"This will be advantageous for the vaulter to abort and still have a chance to come back and try again within the prescribed time limit if he or she has a bad approach," said Becky Oakes, NFHS assistant director and liaison to the Track and Field Rules Committee. "This change will now allow all vertical jumps to be judged the same in regard to aborted attempts and trials."

There has also been a revision in the length of the stopboard used for shot put. Rule 6-5-4 will revert back to the 4-feet measurement of a standard or international-length stopboard instead of converting to a shorter stopboard for the 34.92-degree sector.

"This will prevent schools from installing custom boards," Oakes said. "Manufacturers are not making a stopboard for the 34.92-degree sector and it is not necessary to require schools to provide funding for this extra expense of a custom board."

A significant rules change in 4-3-1d(1) concerning uniforms specifies that a school's name or insignia may be worn on an undergarment, providing it is not larger than 2¼ square inches with no dimension more than 2¼ inches. Previous rules regarding uniforms did not address if a school's insignia was considered legal on undergarments.

"Along with permitting school identification on undergarments, the rule also states that if more than one visible garment is worn under a uniform top or bottom, they all need to be the same, solid color under that piece of the uniform," Oakes said. "This will help clarify what constitutes a legal uniform."

Rule 2-3-2 will replace Rule 2-3-3, allowing meet results to be corrected at any time when a participant, who has been disqualified from further participation in the meet and/or should not have participated in the meet at any time, has participated and scored points. According to Oakes, previously there had never been a rule that specifically outlined this situation.

The final rules change, Rule 3-2-4g, states that the games committee will now have the authority to designate specific areas where coaches may observe and confer with athletes during competition, thus assisting coaches and meet administration especially when a venue may be located away from the track.

"Overall, all five rules changes are to the benefit of the competitors," Oakes said.