SCORING
Each company can have an unlimited number of runners competing. Each runner must be included on the USCAA’s online team roster.
A team score will be determined upon completion of the Marathon, Half Marathon and 5K (M-HM-5K), a separate team score for each distance. If a team has no runners complete a distance, they get no team score.
One division will be scored for each team scoring distance (M, HM, 5K).
The USCAA will be using the latest (2015) World Masters Athletics (WMA) adjustment factors to score each runner’s performance against the standard for their individual age and gender. WMA standards are often used to age-grade scoring in masters’ competition.
For the USCAA M-HM-5K championships, each runner’s score will be their WMA performance level based on their official chip time, age, and gender. (Scores will be to 2 decimal places, truncating any remainder.)
Separate M-HM-5K team scores are calculated by respectively summing the four best individual marathon scores, four best individual half-marathon scores and four best individual 5K scores. Teams with less than four finishers in any of the three events will still have a team score based on the sum of their individual scores.
Age of participants is determined as of race date.
In case of a tie, equivalent scores for two or more teams, the following tie-breaking procedure will be used:
- The team with the highest scoring individual runner will be considered the winner of the tie. If still tied, consideration goes to the highest scoring 2nd runner, and so on.
- If two or more teams have identical scores for all scoring runners, the team with the fastest individual time regardless of their WMA score will be considered the winner.
- If the two fastest runners have identical times, the tie remains.
Only runners who have completed the Marathon, Half Marathon or 5K pursuant to USA Track & Field Rules 60, 65, 132-138 and any specific M-HM-5K rules, will be scored. Runners finishing after the official close of the M-HM-5K courses will not be scored for the USCAA National M-HM-5K Championships. Protests concerning the USCAA National M-HM-5K Championships need to be submitted to the designated protest committee no later than 30 minutes after the USCAA results are posted at the USCAA Awards Ceremony.
AWARDS
A team award will be given to the top three teams in each event. The scoring runners for each of the top 3 teams in each event (M-HM-5K) will be given individual awards.
Corporate runners will also be eligible for all individual prizes given by the host event.
ELIGIBILITY
Team
Any corporation is eligible to participate in the USCAA National M-HM-5K Championships as long as each runner is associated with the company and each runner meets all of the USCAA individual eligibility requirements.
Each participating team must designate a team captain and provide appropriate contact information to the USCAA.
Membership in the USCAA is required for each runner to participate in the Marathon and Half Marathon Championships. Only teams which have submitted a membership roster and accompanying payments will be scored. For the 5K championship, all teams must submit a membership roster, but no individual USCAA membership fee will be required.
Teams should attempt to wear matching running singlets/T-shirts with their company or organization name or logo displayed.
Individual
All USCAA participants must be registered as individual runners in the host event. No substitutions will be allowed.
To be scored on a team, all runners must be included on a team roster turned in to the USCAA Scorer 48 hours before the start time of the first M-HM-5K Championship race. Emergency exceptions may be granted by the USCAA Scorer with the concurrence of the USCAA President (USCAA Vice President if the President is not available).
Each runner must meet one (or more) of the following conditions in order to represent his/her organization:
Employees: Must have been employed continuously by the corporation 45 days prior to the start of the National M-HM-5K Championships. Must have worked 20 hours or more per week (for each of the six plus weeks leading up to the M-HM-5K Championships), be on the corporation’s payroll and have taxes withheld by the corporation.
Retirees: Must be pension-eligible, former employees, with five (5) or more years of service to the corporation and whose age plus years of service equals 55 or more. Retirees must not be in the full-time employment of another USCAA-competing corporation. There is no limit to the number of retirees who may compete for a corporation.
Contractors: Must be under contract with the corporation six (6) months prior to the start of the M-HM-5K Championships. Must have worked 30 hours or more per week, for that corporation, for the entire six months. Eligible contractors comprise independent contractors; outsourced former employees who continue to perform the same work for the corporation; and staff who have long-term service commitments with the corporation, who take direction from corporate employees, and who work to fulfill corporate business objectives, even if they are paid through payroll or temporary staffing agencies. Employees of outside consulting firms who are assigned to client corporations on task assignments are not eligible to compete for those client corporations (example: Andersen Consulting employees on assignment to Hughes may not compete for Hughes). Contractors are not eligible to compete as alumni.
For each race: A maximum of two scorers may be contractors, offset by the use of any alumnus/a as a scorer under the alumni eligibility rule. (Example: If a team uses an alum as a scorer, only one contractor may score; if no alum scores, two contractors may score.)
Alumni:
For each race: Ex-employees who have previously competed for a team in at least one (1) USCAA National or Regional Track & Field Championship and/or Marathon Championship are eligible to compete for that team. However at most only one alumnus/a may score. If one alumnus/a is used as a scoring runner, that individual will offset one for one the allowed contractors (as scoring runners) under that rule.
