Junior League Rules
League Rules
The Junior Race League (The League) is an annual series open to the athletes belonging to clubs affiliated to Wiltshire Athletic Association.
Composition
The League shall consist of a single division.
Teams in The League will consist of up to three boys and up to three girls belonging to the same League affiliated club.
The first division of The League will consist of fourteen teams.
New clubs and/or additional teams wishing to join The League will be permitted to do so at the lowest division, subject to the criteria for eligibility being satisfied.
Races
Races for inclusion in The League shall be selected by the Junior Athletics Secretary of the Wiltshire Athletic Association, where possible alongside existing fixtures within the Wiltshire Road Race League. The League shall be run over eight races hosted within the geographic boundary of the county of Wiltshire, though at the discretion of Junior Athletics Secretary a maximum of one race could be selected from events hosted in adjacent counties or if forming part of a regional or national road race championship event. The Junior Athletics Secretary shall try to ensure a balance of distance events ranging up to 5K distances within the League and an even spread of timings throughout the year. It will be a mandatory requirement that any event selected for inclusion in The League is identifiable through the issue of a race permit by either UK:Athletics or Association of Running Clubs and that any minimum standards attached to the issue of the permit be met. Furthermore any Road Races advertising a specific distance i.e. 5K must be certified through www.coursemeasurement.org.uk
There will also be a requirement for a Race Organiser Agreement being signed to indemnify Wiltshire Athletic Association against any claim made against those events through failure to comply with the permit conditions.
In the event of a race cancellation, the following steps shall be taken to mitigate:
a) The rescheduled event if within the current League year and avoiding date clashes with any other League race or county championship would be it’s replacement.
b) An alternative event within the county, the current League year and avoiding date clashes with any other League race or county championship would be it’s replacement.
c) If less than five races had been run, then the race would be removed from the League and no points scored by any Team or Individual.
d) If five or more races had been run then the race would be removed from the League and points awarded according to the sum of all scores achieved at the time that the race was due to take place.
If you are a Race Organiser and would like your event considered for a future season of The League then please use contact form.
Eligibility
The League is open to teams of up to three boys and up to three girls runners belonging to the same club affiliated to Wiltshire Athletic Association. A club however may field multiple teams but for the inaugural season (2014) only the ‘A’ team will feature in the League table.
At the discretion of Wiltshire Athletic Association, clubs that are not affiliated to Wiltshire Athletic Association may enter team(s) into The League subject to paying the appropriate fees.
Individual participation in The League is open to athletes that are aged 17-years or under on the day of the first event in the league series, the same date shall also be used for determining age groups for the remainder of the league: U11, U13, U15 & U17. Exception is made for younger runners where the race distance is 5K in which case a mandatory lower age limit of 11 years will be in place.
Scoring
Scores are determined by the finishing position of an athlete belonging to a registered League team relative to other finishing eligible athletes of the same sex. Starting with a score of 100 for the first finisher, 99 for the second finisher, 98 for the third and so on to the 100th registered finisher who would score 1 as would any subsequent finisher. If a finisher was the 4th runner for a club with just one team entered into The League then they would gain an individual score but would be a Non Scoring member of the Team. However if the club had additional teams entered into The League then the same finisher would score points for the ‘B’ team (not applicable in 2014) and as an individual.
The scores achieved by the leading (up to) three boys and (up to) three girls for a Team would be summed. The Team that scores the highest cumulative amount shall be awarded 20 points, second team 19-points, third team 18-points and so on. Should a team not generate a score through no participating athletes in a League race then they will be awarded zero points.
If a team receives points in more than six races then the lowest point(s) shall be voided, preserving the six highest point achieving races. This however will not impact the scores achieved by individual runners, however individual runners will also be subject to a scoring limit of six races with the lowest scores achieved voided as appropriate.
It is the responsibility of individual athletes to ensure that they have entered the League race with the correct club details. In the event of an error, athletes and/or their clubs will have no more than five days from the date of the race to notify the Race Organiser and League administrator.
Prizes
A trophy shall be awarded to the team that has amassed the most points within the division of The League that they sit, based on the six highest points received. In the event of a tie, then the total scores received at the best five point scoring races shall be used as a deciding factor.
Awards will be made to the individual boy and girl who have achieved the highest cumulative score for a team throughout The League. Awards shall be made to the highest individual scorers in the U11, U13, U15 & U17 categories according to the athletes age as recorded in the first race of the League season in which they compete.
Individual target scores will also be rewarded as follows:
540 – Gold award
480 – Silver award
360 – Bronze award
All awards will be presented at the final League race of the season and must be collected unless by prior arrangement with the Junior Athletics Secretary.
23rd March 2016
