NATCHEZ — A slick asphalt surface is not exactly the safest place to hold a track and field meet, which is why Adams County Christian School’s Kramer Fife Relays are up in the air today.

The meet, which is scheduled to start at 1 p.m., may have to be canceled because of rain.

“With the weather pending the way it’s doing, we’re not sure if the event is still on,” said ACCS Athletic Director Paul Hayles. “We’re going to make a decision by 8:30 in the morning. If we come in and everything is still wet — if the asphalt surface is wet or slick — we’re going to have to call it off.

“Anytime you’re dealing with long jump and high jump, the surfaces have to be just right or it creates a hazard. You hate to do it, but the safety of the kids is our No. 1 priority.”

Some of the teams scheduled to attend the sixth annual Kramer Fife meet have already canceled because of the weather.

Briarfield Academy, Cathedral, Huntington School, Tallulah Academy, Tensas Academy, Trinity Episcopal and Wilkinson County Christian are still expected to join ACCS for the meet.

Hayles said he understands why some schools would cancel before the event had officially been called off due to the weather.

“We’ve had meets in the past when the rain hit during the meet, so teams that had traveled from far away had to turn right back around and go home,” Hayles said. “With this front coming, we don’t really want to risk that.”

Today’s weather forecast calls for isolated thunderstorms during the day and scattered thunderstorms later in the evening.

Hayles said the meet would not be rescheduled if it is canceled.

“Teams have made commitments to other tracks, so it’s hard to make up something like this,” he said. “It’s just the way track meets are. If it’s not a district meet or the south state meet, it won’t get made up.”

The Kramer Fife Relays are named after a former linebacker and coach for the ACCS football team.

The proceeds from the meet go towards a scholarship for a senior student-athlete at ACCS.

Hayles said it’s hard to believe Fife has been gone six years.

“Kramer was a tremendous athlete, although he was not large in stature,” Hayles said. “For I think three years in a row he had 100 tackles per year.”

If the school can hold today’s meet, the field events will start at 1 p.m., and the running events will begin at 3 p.m.