Track And Field is is a collection of sports events that involve running, throwing and jumping. The name is derived from the Greek word “athlon” meaning “contest”.

Some languages refer to these sports as “light athletics” to distinguish them from “heavy athletics,” like weight lifting, wrestling, etc.

Athletics was the event at the first Olympics back in 776 BC where the only event held was the stadium-length foot race or “stade”.

The AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) was the governing body in the United States until it collapsed under pressure from advancing professionalism in the late 1970s. A new governing body called The Athletics Congress (TAC) was formed, it was later renamed USA Track and Field (USATF or USA T&F).

There are two seasons for track and field; indoor and outdoor.

The outdoor track and field season begins in the spring and may last through the summer. Usually the tracks are an oval shape track of 400 meters. However, some old tracks are still measured in yards, so they measure 440 yards.

The track consists of 6-10 lanes and, for the bigger tracks, a steeplechase lane with a water pit. This can be inside or outside the track, making for a tighter turn or a wider turn.

There are other variations besides the ones listed below but races of unusual length (e.g. 300 m) are run much less often. The unusual races are typically held during indoor season because of the shorter 200m indoor track.