Cross Country Schools' Cup Competition Rules

  1. The Cup Final shall normally be held annually on the first Saturday in December.

  2. Ages : The age groups for the competition shall be:
    • Junior : 12 years and under 14 years (years 7 & 8).
    • Intermediate : 14 years and under 16 years (years 9 & 10).
    Ages as at 31st August in the school year in which the competition takes place.

  3. Entries
    1. The competition is for individual school teams only.
    2. Only one team per school may be entered in each Championship.
    3. Entries from schools must be completed online by 15th June in the year of the competition. The relevant contributions per team mus tbe received by the Cross Country Cup Coordinator within 7 days of the closing date for entries. The rate of contributions per team shall be determined annually by the General Committee. Should a school subsequently withdraw a team from the competition the entry fee will not be refunded.
    4. The Entry Form must indicate the willingness or otherwise of the school to act as host for meetings prior to the Final. No late or amended entries shall be accepted after the closing date.
    5. The Cross Country Committee reserves the right to refuse entries from schools in any area where no school has expressed willingness to act as host.
    6. For each match, entered schools will receive copies of the official declaration forms, on which must be entered details of at least four but not more than six pupils who will make up the team. These should be signed by the teacher in charge, and handed to the race organiser at least half an hour before the start of the first race of the meeting.
    7. For the final each team shall make up to twelve nominations, from which they declare a maximum of six, but not less than four runners, on the day. These nominations to be made within five days following the Regional Final.
    8. Any team fielding an ineligible runner shall be disqualified.

  4. Distances : The length of the courses in all rounds shall be
    • Junior Boys : 2,500 - 3,000 metres
    • Inter Boys : 4,000 - 4,500 metres
    • Junior Girls : 2,000 - 2,500 metres
    • Inter Girls : 2,500 - 3,000 metres
    The severity of the course shall be considered when determining the distance within the above limits.
    The course should be clearly marked, free from dangerous hazards, with an unhindered run of an appropriate length to the finish.

  5. The Competition
    1. The Competition shall be run in three stages, as follows:
      1. A Preliminary Round to take place in October, preferebly midweek, at 'host' schools within reasonable travelling distance of visiting schools.
      2. A Regional Round to take place on the second Saturday in November. The matches to take place at 'host' schools in approximately eight Regions, the number and definition of these Regions to be decided by the Cross Country Committee in the light of the annual entry.
      3. Final - all arrangements for the Final Round shall be the responsibility of the Cross Country Committee.
    2. A minimum of two schools shall proceed from each match in the competition to the following round.

  6. Scoring
    1. At the conclusion of each match, the official Judges shall decide the respective places of the scoring competitors of each school team and add these together. The team with the lowest aggregate shall be declared the winning team.
    2. The leading four runners in each team shall be scoring competitors and, in the event of aggregate scores being equal, the winning team shall be that whose last scoring runner finished nearer to first place.

  7. Officials
    1. For First and Regional Round matches it is advisable that the following officials be appointed:
      • Referee, Judge, Recorder, Funnel Controller, Disc Distributor, Starter and Declaration Steward.
    2. Visiting schools may be asked to assist with the provision of officials.
    3. The duties of Officials shall be in accordance with the recommendation of the English Schools' Athletic Association.

  8. Travel : The Management Committee may, in its absolute discretion, make grants towards the travel expenses of schools to Regional and Cup Finals.