Throws, Hurdles, and Related Events: How Streamline Athletes Now Reads Your Performances

On October 2, we changed how college coaches' standards reach athletes on Streamline Athletes. When a coach sets a standard for an event such as the 1500m, every related event, such as the 1200m and the 1600m, now updates with it automatically. Throws on youth implements now have their own lines too, so a 4kg shot put is never treated like a 7.26kg one, building on the hurdle heights we added in September. Your performances are never converted. A coach's standards are: each related event is converted from the coach's main event, based on the coach's most recent update to that standard.

Throws and hurdles are read on their own implement

High school athletes compete on different implements and barriers than college athletes. A Canadian U18 thrower may use a 3kg hammer, while college women throw 4kg. A youth hurdler may race over 36-inch or 39-inch hurdles, while college men race over 42 inches. Until recently, the platform read every throw and every hurdle time on the college lines. A throw on a lighter implement or a race over a lower barrier was compared with college performances as if it were one, which gave coaches and athletes a less accurate picture.

Each throw and each hurdle race is now measured on the lines for the implement or barrier it was done on, with its own lines for every implement weight and hurdle height. A 15.20 over 39-inch hurdles is read as a 15.20 over 39-inch hurdles. Nothing is scaled up or estimated.

The hurdle lines came first, in September. We set them from Athletics Canada national rankings by comparing athletes who raced both heights in the same season, and kept every time exactly as it was run. The lines for youth throwing implements went live on October 2, and results already on athlete profiles were updated to them the same day.

To make sure your performances are read correctly, add the implement weight or hurdle height to each result on your profile.

One coach standard now covers every related event

College coaches set their recruiting standards on a set of main events, the ones they recruit for directly, such as the 100m, 800m, 1500m, and 5k cross country. Athletes often race events next to those: the 60m indoors, the 1600m in high school, or a 3-mile cross country course. Those related events now follow the coach's main event automatically. Every time a coach saves a main event standard, its related events are converted from that latest version.

Each related event is set at the same performance level as the main event it follows. A few examples:

For athletes, this should mean more contact from coaches. Take a distance runner who only races the 1600m and 3200m in high school. Until now, coaches who set standards only on the 1500m, the indoor mile, and the 3000m may never have contacted that athlete. Now the 1600m follows the 1500m and mile, the 3200m follows the 3000m, and those coaches' standards reach the athlete's results.

On October 2, related-event standards were filled for every program on the platform: nearly 57,000 new standards and more than 10,000 updates.

For coaches, it means one standard per event. Set each main event once, with throws on the college implement, and the rest follows.

Two new main events for coaches

Coaches can now set standards directly on the 400m hurdles and the 5000m race walk. The 400m hurdles sits with the sprints, just below the 400m, and the race walk has its own group. Both events already hold standards for every program, and their related events update in the same save.

The calculator works the same way

Our free Track and Field Recruiting Calculator, launched on September 29, reads throws and hurdles the same way. Pick the implement or hurdle height you competed with, and it uses that implement's lines. It never converts a youth implement into a college equivalent. Read how the calculator works.

Tell us what you see

These changes are new. If a performance on your profile looks like it is being read on the wrong implement, or a standard on a related event looks off, email info@streamlineathletes.com with the event, the performance, and the implement or hurdle height.

Frequently asked questions

Does Streamline Athletes convert youth throws or hurdle times to college equivalents?

No. Your performance is never converted. A throw on a lighter implement or a hurdle race over a lower barrier is measured on the lines for that implement or barrier.

Which implements and hurdle heights are covered?

Every implement weight and hurdle height an athlete can choose on their profile has its own lines. Hurdle heights have been live since September, and throwing implements since October 2.

Do coaches need to set standards for every event?

No. Coaches set standards on their main events. The standards for related events, such as the 1600m or the 60m, are converted from the main event at the same performance level, based on the coach's most recent update.

Why should I add the implement weight or hurdle height to my results?

The platform can only read a result on the right lines if it knows the implement or barrier. Without it, the result is read on the college lines.