularly on their third jump, unless someone abuses it. Each time the bar is raised, it goes up two inches.
The number of active jumpers thinned out pretty quickly. Nine girls didn't make the opening height in their allowed three jumps. Six girls made the opening height, but missed all three jumps at 5' 3", the next increased height. Eight girls made 5' 3", but missed all three jumps at 5' 5". That left only two girls jumping, Jada Sims from Xavier, and Alysah Hickey from Coronado. Both girls made 5' 7", but Sims missed on 5' 9" and Hickey won by clearing that height, which was a personal best for her. She attempted 5' 10 1/2", which would have been her school record, but was unable to clear that height. The photos below are of Hickey with her championship medal, and one with Harry and I showing the bar she jumped, which is higher than her head.
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As I mentioned earlier, the Invitational Events are in the evening and the athletes in those events are usually the ones setting the records. The banner below shows the status of the Girls High Jump records and you can see the heights are much above what we see in the Open events.
I've always really enjoyed attending this track meet, and managing the girls high jump. All the participants are so enthusiastic (and well-mannered by the way) you can't help but be excited for them. I stayed around the school for a couple hours after the high jump was completed to watch some of the other Open Events. I've included a few photos below just to show what was going on. The first photo below is Art working the Shot Put Event. Art has worked the Track Meet for many years and he is the one that suggested that I should volunteer back in 2006. The remainder of the photos are events I watched but didn't select any particular athlete; they are just whoever was running or jumping when I was at the event. Below is the Pale Vault, Girls Low Hurdles, Boys Triple Jump (we used to call it Hop, Skip and Jump), Girls Long Jump, and the 200 Meter Dash.
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Many Arcadia High School students make up what they call the "Meet Crew" and help make this meet a success. One of the students, Latasha La Rocco, was particularly gracious and helpful to me and received my monthly 7-dollar "Gift to a Stranger" which I will cover in detail in my April Wrap-Up Report.
A Little History- My interest in high jumping stems from being a jumper in my younger (much younger) days. When I was high jumping, the styles or techniques ran the gambit, from the Scissors, to the Straddle, to the Dive, to the Western Roll, the Belly Roll, and others. The photos below are from the Logan Junior High School 1955 Yearbook showing me doing the high jump (I set a record in those days) and the broad jump (now called the long jump).
Today the only high jump style used is the Fosbury Flop, which was perfected by Dick Fosbury and became popular when he won the gold medal in the 1968 Summer Olympics.
Photos below left to right: Harry & I with the 2017 Arcadia Invitational Open high jump winner, Jacquelyn Fields of Palos Verde; an image demonstrating the Fosbury Flop; and a 1955 photo of me doing the Western Roll.
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