NSCIF CROSS COUNTRY PLAYOFF QUALIFYING GUIDELINES

I. Divisions

A. The CIF Section and State Cross Country Meets shall be conducted in five divisions for both boys and girls (Divisions I, II, III, IV, & V). The five-division format shall be based upon the previous year C-BED school enrollment figures. CIF sections shall be responsible for advancing schools in their proper enrollment division as described below:

Division I 2800 and above

Division II 1850-2799

Division III 1250-1849

Division IV 500-1249

Division V 499 and under

Note: The enrollment divisions may change slightly from year to year. A review of the current divisions will be made by the Cross Country Advisory Committee during the February meeting.

B. Teams DO NOT have the opportunity to compete in a higher division than their school enrollment.

II. Seeding Committee

Not Applicable

III. Meet Sites and Times

A. The NSCIF Cross-Country Advisory Committee shall recommend the host school for the Section Meet at least two years in advance. Coaches should make their desire to host the meet to the Cross Country Advisory Committee Chairman in writing.

B. The Meet Director of the school hosting the Section Meet should contact the Cross Country Advisory Committee representative at least one month in advance of that meet in regard to final planning and administration of the meet.

C. The starting time for the NSCIF Championship Meet will be at 2:00 p.m. with each race to follow at 30-40 minute intervals.

IV. Qualification and Seeding Criteria

There are no qualifying meets for the NSCIF Championship.

V. NorCal Qualification

There are no Regional qualifying meets for Cross Country.

VI. State Qualification

A. The first place teams for boys and girls in each Varsity Div. II, III, & V, plus the top five (5) individuals in each division (provided they finished in the top eight (8) places in that division) will qualify for the State CIF Championship. The top two teams in Division IV, plus the top 5 individuals (provided they finished in the top 12 places in that division) will qualify for State. When a school qualifies a team for the State CIF Championship Meet, it is the team that qualifies not the individuals. Changes in a team’s composition may be made by contacting the Section Meet Director prior to Monday following the NSCIF Finals.

B. Teams may elect not to participate as a team at the State CIF Championship Meet. However, coaches must declare before the Section race that they are not in team qualifying contention. Failure to do so will cause their athletes to be ineligible for State individual competition. Individual qualifiers to the State CIF Meet will not be adjusted once official results are posted.

C. At Large Entries

Additional team entries may be earned following a three year history of success in placing in the top ten teams at the State CIF Meet. Twenty four teams shall be the maximum number of teams that can be lined-up in any one race at the state championships.

VII. Other Rules Governing the Sport

A. Official Rules

The current National Federation Track and Field Rulebook (Cross-Country Section) will be utilized at all Championship meets.

B. Team Composition

Any number of runners may be entered from each school, but only the first seven finishers shall enter into the team scoring.

C. Scoring

1 The first five runners to finish are used to determine a teams score while the next two finishers are used for displacement purposes.

2 If a team enters fewer than five runners, or less than five runners finish, all members of that team shall not be counted in determining the team scoring.

3 Ties in team scoring shall be resolved using the National Federation RuleBook.

4 All divisions shall run together and scored overall, with the highest placing school in each division declared the Division Champion.’

5 Team awards will go to the lowest scoring school from each division. Individual awards will disregard divisional breakdown.

D. Order of Events

The order of races at the NSCIF Section Championship Meet will rotate each year. Varsity boys will race first during odd years and Varsity girls will race first during even years. The Open "JV" teams will follow in corresponding order.

E. Course Distance

1. Varsity: 2.5 – 3.1 miles

2. Open "JV" 1.5 – 2.5 miles

Note: Coaches should allow enough time to walk the course before the race.

F. Starting Boxes

Starting boxes will be used at the NSCIF Championships. Coaches will draw for position at the beginning of the meet. The position drawn is for all teams (Boys, Girls, Varsity, and JV). Teams are limited to the area of one box.

G. Finish Line Procedures

1. Name tags or numbers should be used in all divisions.

2. The Meet Director should determine prior to starting the race, which teams have full teams, and therefore, figure into the team scoring.

3. The finish chute should be at least 100 feet long, since 60-70 runners are finishing within a minute of each other in some divisions.

4. Enough officials should be present at the finish line to record all finish times, separate all close finishers, help move contestants along through the chute, and remove name tags and place them on the finish sheet.

5. The Cross Country Committee will act as Jury of Appeals and rule in interpretations at the Section Meet.

H. Post Meet Procedures

1. The complete results shall be sent to the Section Commissioner, the Cross Country Chairman, the Track and Field Commissioner, and all the Section Cross Country coaches within one week if the meet. Included in this mailing should be a form asking for comments and suggestions from the coaches regarding the administration of the meet. This form should be returned to the Cross Country Committee Chair.

2. In addition to the complete results, the following information needs to be sent to the Section Commissioner:

A. The names of the coaches of the State CIF Meet qualifying teams.

B. A statement including the name of each school entered and the number of entrants from each school.

I. Guidelines for Section Meet Courses

1. The use of walkie-talkies, bicycles, and/or other vehicles during races on a cross country course in the Northern Section will be prohibited unless otherwise designated by meet management.

2. Any course on which the Section meet is to be held must be inspected and approved by the Cross Country Committee at least one year in advance of the meet. The following criteria will be considered in selecting a course for the Section meet:

a. Roads with traffic should not be included in the course unless stringent traffic control measures are in effect.

b. Physical hazards, e.g., rocks, long sections of narrow path, slick downhills, etc, should be avoided.

c. The course should be dirt or grass as much as possible.

d. A variety of terrains are encouraged.

e. The course should be able to accommodate up to 150 runners with adequate passing room on the course.

f. The course must be marked with chalk on all turns. Pylons and flagging should be used. On the course inspectors are a must.

g. Restroom facilities are necessary. The host school should provide dressing and shower facilities.

h. The course will be one that is in common use by the school during their season. It will be available to any team in the section for practice and dual meets during the year, with notification and approval of the host school.

i. The start and finish must be wide enough and have enough room for passing without sharp turns before the course narrows.

j. A permanent site may be chosen by the Cross Country Committee.

NSCIF GAME MANAGEMENT INFORMATION

I. OFFICIALS

A. Meet Scorer

A scored for the NSCIF Championship Meet shall be chosen by the Cross Country Committee. This person shall be responsible for the complete team scoring in all divisions and any awards data.

B. Meet Director

The Meet Director shall be the Chairman of the Cross Country Committee or his/her designee.

II. OFFICIAL BALL

Not Applicable.

III. PLAYER ELIGIBILITY

Any player whose name appears on the official Varsity, Junior Varsity, or Freshman roster for the last league game and who is currently eligible under CIF guidelines is eligible to participate. The "Open" races are for any freshmen and sophomores, or juniors and seniors beyond the number seven (7) runner on the varsity team. Schools must have 7 runners compete in the varsity race before entering a junior or senior in the Open race.

IV. UNIFORMS

The National Federation Rulebook and State CIF Guidelines shall be followed.

V. MEET SUPERVISION

The host school shall be responsible for security personnel.

VI. ENTRY FEES

A. NSCIF Championship Meet.

An entry fee in the amount of $ 4.00 per runner will be billed to each school following the meet. When a computer scoring program is used, a team roster should be sent to the meet director two weeks in advance of the Section Meet. Additions will be allowed at the meet and substitutions can be made. All runners must be entered on the entry list and accompanied by an authorized coach with proper certification at the Section Meet. (See end of section for Certification of Authorized Personnel Form).

B. NSCIF Divisional Meets and League Qualifying Meets

The Leagues involved will establish entry fees.

VII. ADMISSION FEES

There are no admission fees to the NSCIF Championship Meet.

VIII. HALF-TIME ACTIVITIES

Non-Applicable

IX. FINANCIAL REPORT

Following each game the host school will forward a financial report to the NSCIF Commissioner’s office within 30 days. A 10 % penalty will be imposed on the host school for reports not received within 30 days. (See Financial Report form in the General Information Section of these Guidelines). This report shall include:

1. Gross Receipts

2. Itemized list of all permissible expenses.

3. A check for the net amount after all expenses has been paid. Make checks payable to NSCIF.

4. The host school retains program and concession revenues. (Costs for producing programs will not be reimbursed).

X. PERMISSIBLE MEET EXPENSES

A. The host school, while following season customs, is expected to hold expenses to a minimum. The following are reimbursable expenses:

1. Officials Fees (Meet Director - $ 100.00, Meet scorer - $75.00)

2. Security*

3. Facility Rental *

4. Ambulance or Medical personnel *

5. Custodial (Must have prior approval by Section Commissioner if exceeds $ 250)

B. All official personnel will be assigned and paid by the host school (including officials) and indicated on the Financial Report.

C. All other game expenses must be cleared with the Section Commissioner prior to the game.

(Note: Cost for producing programs will not be reimbursed).

* Must have approval by Section Commissioner prior to contest.

XI. PUBLICITY/REPORTING RESPONSIBILITIES

A. The host school should provide local newspapers with advance publicity of the teams involved in the play-offs, including tournament times and locations as well as any admission prices.

B. The host school should provide the local newspapers with a summary and highlights of the NSCIF Championship Meet.

C. Meet participants should provide their own local newspaper with summaries, details, and outcome of the meet.

D. The Chico Enterprise Record serves as the Section clearinghouse for reporting meet scores and results. The host school must report scores to the Chico Enterprise Record following their tournament. (530) 896-7778. The Redding Searchlight should also be notified of game results. (800) 666-1331.

XII. RADIO/TV

The Section Commissioner must approve all commercial radio and TV coverage of section play-off contests. The broadcast fee is $ 100.00 payable to NSCIF prior to the contest.

XIII. AWARDS

Championship Shadow Boxes Divs. II, III, IV, and V (4 Boys, 4 Girls)

7 Team Championship Patches (56 total-4 Divisions Boys and Girls)

7 Team Championship Pins (56 total-4 Divisions, Boys and Girls)

Varsity Individual medals (1^st – 25^th)

2 ½” Gold Medal w/Olympic Ribbon RWB (Boys and Girls-2 total)

2 ½” Silver Medal w/Olympic Ribbon RWB (Boys and Girls-2 total)

2 ½” Bronze Medal w/Olympic Ribbon RWB (Boys and Girls-2 total)

2” Bronze Medal for 4^th-10^th w/RWB Drape (Boys and Girls-14 total)

1 ¾” Bronze Medal for 11^th-25^th place w/RWB Drape (Boys-Girls-30 total)

J.V. Championship Shadow Box (Boys and Girls-2 total)

1 ¾” Gold Medal w/Olympic Ribbon RWB (Boys and Girls 2 total)

1 ¾” Silver Medal w/RWB Drape (Boys and Girls-2 total)

1 ¾” Bronze Medal w/RWB Drape 3^rd – 15^th (Boys and Girls, 26 total)

Note: Maximum of 7 team patches per team. Additional patches and pins may be purchased from the Section Office.

APPENDIX A

Form 506

CERTIFICATICATION OF AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL

CIF BYLAW 506-WHO MAY COACH

A. All public school teams must be coached by a person who meets the requirements of the California Education code and the California Administrative Code Title V.

B. In the case of a non-public school, a person engaged by that school on a yearly contract basis as a regular member of the school teaching staff and certified by the administrator of that school as competent for the position held.

CIF BYLAW 508-OUT OF STATE COACHING CERTIFICATION

Teams of affiliated California Interscholastic Federation member schools must be coached by staff members certified in their own state (for certain schools outside California).

School: School Team:

Coach’s Name School Phone:

Coach’s Address

(City) (State) (Zip)

I hereby assert and verify that the person named above is authorized by

High School to coach the above team and meets the requirements of the above bylaws as of this date.

(Principal signature) (Date)

(Print Principal’s name)

PLEASE MAKE SEPARATE COPIES FOR EACH CERTIFIED COACH

CROSS COUNTRY

SEASON OF SPORT

2006-2008

LAST CONTEST: November 7, 2006