Decathlon rules (0)

Here are a few of the differences between normal track & field rules and decathlon practices:

1. The Decathlon must always be held on two consecutive days and contested in the following order:

The rulebooks will also list the order for other multi-event competition including men's pentathlon, women's heptathlon and indoor multi events.

2. An interval of at least 30 minutes should be allowed between the time one event ends and the next event begins. At the discretion of the games committee this interval can be altered.

3. Each competitor will be allowed only three attempts in the long jump, shot put, discus throw and javelin throw.

4. It is recommended that fully automatic timing be used. If the meet is manually timed, three time keepers shall time each competitor independently. If the times differ the median time shall be adopted. If for any reason only two register times, and they differ, the slower of the two shall be adopted as official.

5. In the high jump and pole vault the games committee will set the starting heights and the bar will be raised by 3cm (for high jump) and 10 cm (for pole vault)

6. All measurements are metric. It is recommended that all measurements be made with a steel tape. The shot put, discus and javelin throws are measured to the least centimeter. Until recently the discus and javelin had to be measured to the least even centimeter. This is no longer the case.

7. In the determination of sections and lane assignments for running events, they shall be determined by lot. No fewer than three competitors shall start in any section. In the final event, the 1500 meters, the leaders should run in the same heat. If athletes are grouped, the referee shall have the power to rearrange the groups.

8. Hurdles are run in adjacent lanes, except in collegiate meets where hurdles are placed in alternate lanes.

9. If a competitor fouls another competitor in any event he shall lose the points gained for that event but shall be allowed to compete in succeeding events unless the referee deems that the loss of points is not a sufficient penalty.

10. Athletes must make an attempt at each event. This rule is designed to guarantee that the athlete intends to do a 'decathlon' and not just set records or get a workout in single events. Athletes failing to start any event are considered to have abandoned the competition, receive no final score and are not included in the final placing.

11. The event scores, cumulative scores and places shall be announced to the competitors at the completion of each event.

12. The winner of the competition is the athlete who has scored the highest number of points on the IAAF scoring tables (which conveniently are included in the NCAA Rulebook). If there is a tie score, the athlete scoring the higher number of points in the most events shall be awarded the high place. If a tie still remains, then the competitor who has earned the highest number of points in any single event will be given the higher place. If the tie still exists on goes to the second highest number of points, and so on. This rule applies to all decathlon competition except those governed by NCAA rules. The NCAA does not break ties.