Constitution & Rules

CONSTITUTION OF WEST GLAMORGAN CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE

1. The NAME of the League is West Glamorgan Cross Country League.

2. The OBJECT of the League is to provide cross country athletics races for senior athletes in the former county of West Glamorgan.

3. The League is open to all persons irrespective of ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion or beliefs or of age, sex or disability except as a necessary consequence of the requirements of athletics as a particular sport.

4. AFFILIATION  All clubs who host races must be affiliated to Welsh Athletics as recommended by Welsh Athletics.

5. MANAGEMENT of the League will vest in a Committee consisting of a Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary and a representative of each team based in the former county of West Glamorgan.

(i) The Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary are to be elected annually at an Annual General Meeting which should normally be held between May 1st and September 30th.

(ii)  To constitute any meeting five representatives eligible to vote must be present.

(iii) Only the Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary and a representative of each team based in the former county of West Glamorgan have voting rights in any meeting

At each meeting the committee shall consider any actions taken on its behalf and shall receive a report on the club’s financial position.

6. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING  - An Annual General Meeting shall receive the Secretary’s report and financial statement for the previous year, elect officers and Committee and deal with any other matter specified on the Agenda.

The Secretary must give 21 days notice of the meeting.

Notice of any business which it is desired to place on the Agenda must be given in writing to the  Secretary at least 7 days prior to the meeting.

West Glamorgan Cross Country League Rules & Scoring (Updated for 2023 - 2024 season)

1. Separate Divisions will be held for male and female athletes.
2. Division 1 will consist of a maximum of 8 teams. Further divisions will be arranged at the discretion of the League Committee.
3. Athletes can only compete for one Team in any given season. Athletes cannot represent two teams even if they are part of the same club. 
4. Scoring: The maximum points scored by an athlete per race is 500. That is, first place will score 500 points, second place will score 499 points and so on, with subsequent runners receiving one less point. These are match points. League points are awarded on the basis of the points scored by the whole team. Scoring is explained in more detail further on.
5. Guest athletes are welcome to enter races, at the discretion of the hosting club, but will not score any points. 
6. Any number of athletes may compete in a team, but the first five will count towards the team score. 
7. Athletes registered with Welsh Athletics will pay a race entry fee for each race, to be decided by the Committee. Athletes not registered with Welsh Athletics will pay the race entry fee plus an additional fee. Such additional fee to be decided by the League. 
8. All teams must be declared pre-race. Once the race has started teams will only be changed if a participant is found to have contravened rule 3.
9. On the completion of each season, the bottom two teams in Division 1 and Division 2 will be relegated and the top two, from Division 2 and Division 3, promoted. 
10. For the purposes of age group classification an athlete’s age will be taken as at the 31st August prior to the start of the season.
11. The minimum age at which an athlete will be permitted to race is 17 years on race day.
12. The Race Director is not permitted to take part, so as to be available to support on race day.
13. The hosting club must ensure that results are available within 7 days of the race.
14. Race Adjudicators can only fulfil one role on race day.
15. Any athlete disqualification (DQ) must be communicated to the athlete and, if necessary, concluded through the Appeals Process before the race results are communicated. 

Team Scoring Explained 

1. WGXC uses a ‘Best 4 from 5’ scoring system. Points are awarded per match (race). At the end of the season the lowest scoring match, per athlete, is dropped (only where five matches are completed). The best four scores are used to determine FINAL Match points. The lowest league score, per team, is dropped. The best four league scores are totalled for final league position. 
2. The winner of each race (match) will receive 500 MATCH points. All other athletes receive one less point, in order of finish position (second place 499, third place 498 and so on). The lowest points awarded may vary. 
3. The first FIVE athletes to finish score points for their team.
   (i.e. if one team has the first 5 athletes, they will get 500+499+498+497+496= 2490 MATCH points) 
4. The team with the most MATCH points wins the match.
5. Teams are split into Divisions. 
6. In Division 1 (men and women), there are 8 teams. The team with the most MATCH points will get 8 LEAGUE points, the team that is second will get 7 LEAGUE points down to the team scoring fewest receiving 1 LEAGUE point. 
7. League positions are determined by who has the most LEAGUE points. 
8. In the event of a tie (the same number of LEAGUE POINTS) the team with the highest MATCH POINTS takes precedence. In the event that both League and Match Points are tied, the quickest aggregate time takes precedence. 

Registration 

1. Athletes can only represent one team per season.
2. Athletes must use the same name to enter each race - it is the responsibility of the athlete to ensure they use the same spelling, abbreviations (if used) etc. throughout the season. 
3. Athletes are responsible for their entry to the race and should read the terms, conditions, rules and regulations for each race.
4. Athletes are responsible for registering for the correct team throughout the season. Any queries should be raised with the Team Captain before registering.
5. Team Captains should organise bib collection on race day for their team, thus minimising crowds at registration and use of volunteers in this area.