The NFHS Track and Field Rules cover Pentathlon competitions in Rule 8, "Special Events".   It is defined in Rule 8, Section 1, article 2.   "The Pentathlon shall consist of five events which shall be held in the following order, unless state association rules apply."

When the NYSPHSAA Track & Field Committee adopted the pentathlon, they put in an order of events and a set of rules for competition that comprise those "state association rules' that will be applied when this event is conducted.

This manual is a listing of the NYSPHSAA rules of competition, as well as an operations manual for those conducting a Pentathlon competition.   Consistency of rule applications and competition administration and management throughout the state will encourage not only the efficiency of conducting this special event, but will inevitably encourage the challenge of participation by more athletes. Hopefully, this manual wil encourage both of these objectives.

NYSPHSAA rules state that the Pentathlon shall consist of five events, generally run as a one-day event, but can be conducted over two days.   The events listed for Boys and Girls shall be conducted in the order as listed unless prohibited by circumstances of foul weather (abridged by Referee's order), the nature of the facility (abridged by the Games Committee), or changed by a resolution of the NYSPHSAA Track and Field Committee.

1. Track Events - Athletes will be permitted one false start.   On the occasion of a second false start, they shall be disqualified from that event.   HOWEVER, since they have attempted to start the event, they will receive zero points for that event but allowed to continue (see "participation requirements" below).
2. Shot Put and Long Jump - Athletes will be allowed only three (3) attempts in these events.

1. Pentathlon Referee (a.k.a. Multi-Events Referee) or Coordinator - A Pentathlon Referee or Coordinator shall be appointed or assigned by the Games Committee and shall have the following duties:
   1. Organizing the competition. He or she will verify and record, or have the results recorded for each event, post the standings after each event, inform the contestants of the standings after each event, or cause them to be notified of where they can see them if they missed your announcement, and verify and sign the final results before the announcement of the final standings at the conclusion of the contest.
   2. If appointed as a Coordinator rather than a Referee, he or she shall report any problematic situations to the meet Referee for final judgments, and shall verify with the assistance of the Meet Referee the final results.
   3. Communicate to all the athletes the starting time and the place for assembling for the next subsequent event.
   4. If assigned as Pentathlon Referee, he or she shall rule on all matters concerning the rules of competition throughout the entire event.
   5. He or she shall determine flights and competition order in field events, and lane assignments for running events, in the manner prescribed by the Games Committee (e.g. by random lot, by seeding, etc), unless done by clerking software method. If the games committee has no prescriptions, guidelines follow below in Rule 4.
   6. The determination of flights and competition order should be set up prior to the event during the rest/recovery period.  
   7. if there are no prescriptions by the games committee to thecontrary, flights for the field events should have no more than 10 and not less than 6 athletes.
   8. The Pentathlon Referee shall have the authority to rearrange any group for reasonable purpose.
   9. The Pentathlon Referee shall make sure that all implements and equipment are in compliance with NFHS rules.
   10. The Pentathlon Referee shall make sure that all contestants are apprised of the rules of each field event, either by the field event judges or themselves.
   11. Assisting, when necessary, the officials conducting the field events for the Pentathlon with the administration of those events.
   12. Supervise the timing of the 30-minute rest/recovery intervals between the five events.
   13. For all events use the correct scoring tables - the I.A.A.F. 2001 (Edmonton) tables - used in every NCAA rulebook since 2002.   Make sure you are using the hand-held time tables or the F.A.T. tables as appropriate.
   14. Make sure all field event measurements are made in the metric system for scoring purposes.   Conversion to imperial measurement to assist the athletes is permissible for purposes other than scoring.
   15. If a mark achieved by an athlete in an event falls between the marks on the scoring table, credit should be given for the next lesser score and points for the mark.
   16. Ties in field events should not be broken. Athletes are to be given equal credit for equal performances.
   17. At the conclusion of each event, the time of day should be noted on the scoring sheet so that the time of the next event can be determined and announced.
2. Track Event and Field Event Officials to conduct the events for the contestants including:
   1. A Starter.
   2. Timers- Each athlete will need three (3) times recorded for each track event, unless an automated timing system is employed.
   3. Field Event Officials sufficient in number to efficiently conduct each event.   Field event officials assigned by the Games Committee should also officiate the Pentathlon field events unless a separate crew of officials is assigned to officiate just the Pentathlon events.

1. Any athlete who becomes a competitor in the Pentathlon (see NFHS Rule 4 Section 1) during any NYSPHSAA sanctioned event, becomes immediately subject to NFHS Rule 4, Section 2, Article 3.   They will thus be prohibited from participating in any event other than the Pentathlon events during that sanctioned contest.
2. Competitors shall be kept together as a group throughout the contest, unless flights are sent to different venues (pits, circles, etc.) to speed up the competition.
3. A competitor who starts a track event within the program, but does not complete that event receives a score of zero for that event, but shall be permitted to continue the competition (This applies to athletes who are disqualified for false starts as well).
4. A competitor who does not achieve a fair mark in any field event within the program will receive a score of zero in that event, but shall be permitted to continue the competition.
5. Any competitor found to be found in violation of Track event rules (Rule 5-11-182, Rule 5-12-182, Rule 5-13-182, Rule 4-5-4,7,8,9) and ruled as such by the Referee (Track or Pentathlon Referee), shall receive a score of zero in that event, but shall be permitted to continue the competition.
6. Any competitor found to demonstrate unacceptable conduct (Rule 4-5-2) and ruled as such by the Referee (Track or Pentathlon Referee), shall receive a score of zero in that event, but shall be permitted to continue the competition.
7. Any competitor determined to be exhibiting unsportsmanlike conduct (Rule 4-5-1) shall be disqualified from further competition and forfeit any credit for performances achieved during the contest.
8. An athlete who does not commence to start any of the events in the Pentathlon shall be considered to have abandoned the competition, and shall not be permitted to participate in any subsequent event or be included in the final placement in results or in any team scoring.