1 General

 

1.1 A representative of the HCAAA Road Running Sub-Committee should be nominated for each race, and he or she should liaise with the race organisers to ensure these guidelines are understood and followed.

 

2 Race Eligibility

 

2.1 The race must have a UKA or ARC permit to be used as county championship event.

2.2 The race can be used as a senior championship, a veterans’ championship or both.

2.3 The race must be run under UKA rules.

 

3 Race Entry

 

3.1 The race organisers should ensure that the race literature and entry forms – whether postal or on-line – state that the race is being used as a Herts County Championship and allow entrants to indicate that they are entering for the county championship.

3.2 If possible, race organisers should confirm to the race entrants whether or not they have entered the county championship.

3.3 Entries for the county championship should be closed before the day of the race even if the race allows entries on the day and a list of the county championship entrants should be displayed at the event.

 

4 Athlete Eligibility

 

4.1 An athlete is eligible to enter a Herts County Championship by birth or by 9 months residential qualification. An athlete cannot enter the County Championships of more than one county in a calendar year.

4.2 If the race is being used as a senior championship, then athletes of all ages, including veterans, are eligible.

4.3 If the race is being used solely as a veterans’ championship, then male athletes must be 40 or over and female athletes 35 or over on the day of the race.

4.4 Veterans’ championships will include the following age categories:

Women:V35, V45, V55, V65

Men:V40, V50, V60, V70

4.5 Medals can be awarded for older age categories (e.g. Women V75, Men V80) at the discretion of the HCAAA representative.

4.6 An athlete entered for a veterans’ championship will be included in the oldest category for which he or she is eligible unless explicitly requested to be included in a younger category.

4.7 The race organisers will not be expected to check the eligibility of athletes except where specifically requested to by the HCAAA representative or unless the event is hosting more than one county championship. It the latter case it would be expected that the organisers ensure that an athlete is not entered for more than one county championship.

 

5 Team Eligibility

 

5.1 All championships will incorporate team prizes for both women and men. A veterans’ championship will have a single team prize, not a team prize for each age group.

5.2 A team consists of athletes who are eligible for the individual event, who have indicated that they are a member of a club which is affiliated to the Hertfordshire County Amateur Athletic Association and who are registered with England Athletics.

5.3 Additionally, the team’s club must have paid the road race medal levy for the year .

5.4 A women’s team consists of 3 athletes. A men’s team consists of 4 athletes.

5.5 Teams do not have to be declared in advance . However, the organisers of the host event should endeavour to ensure that club names are recorded consistently on the entry forms and check with athletes if there is a doubt as to which club they belong to.

5.6 If a club have sufficient eligible athletes, then they can have more than one team (‘A’, ‘B’ etc) in the race.

5.7 If an athlete is a member of more than one HCAAA affiliated club, then they can only be a member of a team for their first claim club. The race organisers should state this rule on the race entry form along with the individual eligibility rules but will not be expected to be aware of any infringements of this rule unless an objection is raised by the athlete’s first claim club.

 

6 Individual Medals

 

6.1 In a senior championship medals will be awarded to the first 3 male and the first 3 female eligible athletes.

6.2 In a veterans’ championship medals will be awarded to the first 3 eligible athletes in each age category.

6.3 If a race is hosting both a senior championship and a veterans’ championship, then a veteran athlete can receive medals in both championships.

 

7 Team Scoring and Medals

 

7.1 Team medals will be awarded to the first 3 men’s and the first 3 women’s teams with the lowest combined score for the athletes within their team .

7.2 Eligible athletes should be scored according to the position they finish in the championship race, not the hosting race.

7.3 In the event of a tie the team with the highest placed final finisher  will be awarded the medal.

7.4 The men’s and women’s championships should be scored as separate races. Veterans’ championships should be scored as a single race, not within each age category. If the hosting race incorporates both a senior and veterans’ championship, then each championship should be scored separately.

 

8 Results

 

8.1 The times and finishing positions for the athletes and teams eligible for the county championship should be compiled by the organisers and given to the HCAAA representative as soon as possible after the race.

8.2 The HCAAA representative will be responsible for awarding the medals and ensuring that the results are published on the HCAAA website. The host race organisers should endeavour to publish the county championship results on the race website.