Junior Cross Country Leagues

What happens at a Cross Country Event?

Organisation wise it mostly consists of multiple races split by age categories with different starting times. However, there is normally a larger number of bodies attending to compete and watch and so it can be disorientating and difficult to park the car.

- Aim to be at the location a good hour before your race to allow for parking and possibly a walk to the start.
- Car share as much as possible.
- Have warm and dry clothes to put on before and after your race.

Athletes wear a number to identify them for scoring, time and place in race. So the first thing to do when arriving is to find your club and get registered and receive your number. Often the same number may be assigned to an athlete for the season so please return your number to your club at the end of your race for the next event.

At the start of the race athletes line up behind the start line. some leagues impose a rule that states a club has to form singlefile lines behind their own athletes for the start. Once the singlefile line is has so many athletes in it a new line may be created. Refer to the rules of the league.

The start of a race may begin with a gun, a whisle or a spoken command.

Cross country races may go through muddy fields, through large puddles, through woods, over furrowed fields, through stone-studed paths, up and down hills and through all sorts of weather! It is that which makes them fun and an achievment. It is also that which can sometimes make an athlete feel exhausted and physically sick! So be aware!

At the end of the race, just past the finish line, the athletes are funneled into a single-file line so that their numerical order in which they completed can be written down and their times later associated with them. Once an athlete has crossed the finish line they should not swap places or leave the funnel until they have been recorded. Please don’t ask the officials for your time, they will be busy collecting and collating the other times.

- Please take your litter home.
- Beware that some locations are strictly non-smoking areas, and some don’t permit dogs. Please respect the land owners wishes.