Vermont HS Cross-Country Run State Championships

2024 Vermont Cross Country Run Championships

October 26th, 2024, Thetford Academy

Info Sheet - Version 2.2 - October 22, 2024

COACHES: Please be sure to read ALL of these pages carefully and thoroughly.

All cross-country coaches are expected to be familiar with the contents of these pages. Pay particular attention to the rules about Race Formats, Entries, Fees, and Uniforms, because the Committee has many questions each year about these areas of the rules.

Note that the order of events changes from year to year and the Challenge races are run at the end of the meet. This year the day will start with the Division I Girls Championship at 10:30 AM. Please plan accordingly.

Coaches will need to submit their uniform waiver requests directly via email to Meet Director David McGinn Be sure to review the uniform regulations carefully before you register your athletes.

 ENTRIES/ ENTRY FEES
All entries must be done online via Athletic.net. web site. Entries must be completed by 11:59 PM on Wednesday - October 16, 2024. After that deadline, entries will be closed. 

Please note that coaches need to enter up to 7 of their athletes per gender in the Varsity Division that applies to their team. The rest of the athletes on your team will be entered into the Challenge Division. 
Coaches can then decide on race day which 7 of their athletes are to compete in the Championship races and which athletes will compete in the Challenge races. 
There is no pre-seeding of events beforehand and meet timers do not need to be notified which athletes are running in the Varsity race or Challenge race. 

LATE FEES: Additional $50.00 per team per VPA Rules. Late fees must be paid prior to participation.

CREATING ENTRIES USING ATHLETIC.NET IS 3 STEPS PROCESS:

Create your school account - It may take up to 48 hours to establish a new account on Athletic.net web. Plan accordingly please. 
Athlete’s grade must be listed.
Enter your athletes into the correct events according to your team gender and division. Up to 7 athletes per gender will be entered into the Varsity Division. Only up to 7 runners may run in the Varsity Division Race. (Please see details above)
Your entries will be confirmed - posted on Athletic.net under Meet Info after the posted deadline.
ENTRY FEES: $ 8.00 per runner in Division races          
   $ 5.00 per runner in Challenge races 

Entry fees must be paid online on Athletic.net web site!

 ORDER OF EVENTS
Coaches Meeting 9:45 AM  Vaughan Alumni Gymnasium - downstairs level
 
Boys Division III Championship - 10:30 AM
Boys Division I Championship - 11:00 AM
Boys Division II Championship - 11:30 AM

Girls Division III Championship - 12:00 PM
Girls Division I Championship - 12:30 PM
Girls Division II Championship - 1:00 PM 

Boys CHALLENGE Race - 1:30 PM
Girls CHALLENGE Race- 2:15 PM

 RESPECT FOR FACILITIES AT CHAMPIONSHIP SITE
Coaches, athletic directors, and administrators are expected to impress on all members of their school communities--including competing athletes, non-competing athletes who accompany the competitors, students (whether they accompany the competitors or not) parents, and other spectators--that the facilities at a host site for a Vermont championship must be respected. All members of each school's community should be given this information before they arrive at the championship site.
Hikers are often admonished - Take nothing but pictures; leave nothing but footprints. That admonition certainly applies to a facility such as the trail at Thetford Academy, which is one of the most picturesque cross-country venues in New England. Thetford Academy has asked that all who come to enjoy its facilities take away nothing but pictures--and pleasant memories of this beautiful trail in the woods. After the competition, nothing should be left but the footprints of earnest athletes who strived to do their best and the footprints of their supporters who came to cheer them on.
All should remember that lack of respect for championship facilities, whether by a school's competitors, or by non-competing supporters from that school, can result in sanctions under the Vermont Principals Association's rules. Sanctions could include disqualification of students competing on behalf of the member school, other sanctions against the member school, or sanctions against the individuals responsible.
We ask that you please do not bring dogs to the event!

 MEET INFORMATION
HYDRATION:

In accordance with NFHS protocol for distance running events, water will be available to runners at the midpoint of the race on the south end of "Morty's Monster".Teams may enter up to seven runners in the Championship Races.
Challenge Races: In order to give as many student-athletes as possible the chance to wind up their seasons with competition at the State Championship Meet, schools may enter as many runners as they wish in the Challenge Races that take place as the final two races of the day. Each runner in the Challenge Races will be timed and results will be printed and ribbons are awarded to the top 15 finishers in each race. However, team scores will not be computed. Runners in the Challenge Race may not advance to the New England Championship as individuals, nor will they count toward team scoring.
No Changing and Shower Facilities: It is particularly difficult to provide shower and changing facilities for cross-country events in which there are hundreds of competitors, compared to sports like basketball, football, and soccer in which there are but a few dozen competitors. Furthermore, typical high school facilities are not designed to handle the burden imposed by 1,200 or more competitors who have just run 5,000 meters in the rain and mud. Other national-class cross-country venues that are similar to Thetford Academy's venue, such as Franklin Park in Boston and Van Cortlandt Park in New York, do not provide changing and shower facilities. Thetford Academy cannot provide indoor showers and changing facilities for the Vermont Championship Event.

Cancellation or Postponing of Event: The tradition in cross-country running is to conduct competitions in all kinds of weather. The Committee expects to continue to conduct the Vermont Championship Event in a variety of changing weather conditions. Conducting the event in spite of difficult weather is a part of the sport of cross-country running. It is possible that conditions could arise that would lead to the cancellation or postponement of the event. It is not likely that such a decision would be made by the Committee until the day of the event. The decision is not likely to be made in advance as it is for some sports.

Please be aware that it is possible that a decision to cancel or postpone the event could be made after all the competitors have arrived, just before the event is scheduled to begin. If you have questions the day of the event, call Thetford Academy at (802) 785-4805. This school phone will be staffed early in the morning on event days, especially if the weather is difficult.

Results will be posted at 802timing.com during the meet ***UNOFFICIAL*** IMMEDIATE LIVE RESULTS POSTING – UNOFFICIAL TEAM SCORES AND RESULTS OF MOST RECENT (LATEST) 15 INDIVIDUALS WILL BE DISPLAYED ON TV LIVE AS RUNNERS ARE CROSSING THE FINISH FOR EVERY DIVISION RACE

Please note due to runners' displacement rule team score will not be finalized until the last runner crossed the finish line!!!

Eligibility to Compete: In order to compete in either the Vermont Championship or the Challenge Race, a student must have competed in a minimum of four VPA-sanctioned meets between the start of school and the day before the Championship.  Meets between or among VPA members need no specific sanction.  Meets involving out-of-state schools or meets outside of Vermont generally need a specific VPA sanction. Coaches are expected to withdraw their student from competition if they do not compete in all four meets.

The reason for the four-meet eligibility rule is to ensure that students competing in the Championship are bona fide members of their school's cross-country team.  The rule is not related to the student's conditioning.

Meet results from all Cross-Country run meets shell be posted on Athletic.net or Direct Athletics web for verification.

 RACE INFORMATION
Distance: 5,020 meters for girls and boys. The Committee recommends that member schools adjust their course distances to 5,000 meters for meets during the season.

Spikes: Spikes may be worn by runners in the Vermont Races. Note that spikes may or may not be permitted in the New England Championship, depending on the venue, the host state, and the decision of the New England Council. 

Race Eligibility: Athletes must have competed in a minimum of four interscholastic meets to be eligible for either the Championship Races or the Challenge Races. Request a waiver for injured or ill athletes from the Vermont Principals' Association. A school with VPA permission for eighth graders to compete should note that on their entries. The coach may choose up to seven runners on the day of the Championship Race. Only seven athletes from each team may compete in the Championship Race for each school. If more than seven runners from a school start or finish the Championship Races, all runners but the seven slowest will be disqualified.

Individual Entries: Schools may enter individuals in either the Championship Races or the Challenge Races.

Team Scoring: Divisions I and II are the same as Division III. In the Championship Races, team scores will be computed for the first five finishers in all three Divisions.

Team Entries for Championship Races: Schools may start up to seven eligible runners in the Championship Races. In Divisions I, Division II and III if 5 runners for a school finish, they will be scored as a team. All runners for a team who finish the Championship Race will either score or displace. If more than seven runners from one school start or finish the Championship Races, all runners but the seven slowest will be disqualified.

Bib Numbers: Numbers will be assigned to each runner. Numbers must be worn on the front of the jersey for the whole race, until the runner leaves the finishing area.
BIB NUMBERS: Numbers will be assigned to each runner. Numbers must be worn on the front of the jersey for the whole race, until the runner leaves the chute. Timing Chip will be glued to the back of every bib. Coaches will provide safety pins for their teams.

COMPETITOR'S BIBS MUST BE ISSUED CORRECTLY TO EVERY PARTICIPATING ATHLETE ACCORDING TO THE TEAM ROSTER (included in the team envelope). 

Team Scoring in Championship Races: Runners from incomplete teams do not count in team scoring. Two columns on the results show race place, which includes all runners in the race, and team place, which includes only up to seven runners on teams. The team places the first five finishers on a team to get the team score. Lowest team score is the winner.

Resolving Ties: If two teams have a tie score and each have six finishers, the team with the best sixth place finish prevails. If one team has five finishers and the other has six or more, the team with six finishers prevails. If both tied teams have five finishers, the scores of the first four finishers will break the tie. See Nat'l Federation Rule 9, Sec. 2, Art. 3. NOTE: There is no team scoring in the Challenge Races.

Officials: The VPA Cross-Country Committee is the Games Committee, and its Chairman is Referee, unless the Committee provides otherwise. All decisions regarding the meet will be made by the Games Committee at the site of the meet, and decisions of the games committee will be final.

Challenge Race Awards: Ribbons are awarded to the top 15 finishers in each Challenge Race.

Championship Individual Awards: Individual medals will be presented to the top 10 finishers in each division race. 

Championship Team Awards: Plaques will be presented to the top 2 teams in each division. Medals will be awards to members of those winning and runner-up teams.

 PROHIBITION OF RAFFLES
The Vermont Principals' Association prohibits raffles at the Vermont Cross-Country Championship under the provisions of Article I, Section 4, A of its rules.

If you have any questions that have not been answered with the information on this site, contact:

NEW ENGLAND CROSS-COUNTRY RUN CHAMPIONSHIP

NE Cross-Country Run Championship - Please see the info sheet under Meet Info for Vermont State Championship on Athletic.net. 
Top 6 teams and top 25 individuals per gender combined divisions I, II and III results (not Challenge races) ENTERED BY A COACH ON ATHLETIC.NET BEFORE ENTRY DEADLINE will qualify for NE Championship. 
 
ENTRIES FOR THE NEW ENGLAND CROSS-COUNTRY RUN CHAMPIONSHIP
ALL COACHES OF NE CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIED TEAMS AND QUALIFIED INDIVIDUALS (top 6 teams and 25 runners per gender combined divisions) WILL REGISTER/PAY ENTRY FEES FOR THEIR RUNNERS INTO THE NEW ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIP ON ATHLETIC.NET WEB SITE BY SET DEADLINE. 
To give coaches of qualified teams (top 6 teams per gender combined divisions results) a flexibility to finalize their team rosters before the NE Championship and allow possible team runners substitutions.

THERE WILL BE THE VERMONT MEET OF CHAMPIONS/GRADE CHAMPIONSHIP AT TREE FARM, ESSEX JCT., VT. ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2024. PLEASE SEE MORE INFO ON ATHLETIC.NET.