West Virginia State Cross Country Championship

Dear Coaches,

We anticipate wet conditions for racing on Saturday with temperatures starting in the 40’s and climbing into the 50’s. The predicted weather has rain moving in on Thursday evening, all day Friday and showers lingering on Saturday. If we get this predicted weather, the course will be CLOSED to ALL runners on Friday to help preserve it for Championship Saturday.

FRIDAY Teams may arrive at 1:30pm and after, but do NOT enter the school grounds between 2:45-3:20pm because school is letting out and traffic is an issue. School grounds are closed to visiting teams at dark.

Teams may pick up their packet over at the track finish line red building (Must have rooming list in order to receive your packet).

If the course is dry and our area hasn’t had much rain, teams are able to run on the course on Friday. However, if the course is too wet, it will be closed down and teams will have to use the school grounds & track for their running. We do not want to mud up the course for Saturday’s Championship races.

Arrival times: Arrive no earlier than 1 hr & 30 min prior to your race. Please see state meet schedule and do NOT arrive any earlier. The course will be open for warm-ups the day of the meet.

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SATURDAY

Admission: Spectators must have purchased a ticket on GoFan.com (https://gofan.co/app/events/420391). No Tickets SOLD at Gate. There are 3 gates:

Gate 1: at roadway crossing near tennis courts leading to the stadium.

Gate 2: beside gymnasium leading to Tent City.

Gate 3: Behind school at bus loop drop off.

Packet pick up: Red Building outside track fence

Tent City: Tent City is normal area near Tent City bathrooms & grass area along the school.

Bathrooms: Located at stadium (bigger) and Tent City.

T-shirts: Zides will be selling state meet t-shirts.

Race Bibs: Make sure you have the correct race bib number. A roster sheet with assigned numbers are in your packet. Also, a label is on the back of each number identifying each runner.

Coaches Meeting: Located in the middle of the Football Field on the “M”. Bring your signed sportsmanship form

Race Procedures: Starting line procedures will be as follows:

· Teams should report to starting line at least 15 minutes before the start of their race.

· Box assignments will be issued and will appear on your race packet.

· Runners will go to the tents located near starting line for check in.

· Teams are to stay in their box and do strides directly in front of their box.

· Runners will start on the Pink line located behind starting line, the starters commands will be; Runners to your Mark (Runners step to the white line), and the gun will be fired.

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Finish line procedures will be as follows:

· We will be using Finishlynx timing with race numbers. Runners are to cross the line then head towards the Exit signs.

· Parents and coaches must stay outside the track fence. No cutting through in front of brick building. You must go around it to get from one side of the track to the other.

· Spectators avoid crowding in the area where runners exit the track. We do NOT want runners having to go through a large crowd as they are exiting. Also, there will be no water except for those needing medical attention in our medical area.

Awards Ceremony: The awards ceremony will be at the football stadium. Athletes in the top 10 and teams that are state champion or state runners up MUST wear apparel that represents your school. Coaches need to ensure that your runners are dressed appropriately.

Hopefully next year, Covid won’t be running rampant and we can go back indoors for the awards ceremony.

Coaches, please remind your runners and their families that Covid is still an issue. Our sport is outdoors, so there is plenty of space to spread out and give yourselves some breathing room.

These are still strange and challenging times along with all the demands just to compete in a cross country meet. However, it’s worth it as along as our runners get the opportunity to compete and we keep everybody as safe as possible. I appreciate your efforts in helping make the WV State XC Championship a success and wish you the best on October 30th.

Chris Parsons

(Cabell Midland Athletic Director & Cross Country Coach)