Notes from the Cross Country Coaches' Committee Meeting

The Cross Country Coaches' Committee Meeting was held today (November 20th) at the WVSSAC offices in Parkersburg. Below is a summary of items discussed.

Informational Items

1. The 2025 Season will begin on August 4th. The first meet may be held on August 21st. The Regional Meets will be held on October 23rd. The State Meet will be November 1st.

2. Items in the Interscholastic related to the mandatory use of Hy-Tek will be removed.

Items That Passed the Committee
Keep in mind, all of these would have to be approved by the WVSSAC Board of Directors

1. A proposal was submitted to make it mandatory for each Regional Host to have a Certified Official at their meet AND a to have a Jury of Appeals appointed prior to the races starting. Names and contact information for officials for the meet and timing companies (if used) must also be submitted well in advance of the Regional Meet. Details to be determined.

2. A proposal was submitted to have better protocols be established for athletes with medical issues. This had been discussed at higher levels prior to this meeting. At the State Meet next year, athletes with medical issues are to be submitted ahead of time, and those athletes will be given a wrist band to help identify them. Their particular medical issue will be submitted to the Medical Staff at the Meet so that if an issue occurs, the medical staff can see the wrist band, note the competitor number, and see any relevant information prior to treating the athlete. Additionally, each team hosting a meet must have a Certified Trainer or of Medical Personnel on site.

3. A proposal was submitted to revoke the 5 Meet Rule for both Individuals AND Teams.

4. A proposal was submitted that each Regional Meet should be measured by wheel and not GPS to provide greater accuracy. Regional Meets should be 5000 Meters.

5. A proposal was submitted that Regional Meet Director contact information must be provided to Marshall Cavender and Chris Parsons before August 20th of each season. Contact information for the Meet Director and the Head Coach(es) of host teams must be submitted.

6. A proposal was submitted to clarify the rules related to the wearing of watches. Wording in the Interscholastic is to be changed to all watches, including GPS watches, may be worn by athletes during the race. However, those watches may not be used for communication purposes during the race.

7. Tentative Regional hosts were selected. Class AAA - Preston, Musselman, St. Albans, and Huntington. Class AA - Williamstown, Lewis County, Westside, and Ripley. Class A - St. Marys, Braxton, Charleston Catholic, and Wirt. Again, this is tentative and can change if Classifications and/or Alignments change prior to next season.

Items Tabled or Rejected

1. A proposal was submitted that each Region should advance a minimum of 20 runners to the State Meet, allowing for more individual advancers in Regions that have fewer than 3 complete teams. Additionally, this proposal complained about individual runners not advancing that were faster than runners on teams that did advance. No solution was offered in the proposal. The committee rejected this proposal noting that the 5 exclusive deepened the field already and noting specifically that one Region only had 14 competitors. The hope is that teams that have 3 or 4 kids out can see that just getting that 5th runner can be a path to the State Meet.

2. A proposal was submitted that in Class A, it would take only 4 runners to represent a complete team due to the low numbers in Class A, particularly on the girls' side. Data showed that there were six additional teams that had 4 runners on the active roster. However, two of these were in Regions that already advance three teams, so it would have resulted in 4 additional teams qualifying. The proposal was rejected for a number of reasons, including the basic rules of cross country scoring, the fact that if could be a knee-jerk reaction to one year of down numbers, that seeing that a path to the State Meet could be as simple as getting 5 runners across the finish line, and that it somewhat penalizes teams that have done a good job building their numbers. This could be revisited in a few years if low numbers persist.