Attendence Policy

1. Every member of the Track team is EXPECTED to attend every practice.
2. Every member of the Track team is EXPECTED to attend all dual/league/CIF meets and Friday and/or Saturday competitions (if you are invited or a qualifier).
3. Attendance will be kept on a daily basis. Beginning January 10th, if you should miss five (5) practices within the same season you will be suspended. Suspension will be for a minimum of two (2) days depending on your infraction. Upon your return from this suspension, you will not be allowed to miss more than two (2) more practice sessions. If two more missed practices occur after your suspension, you will be dismissed indefinitely from the Golden Valley Track and Field program for that year. This is a total of seven (7) missed practices. *NOTE: Our goal as a staff is to make sure suspension doesn’t occur by implementing this rule early in the season.
4. If a student arrives to practice late (After 6^th period has begun), they WILL be sent home resulting in a missed practice. The only accepted excuse will be if the student has a certified note, from an actual teacher stating that the student was receiving tutoring. Communication is the key factor between athlete and coach for missed practice or late attendance. *NOTE: If your child walks into practice after 6^th period has begun they are late. We should already be warming up by then.
5. This policy will only affect the student/athletes who have continuously choose to miss, skip, or purposely arrive late to practice sessions. The most common “violations” have been Friday practices and random lateness. Friday does not constitute as “optional.” You will be marked absent.

 Possible Questions/Situations:  What if I miss school?  Typically, if you miss school, you miss practice. This would be the only version of an excused absence. This will not count toward your attendance. On the other hand, if the absence occurs during meet week, you will not be allowed to participate in that week’s meet.

What if I have to miss practice to work on a project or homework that is due this/next week? This would be an unexcused absence. It has been our experience that the student/athletes who miss practice for this reason generally procrastinate until the last minute. Assignments that take 5-6 hours to complete are rarely assigned the day or week prior to them being due. You should plan long-term assignments well in advance of the deadlines! Most of our coaching staff were high school and collegiate athletes, so we all know how it works.

What if I go on a field trip for my class?  Athletes are responsible to attend practice immediately after the field trip. This will also not count as being late, due to the circumstances. Communication is key!