For the 2020 grand-prix season we introduced the reward of bonus points for those runners who represent the club during the Cross Country season.
The points are awarded for participation rather than performance, as we want runners of all abilities to represent the club. We did this to encourage runners to sign up for cross country, represent the club, and try a different running discipline.
Although the points themselves have been well received (and have anecdotally contributed toward our increase of XC runners this year) they have also had the unforeseen consequence of stifling competitiveness.
Therefore we (the committee) are making a change to how points for Cross Country work.
How it works at the moment
At the moment, runners get awarded 5 bonus points for each Cross Country event they take part in up to a maximum of 25 points.
These are designated as ‘bonus’ points, meaning they get added on top of the final competitive grand-prix score.
For example: You get the maximum competitive score of 150 points by winning 6 events over the year, and run 4 cross country events giving you a bonus of 20 points. Your total score is 170.
This means that in the event of draw, the Cross Country points now effectively operate as a tie breaker, with the bonus points determining the placings.
So if you can’t commit to regular cross country running over the winter, you are at a disadvantage to those who can.
What’s changing
The Cross Country points will no longer be deemed as bonus points, they will now be deemed as competitive points.
This means your total point score for Cross Country will be counted as 1 event out of the 15 available over the course of the season. So if you cannot commit to Cross Country, there are still another 14 events you can score at.
The point award remains the same. 5 points per Cross Country event, up to a maximum of 25.
Reminder: Your competive score is the total of your best 6 events, 4 of which you can set whenever you like.
| Event | Old system points | New system points |
|---|---|---|
| Cross country | 20 | 20 |
| Best Folkestone parkrun | 18 | 18 |
| Ashford and District 10K | 25 | 25 |
| Best 10K | 15 | 15 |
| Folkestone Half Marathon | 25 | 25 |
| Best Half-Marathon | 20 | 20 |
| Best Marathon | 25 | 25 |
| Score maths | 6 events + bonus (128) + 20 | Best 6 events 25+25+25+20+20+18 |
| Total score | 148 | 133 |
The changes will take affect immediately and the scoring tables before the next point update (Canterbury 10m).
Questions or feedback
If you have questions about the change, or anything else related to the Grand-prix, get in touch at grandprix@folkestonerunning.club.