We, the undersigned parents, guardians, coaches, and supporters of student-athletes across Loudoun County Public Schools, respectfully urge the Loudoun County School Board and the Department of Student Athletics to review and revise the current scheduling of track and field meets.

The Issue:

Currently, many track and field competitions are scheduled during the school day, requiring student-athletes to miss valuable instructional time in order to compete. This is in stark contrast to the scheduling of other sports—such as football, basketball, soccer, and lacrosse—which typically hold their competitions after school hours or in the evening.

This discrepancy places an unfair burden on track and field athletes, families, and coaches:

Students are forced to choose between their academic responsibilities and athletic commitment.
Parents and guardians often cannot leave work to support their children during daytime meets.
Coaches, many of whom are also full-time educators or professionals, struggle to attend meets during working hours.

Our Request:

We are asking for equitable treatment of track and field athletes in Loudoun County. Specifically, we request that track and field competitions be scheduled outside of school hours whenever possible—consistent with the practices afforded to other sports. This change would promote fairness, support academic achievement, and allow more family and community engagement in our students’ athletic efforts.

We recognize the complexities of scheduling and transportation, and we are not asking for preferential treatment—only for parity. Our student-athletes deserve the same opportunity to excel both academically and athletically, without being forced to compromise one for the other.

We respectfully ask the Loudoun County School Board to address this concern and work toward a fair solution that honors the dedication of all student-athletes across our county.