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Canal Winchester |
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Parent's Guide to Cross Country |
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Teams |
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| The middle school girls, middle school boys, high school girls, and high school boys cross country teams all practice together at Canal Winchester, although individual workouts can vary depending on age and running experience.� These four teams travel together to the same meets, but each team runs in separate races.� Middle school runners race two miles in their races and high school runners race 5000 meters (about 3.1 miles) in their races.� Our cross country teams have no size limits, therefore we do not hold try-outs or cut runners.� |
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| Some larger meets hold "varsity" races where only seven runners from each team can participate.� Usually these meets also hold "open" races where the runners from each team not in the top seven can participate. |
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Scoring of Meets |
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| In a cross country meet, the lowest team score wins.� The first seven finishers from each team receive a score based on their place (1st place = 1 point, 2nd place = 2 points, etc).� A team's score is determined by adding the number of points from its first five finishers.� |
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| For example, suppose a team's top seven runners scored in 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, and 30th places.� The team's score would be 51 points (1 + 5 + 10 + 15 + 20 = 51).� The 25th and 30th place runners would not count in this team score, but they could help increase the score of a rival team by finishing in front of that team's top five runners. |
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| A tie in team scoring is broken by awarding the win to the team with the fastest sixth runner.� A perfect score in a cross country meet is 15 points, awarded to a team who can claim the top five places in a race (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 = 15). |
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Types of Meets |
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| During the regular season, smaller meets are called dual (two teams), tri (three teams), or quad (four teams) meets and larger meets with many teams are called invitationals.� The championship season for our middle school teams consists of one meet:� the Mid-State League championship meet.� The championship season for our high school teams consist of the league, district, regional, and state championship meets.� Teams and individuals must qualify for the regional meet by their performance in the district meet, and for the state meet by their performance in the regional meet. |
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Spectating a Cross Country Meet |
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| The atmosphere at a cross country meet is unique to all other middle school and high school sporting events!� While most spectators watch the start and finish of each race, many spectators walk and run to various spots on the course to cheer on the competitors by name or by team.� Teams with many spectators have an advantage as their cheering sections can spread out around the course and offer more support.� Cross country meets are minimally impacted by officials, so spectators can focus on cheering for their teams and not on criticizing and booing the referees.� Cross country crowds are often known for encouraging all participating runners, whether in first place or last place.� |
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| Visiting teams have no locker rooms or benches at a cross country meet, so they set up a team camp in the grass.� This "camp" is usually a great gathering place for runners, parents, and team supporters--one of the reasons cross country teams are often known as cross country communities. |
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What Can You Do to Support Our Cross Country Athletes? |
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| �Help take care of your child's health by encouraging him or her to eat healthy foods and get plenty of sleep.� Help your child find good running shoes to prevent injury.� |
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| � Come to meets and encourage your child and the other cross country athletes.� Take an interest in your child's running and personal records.� Offer positive words after he or she competes.��� |
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| � Volunteer to help at our home invitational.� We usually host close to twenty teams at the Canal Winchester Invitational, so we can find a way to use your help!� This year our invitational will be held on Wednesday, September 3rd. |
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