Introduction/Overview:
The WCC scoring system is designed to reward both race participation and racing speed. Basically, the scoring system provides three different ways to earn points. Points are earned for:
A. Participation in a WCC race
B. Age Group competition
C. Placing in the Top Five overall
A runner may earn points in all three ways within the same race.
Competition is divided into Male and Female categories.
The objective of the WCC competition is to accumulate the most points possible during the annual race series.
Eligibility for Awards:
A runner must have participated in at least three races of the series to be eligible for a WCC award.
Most Total Points Awards:
The runner (Male & Female) accumulating the most total points over the course of the season according to these rules will receive the WCC Champion award.
Second and Third Overall (Male & Female) will also be recognized and awarded.
Age Group Awards:
The runners (Male and Female) accumulating the most points in their respective age groups according to these rules will receive Age Group Awards.
Note: The Most Total Points Award winners do not receive Age Group Awards.
The Age Group Award winner will be the first person in that age group who did not receive a Most Total Points Award.
A runner’s WCC age is defined as that runner’s age when participation in his/her first WCC race of the season occurs. The runner’s WCC age will be used for the entire season to calculate WCC points earned. Any birthdays occuring during the season which cause a change of age group are ignored by the WCC scorekeeper.
Note: Awards distributed at individual races by the directors of those races are based upon the actual age of each runner, not the WCC age. Individual races may also have different age group breaks for their awards purposes. These age groupings are ignored by the WCC scorekeeper.
Race results posted on the WCC website are WCC results . . . and therefore will display WCC ages.
The runner who is determined to have made the most improvement in racing speed over the course of the season will receive the Most Improved Runner Award. The WCC Results & Tabulation Committee will determine the recipient of this award based on race times. Times recorded early in the season are compared to times recorded in later races. Because direct comparisons are not always possible, some subjectivity in the decision making process is necessary. The decision of the committee is final.
Participation in Every Race Award:
Each runner who participates in every race of the WCC annual series will be recognized for their achievement with the presentation of a personalized certificate and a specially designed t-shirt during the End-of-Season Celebration awards presentation.
How Points are Earned:
A.) Participation Points
Fifty (50) participation points are earned for finishing each WCC race.
Other ways to earn participation points:
· Fifty (50) participation points may also be earned one (1) time by directing or co-directing a race. A limit of 2 directors may earn participation points for a single race.
· Forty-five (45) participation points may be earned one (1) time by volunteering to work a race. A runner may volunteer to work more than one race, but will only receive the 45 points one time.
· Bonus participation points will be given at the end of the year to any runner who participates in all of the scheduled WCC races. (Participation in all races is defined as any combination of directing 1 race, volunteering to work 1 race, finishing each race.) Bonus points received will equal the total number of Kilometers that were actually run in the WCC series.
B.) Age Group Points
A runner earns one (1) age group point for each person placing behind them in their gender/age group*.
(For example, if 8 runners finish a race in a particular age group, the runner who places second in that group would get 1 point for each of the 6 finishers defeated, or 6 points. The winner would receive 7 points.)
* Note: Age group points for each race are calculated for WCC age groups regardless of the age group categories used for awards purposes in each individual race.
C.) Top Five Points
The first 5 overall race places for male and female runners receive Top Five points. The number of points awarded is dependent upon the number of participants in the race.
1st overall male/female One (1) point for each male/female finisher.
(If this number is not a multiple of five, it will be increased to the next multiple of five so that the points for 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th places will be whole numbers.)
2nd overall male/female 0.8 X 1st place points.
3rd overall male/female 0.6 X 1st place points.
4th overall male/female 0.4 X 1st place points.
5th overall male/female 0.2 X 1st place points.
(EXAMPLE)
A female runner who finishes as the 2nd place overall female in a race with 53 female finishers and places 1st out of 9 finishers in her age group would receive the following points:
50 Participation Points for finishing the race.
8 Age Group Points (8 age groupers defeated X 1 pt = 8)
44 Top Five Points for 2nd overall (0.8 X (53 + 2) = 44)
102 total points
* Note: When necessary, a minimum of extra points will be added to any of the top 5 finishers to ensure that the 5th place finisher is at least 2 points higher than the highest point total of finishers not in the top five, 4th place is at least 2 points higher than 5th place, 3rd place is at least 2 points higher than 4th place, 2nd place is at least 2 points higher than 3rd place, and 1st place is at least 2 points higher than 2nd place.
Such an adjustment may be necessary when the total number of participants is relatively low and/or there are a disproportionately large number of participants in one age group as compared to another.
Scoring Tie Breakers:
Most Total Points Awards Tie Breaker System
First tie breaker: Head to Head competition.
Considering only those races in which the tied participants ran head-to-head, the runner who finished ahead in the most races will be determined the winner.
Example: The tied participants ran head-to-head in 6 races. Overall finishes were as follows:
Runner A Runner B Winner
Race 1 6th 1st B
Race 2 2nd 5th A
Race 3 1st 2nd A
Race 4 4th 3rd B
Race 5 28th 5th B
Race 6 3rd 4th A
Each participant won 3 races head-to-head. Therefore, the first tie breaker is unable to determine placing.
Second tie breaker: Head-to-head Top Five Points totals. (Total Top Five Points earned for placing in the top 5 overall in races in which both participants competed.
Example: The tied participants ran head-to-head in 6 races. Overall finish and Top Five Points earned were as follows:
Runner A Runner B Race Participants, Points
Race 1 0 6th 60 1st 59 60, 48, 36, 24, 12
Race 2 28 2nd 7 5th 32 35, 28, 21, 14, 7
Race 3 85 1st 68 2nd 83 85, 68, 51, 34, 17
Race 4 28 4th 42 3rd 68 70, 56, 42, 28, 14
Race 5 0 28th 16 5th 80 80, 64, 48, 32, 16
Race 6 48 3rd 32 4th 76 80, 64, 48, 32, 16
189 225 (Runner B wins)
If the second tie breaker fails to break the tie, the third tiebreaker is used to determine placing.
Third tie breaker: Furthest from 32.5 years old.
(Based on the birthdays of the tied participants, the person whose birthday is furthest from November 1, 1978, as of May 1, 2011, will be declared the winner.
If the third tie breaker fails to break the tie, both participants will receive awards.
Age Group Awards Tie Breaker System
First tie breaker: Head-to-head Age Group Points totals.
(Points earned for placing in the top five overall in a race are not used in this tie breaker.)
The runner who earned the most head-to-head Age Group Points will be the winner.
Example: The tied participants ran head-to-head in 5 races. Age group points were earned as follows:
Runner A Runner B
Race 1 8 2nd 9 1st
Race 2 2 3rd 4 1st
Race 3 7 2nd 4 5th
Race 4 6 1st 5 2nd
Race 5 10 3rd 11 2nd
Total 33 33
In this case, the first tie breaker is unable to determine a winner. Therefore, the second tiebreaker must be employed.
Second tie breaker: Furthest from 32.5 years old.
(Based on the birthdays of the participants, the person whose birthday is furthest from November 1, 1978, as of May 1, 2011, will be declared the winner.
If the second tie breaker fails to break the tie, both participants will receive awards.
Race directors are responsible for reporting the name, sex, age and overall place of each finisher to the WCC Results & Tabulation Committee. Race directors are also responsible for reporting volunteers who are to receive points. Any questions about WCC scoring should be directed to the race director responsible for the race in which the question arises.
Important Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) Dates and Rules:
The WCC encourages high school athletes to compete in our race series. However, the WCC would never want to jeopardize a high school athlete’s eligibility to compete for their school’s teams. The WCC is providing this link to the IHSAA Bylaws to encourage high school athletes, their parents and their coaches to educate themselves about the IHSAA rules regarding participation in WCC races. The IHSAA requests any questions about IHSAA rules be directed to the principal or athletic administrator of your local school.
Of special interest:
Rule 5 (Amateurism, beginning on page 22 of the IHSAA Bylaws)
Rule 6 (Awards, Prizes, Gifts, beginning on page 25)
Rule 7 (Coaches, beginning on page 27)
Rule 9 (Contests, beginning on page 31)
Rule 15 (Participation, beginning on page 44)
Rule 17 (Investigations, . . . etc . . . Penalties, . . beginning on page 56)
Rule 50 (Boys Sports Seasons, beginning on page 82)
Rule 53 (Boys Cross Country, on page 88)
Rule 59 (Boys Track & Field, beginning on page 92)
Rule 101 (Girls Sports Seasons, beginning on page 98)
Rule 103 (Girls Cross Country, on page 102)
Rule 110 (Girls Track & Field, beginning on page 107)
Note: High school runners from outside the state of Indiana should follow the rules governing their eligibility in their state.
2011 IHSAA Track & Field Dates
First Practice February 14
First Contest February 28
Sectionals May 17 Girls May 19 Boys
Regionals May 24 Girls May 26 Boys
Finals June 4 Girls June 3 Boys
IHSAA Track & Field athletes may compete in WCC races throughout the Track & Field season without jeopardizing their eligibility to participate in high school sports. However, the WCC suggests an IHSAA Track & Field athlete obtain permission from his/her high school Track & Field coach before competing in a WCC race during Track & Field season.
2011 IHSAA Cross Country Dates
First Practice August 1
First Contest August 15
Sectionals October 11
Regionals October 15
Semi-States October 22
State Finals October 29
IHSAA Cross Country athletes may not compete in WCC races from First Contest date until the time they are eliminated or complete the State Cross Country Tournament in October. IHSAA rules allow high school athletes to compete in the Hagerstown Jubilee Days 5K. However, because the date of this race is after the First Practice date for the IHSAA Cross Country season, high school athletes should have permission from their high school Cross Country coach to participate in this race.
High School Athletes’ Participation in the WCC
It is possible for a high school Cross Country runner to earn participation points in all WCC races by running race #1 during Track & Field season, running races #2, 3 & 4 during the summer, volunteering to help with race #5 during Cross Country season, and – after elimination from the IHSAA Cross Country tournament before the Semi-State – running races #6, 7 & 8. (Any runner advancing to the IHSAA Cross Country Semi-State could not participate in race #6 since it is scheduled on the same day.)
Some awards presented by WCC affiliated races for performance may not be appropriate for acceptance by Indiana high school athletes according to guidelines described in the IHSAA Bylaws regarding athletic eligibility.
Indiana High School athletes are responsible for maintaining their amateur status and their IHSAA eligibility. This may require an athlete to refuse to accept an award for performance in a WCC race.
Indiana high school athletes may not accept cash, gift certificates, athletic merchandise, or awards valued outside the reasonable bounds described by the IHSAA at any time during the year for their running performance without jeopardizing their amateur status and their future IHSAA eligibility. A high school runner’s eligibility is not affected by participating in this series where such awards are presented, so long as such an award is not accepted by the high school athlete.
The IHSAA requires all awards for performance be of reasonable cost and symbolic in nature. (See IHSAA Bylaws, Rule 6, section 6-1, page 25, Q.6-10, A.(c), page 27)
IHSAA athletes may accept medals, T-shirts, towels, hats, etc., given to all runners for their participation. Door prizes are also acceptable so long as all participants have an equal random chance to receive the prize. (See IHSAA Bylaws, Rule 6, Q.6-6, Answer, page 26)
Awards presented by the WCC at the End-of-Season Celebration for Top-3-Overall runners may fall outside the reasonable bounds described by the IHSAA guidelines.
Therefore, in the event a high school runner with remaining high school eligibility places in the top three overall in the season series, an appropriate symbolic award will be presented by the WCC so as not to affect that runner’s future IHSAA eligibility.