Aside from the participation of the athletes, a track and field event also involves the mechanical aspects of the equipment. You will see equipment ranging from an Inspector's Flag to something as complicated as a racer's starting gun.

In various track and field events, you wear a competitor's number to identify you. In each running event, you start on padded metallic or plastic panels called starting blocks. To mark the start of your race, a starter pistol is shot signifying the beginning of the race. You may notice that there are different types of starter pistols depending on the usage. There are practice gun that don't fire live ammunitions, and there are professional starter guns that are manufactured according to firearm standards. Aside from competitor's numbers, you will also see different numbers scattered across the field that mark the distance and lane numbers. Running across the oval, you will see numbered indicators signifying lap numbers. Other equipment you see on tracks is a hurdle. Just like the starter pistols, there are also different hurdles used for different levels. There are adjustable hurdles, junior-sized hurdles and National High School Federation standard hurdles.

Throwing events also require equipment. If you are competing in the discus event, you will notice that the discus is made of different materials. There are those made of wood with a metal rim, and there are those that are made of rubber. There are different weight classes for different competition levels. Those for the women's level are set at 1 kilo, high school level set at 1.616 kilos and the collegiate level set at 2 kilos. For the shot put events, shots are made of iron, polyethylene plastic, brass or steel, set at 4 kilos, 12 pounds and 16 pounds, depending on the level of competition. Javelins are manufactured from aluminum alloy with rubber tips that are set at 600 grams for females and 800 grams for male competitors. For these events, tape measures made of fiberglass are used to get accurate results of your throw.