The WVSSAC Cross Country Coaches' Committee Meeting was held on Wednesday, November 14th. I wasn't able to attend due to some unfortunate car trouble (stupid deer), but from asking a few questions, I think I have the basic rundown on what occurred at the meeting.

The State Meet Site Proposals are no longer heard by the Coaches' Committee. They go straight to the WVSSAC and the WVSSAC Board of Directors for site determination, keeping Cross Country in line with other sports. It was reported to me that Cabell Midland, Elkins, and Mineral Wells were the only groups to request information in order to bid. The bids are due on November 28th. The WVSSAC Board will decide on December 7th. It was also noted that the term for the bid is for four years this time instead of two years.

Discussions were held regarding advancement criteria with no final determination being made. There were apparently a few different ideas. The committee agreed to let Butch Powell discuss things with the WVSSAC Board of Directors to determine the best approach. I don't know all the details of what was kicked around, so I can't really say exactly what Butch Powell might be presenting to the Board. My hope is that we'll be looking at something like the following:
0-1 Complete Teams - 1 Advances
2-4 Complete Teams - 2 Advance
5-7 Complete Teams - 3 Advance
8-10 Complete Teams - 4 Advance
11 + Complete Teams - 5 Advance
I think that would certainly help what our real problem is, which is those extra quality teams that keep getting left behind because of their exceptional regions. Again, I don't even know if this was among the proposals...it's just what I'd like to see regarding team advancement.

There was some discussion apparently about regional alignments, but that goes beyond Cross Country, so I'm sure there was nothing too concrete in that regard.

Regional Sites were announced for 2008.
Region I - AAA - John Marshall
Region II - AAA - Musselman
Region III - AAA - Camp Virgil Tate
Region IV - AAA - Cabell Midland (Hurricane is Cabell Midland is awarded the State Meet)
Region I - A-AA - St. Marys
Region II - A-AA - Keyser (Doddridge if Keyser moves to AAA)
Region III - A-AA - PikeView
Region IV - A-AA - Camp Virgil Tate