HISTORY AND INTRODUCTION OF LAP SCORING IN THE TRACK EVENTS

History and Introduction of Lap scoring and in the Track Events

Ø  Lap scoring is an important but often forgotten or undeveloped skill. It is often assigned to anyone working the finish line without much explanation or training. Although it can be simple if done correctly, it can be easily done wrong with significant consequences.

 Ø      The rulebooks don't have many details on the official position of Lap Scorer. But it is used in all of the disciplines of athletics. Until the last 35 years or so the way lap counting was done was totally dependent on the official assigned. Many were not properly prepared to do the required job.

 Ø  It was an afterthought. Thus knowing the number of laps that an athlete had completed or had remaining was sometimes a mystery even to the official who was supposed to be counting them. This was true even at the highest level meets through the years; i.e., conference champions, the National Championships, and even the Olympic Games. Some officials feel this job is below them or that it wasn't important; but it is critical, particularly for races where several competitors are lapped or where there are 4 or more laps in the race.

Ø  For those that want to get into the details and the history there is a very good monograph written in 1995 by Jim Hanley of the Southern California Association entitled Lap Counting. In fact the portable lap counter device seen on most tracks, according to Jim, was first used at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

 Ø  The primary problem with lap scoring as it was practiced until the 1960s was that it required the scorer to maintain a high level of attention during the whole race. Being distracted probably meant that the scorer might miss a lap.

 Ø   If the laps for only the leader were being recorded then there could be a problem with other places, particularly for lapped competitors. With advent of video cameras in the 70's it became possible to film the whole race so that the video could be checked for missed laps. However that process is slow and tedious and was rarely used. Another problem was that various runners may be lapped more than one time or they might unlap themselves in very long races, like the hour, two hour or 24 hour runs.

 Ø  This is particularly true at NCAA meets when two or more distance races or the men's and the women's long distance races are combined, or at a race with mixed abilities as the Special Olympics.

 Ø   As a result of frustration with the errors by officials in race walking events when he competed in the 1960s, Hanley developed his own lap form which, for the first time, included the Laps to Go as well as the Laps done and the approximate time each lap was completed. This is the system that I recommend you use. I have used it extensively and find it the most forgiving because it allows you to check yourself during the progress of the race so that any discrepancy can be corrected before the race is over.