Metropolitan Cross Country League Rules

1. All Member Clubs must be affiliated to UK Athletics.

2. The management of the League is vested in a League Administrator and one representative from each member Club.

3. Any disputes concerning the League should be adjudicated by a Disputes Resolution Panel made up of three people, taken from a pool including the League Administrator and three elected representatives at the A.G.M. The Disputes Resolution Panel should not be members of any club involved in the dispute. The League Administrator has the casting vote should there be an equality of votes or tie.

4. The League has its own website, run by an appointed League Website Administrator.

5. The member Clubs are currently: Barnet & District AC, Cookham RC, Ealing Eagles, Ealing, Southall & Middlesex; Enfield & Haringey, Eton Manor AC, Good Gym Race Team, Harlow RC, Harrow AC, Herts Phoenix, Highgate Harriers, Hillingdon, London City AC, London Frontrunners, London Heathside, Metropolitan Police, Mornington Chasers; Newham & Essex Beagles, Serpentine, Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers, St Mary’s Richmond, Thames Valley Harriers, Trent Park RC, Victoria Park Harriers & Tower Hamlets, Woodford Green with Essex Ladies.

6. Any new club wishing to join the League should apply to the League Administrator before 31st March for the forthcoming season.

7. The AGM should meet after the close of each season to discuss relevant matters from the preceding season and decide changes for the following season. No amendment or alteration to the constitution shall be made except at a General Meeting and requires a minimum of a two-thirds majority of the members present.

Members who want to propose an amendment to the rules must give notice in writing to the Honorary Secretary together with particulars of the proposed amendment (duly proposed and seconded) at least fourteen days before the General Meeting.

8. Special General Meeting.
The Honorary League Administrator must call a Special General Meeting within fourteen days of the receipt by him/her of a requisition in writing signed by a minimum of 1/3 clubs in the league. The requisition should state the exact business to be discussed. The Honorary League Administrator will display the Special General Meeting Agenda on the Leagues normal communication channels at least seven days prior to the meeting.

Voting at a Special General Meeting requires a minimum of a two-thirds majority of the members present.

9. Affiliation fees (to be decided at the AGM) are currently: £135 Tier A (Under 30 competitors during previous season) £190 Tier B (Under 80 but 30 or over competitors during previous season) £245 Tier C (80 or over competitors during previous season) Fees are payable to the League Administrator before the first fixture.
All surplus money after administration expenses are redistributed to the five hosting clubs.

10. The rules of the ECCA and UK Athletics rules for the competition shall apply. Club colours should be worn. The Referee can disqualify any athlete who does not comply with this rule.

11. Five meetings should be held per season. If a meeting is cancelled for whatever reason and a suitable alternative date cannot be found, League positions will be decided over four meetings.

12. The timetable, race distances and age groups are:
12.25 UP TO 2 km Under 11’s Boys
12.30 UP TO 2km Under 11’s Girls
12.40 3Km Under 13 Boys
12.45 3Km Under 13 Girls
Not before 13.00 4Km Under 17 Men/Under 15 Boys
Not before 13.05 4Km Under 17 Women/Under 15 Girls
Not before 13.30 7-8Km Women/Veteran Women
Not before 14.35 7-8 km Men/Veteran Men

Race Start times may vary should the host club need to alter them

13. Young Athletes age groups are taken as under the mentioned age at midnight 31st August/1st September preceding the season. Age groups in the Under 11 Boys/Girls, Under 13 Boys , Under 13 Girls, Under 17 Men/Under 15 Boys, Under 17 Women/Under 15 Girls races, plus five-year categories for Veterans will be marked in the results.

Juniors must be a minimum age of 9 on the day of the race.

Veterans must have reached their age category on the day of the race. To be eligible to score, competitors should only compete in the correct race for their age group. For example, an Under 17 Man can only score in the Under 17 Men’s Team competition. Should he compete in the senior men’s race he should be marked as a guest competitor.

14. The Men’s race and the Women’s races are both run as one race, but their League Tables will be split into three divisions (12 teams in Divisions One & Two) in the results for Senior Men, Veteran Men, Senior Women and Veteran Women. At the end of the season, a two-up, two-down promotion and relegation system will operate.

15. The number of competitors scoring for each clubs “A” team is:
Under 11 Boys: 4 to score
Under 11 Girls: 4 to score
Under 13 Boys: 4 to score
Under 13 Girls: 4 to score
Under 17 Men/Under 15 Boys: 4 to score
Under 17 Women/Under 15 Girls: 4 to score
Senior Women
Division 1: 6-to-score
Division 2: 5-to-score
Division 3: 4-to-score
Veteran Women
Division 1, 2 & 3: 4-to-score
Senior Men
Division 1: 12-to-score
Division 2: 10-to-score
Division 3: 8-to-score
Veteran Men
Division 1: 6-to-score
Division 2: 5-to-score
Division 3: 4-to-score

Any Club finishing more than the required number to complete a team shall be scored a B team. C teams will join the lowest division for seniors and veterans if, on at least two occasions the previous season, the club would have completed one. Thereafter, they will compete in their rightful division within the League structure.

16. All races are scored on a reverse scoring basis, i.e. if there are 50 athletes in a race, the first finisher shall score 50 points, the 50th finisher 1 point. A club does not have to have the full number of athletes to score a team. In the senior races, athletes can count in both the senior and veteran team scoring. Scoring in the Senior, Veteran and Divisional races will be scored as if run as a separate race. Points from each fixture in each team competition are added together to create a League table.

Note: A clubs non-scorers count as finishers in the club’s bottom team’s division. Eg A club has an A team in Div 1 (12-to-score), B team in Div 2 (10-to-score), C team in Div 3 (8-to-score). If they finish 34 runners, 12 score in Div 1, 10 in Div 2, 8 score in Div 3, plus the other 4 counts as finishers in Div 3, effectively pushing other finishers in Div 3 further down. If a club has only two teams, both in Div 1, all club finishers would count as finishers in Div 1, effectively pushing other finishers in Div 1 further down, but only 24 would score (12 for A, 12 for B).

17. The Howard Williams Trophies are awarded to reward the strongest overall club in the League for (a) Senior’s (b) Juniors. Discounting “B” Teams, the winning club in each team competition is awarded the number of points commensurate with the number of member clubs, the second-place club in each age group is awarded the number of points commensurate with the number of member clubs less one. i.e. if there are 23 member clubs, the winner gets 23 points, runner up 22 points, down to one point for the 23rd placed club. The totals for each team competition are then added together for (a) Senior’s (Senior Men & Senior Women) (b) Juniors (Under 13 Boys, Under 13 Girls, Under 17 Men/Under 15 Boys and Under 17 Women/Under 15 Girls).

18. Numbers (different colours for males and females) are to be supplied by the League. Safety pins are not provided by the League for athlete’s numbers. Each Club must have at least one person at each fixture to distribute race numbers. Declaration packs should be handed back to the Admin Tent. . All declarations must be updated to the portal by 19.30 on race day.

19. Any athlete who has resigned from their former first claim club and has switched to first claim membership of a member League club is eligible to compete and score once their transfer has been completed by the governing body.

20. Second claim athletes are permitted to score provided they have been pre-registered with the League. The initial registration date will be 30 September to enable declaration sheets to be updated accordingly for the first fixture. A preliminary list of all registered second claim athletes will be circulated prior to the opening fixture. To allow for students who may wish to join local clubs at the start of their term, the final registration date to be allowed to score during the season will be 24 October. A list of all registered second claim athletes will then be circulated prior to the second fixture. Any second claim members not appearing on this register will still be permitted to run during the season, but must be marked as such on the declaration sheet and will be excluded from the calculation of team results.

21. Host clubs are requested to notify the League and Website Administrator of fixture details, local map of the venue and course maps at least two weeks prior to their match. These details will then be displayed on the League Website.

22. The host club shall arrange for Officials, Marshals and First Aid Cover for each race. Host clubs may contact other local League clubs to request help with officiating and marshalling. It is the responsibility of each host club to obtain a race permit and complete a course risk assessment.

23. A Meeting Manager shall be appointed for each fixture (normally the League Administrator) to give out numbers & declaration sheets prior to the meeting

24. Competitors must be listed on their club’s declaration sheets with first (or “known as”) name, surname and date of birth.

25. All clubs should arrive before the start of the meeting (1.00pm) in order for numbers to be distributed to each club.

26. Guest runners (i.e. with no affiliation to any of the member clubs) can only be given numbers by the Meeting Manager for a charge of £5 Seniors, £3 Juniors.

27. Listening devices such as I-Pods are not allowed on safety grounds when competing.

28. Each club with a minimum of 30 runners must provide at least one official to help out at the start-finish area for the duration of the races.

29. Any clubs who are awarded trophies following the last fixture of the season must return them to the League Secretary in time for the Presentation of Trophies the following season. The responsibility for the up to date engraving of the Leagues Trophies is that of the holding Club.

Updated 19th September 2021