South West XC Championships 2012
Please find enclosed entry form for the South West Cross-Country Championships, together with a course map and timetable. Those who wish to enter online can do so at http://www.race-results.co.uk/results/2012/
The Midland Countries office will again be handling entries for this event, and please make sure that your entries are in by the closing date.
About the Event
This South West Cross-Country Championships draws runners from across the South West, and always provides thrilling races, the standard of which can rival the better known Southern and Midlands championships. This year’s event will again be held at Bicton Agricultural College, near Exmouth. With rolling hills and an ornamental lake as a backdrop, this provides a scenic as well as a tough challenge. Race lengths are slightly short of the major championship distances, in recognition of the terrain and the fact that, for most participants, this is the first race following the Christmas break.
The format accommodates an inter-county (Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire) as well as a club championship, and for many youngsters this will be their first experience of an inter-county event. However, the relative informality compared to the UK and Schools Championships provides a great way of introducing new athletes to a higher standard of competition. Many experienced runners use the event as a ‘warm-up’ for the regional and national championship event which come in the following months.
School and college teams are welcome. However, since this is principally a club and county event, school and college aged athletes who are members of a club team should be entered by, and compete for their club.
As well as a championships, the South West Cross-Country is also used as a selection event for South West teams competing in the London Mini-Marathon (U13/U15/U17) and Cardiff Cross-Challenge (U20 and Senior). The precise selection criteria for these teams will be announced nearer the time, and will also consider other performances.
England Athletics Registration Numbers
England Athletics are tightening up on the use of Registration Numbers, so please start checking early that you have these numbers to hand! Your club membership secretary should be able to easily find these out through the club portal. See www.englandathletics.org/affiliation for useful guidance on club affiliation, athlete registration and using the club portal. School teams do not need to provide these numbers.
Dual First Claim Membership and Lapsed Members
Where runners are first claim members of more than one club (e.g. partner clubs catering for complementary disciplines), the England Athletics registration system can record the different clubs. However, this is sometimes not up-to-date, in which case your club membership secretary should contact Athletics Services on 0121 713 8400 or at affiliation@athleticsservices.org.uk.
Where a runner’s membership has lapsed on the registration scheme (after a year of inactivity) , they will need to apply to Athletics Services to have it reinstated. This can’t be done through the club portal.
Athletics services are very helpful and usually respond very quickly, but approaching Christmas and if there is a sudden flood of queries, sorting these things out might take a few days. Please don’t wait until the closing date to start chasing up the numbers!
Regards,
Neil Miller
swxc@neilmiller.info
