2023 SERIES SCORING AND AWARDS
SCORING
There are two team competitions for the Vancouver Island Race Series the VIRA Cup and the Island Series Cup.
VIRA Cup
Your team/club name must be clearly indicated in your entry form in order to qualify your points towards the team/club’s standing. No changes or additions will be permitted after the race.
Individual – each runner’s time will be recorded and points awarded according to performance. To qualify for series awards, runners over 19 must run a minimum of five races which will be averaged to determine series standings. Runners in the 16-19 category will have the three best scores of all races. Runners in the 15 and under category will have the two best scores. Full point standings will be posted at each event after the first race.
Team/club points are awarded per age group starting at 20 points for the winner of the age group and going down to 1 point for 20th and below in an age group. If a runner has registered with a club then that club gets the points. All age groups are equal – so you could win your age group regardless of the time result and you would still get 20 points. You could come second in your age group by 1 second to 10 minutes and you would still get 19 points.
Island Series Cup
The top three male and top three female runners on your team score points toward your score. The points scoring in this Island Series Cup is similar to the reverse scoring system in cross-country running.
The first overall male and female finishers in the race earn 1 point each. The second finishers 2, third 3 points. Example: If your team has finishers in the following (unlikely) order, add the total and that is the team score for that race: 1st, 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th and 50th = 151 points.
If you are the fourth male or fourth female on your team and therefore do not score, that is okay, because you may displace the competing team’s runners by finishing ahead of them, forcing them to earn a higher point score.
This is not an age-group competition but overall placings.
The goal is a low score.
The total score of the five best team performances during the series by a team made up of a minimum three male and three female runners will be the final result. The team with the lowest score wins.
POINTS SYSTEM
Points are awarded based on a runner’s performance relative to a benchmark that takes into account the world’s best times at 5km, 10km, 15km, 20km, and Marathon distances. The formula was developed by Peter S. Riegel, past chairman of the TAC/USA Road Running Technical Council. 1000 points equate to a world-best time. Running at half the speed of the world best would give a score of around 500. The formulas, roughly speaking, estimate that a person’s speed declines by about 6% for men, and 4% for women, as distance doubles.
One of Peter Siegels original papers on this is available online http://www.runscore.com/coursemeasurement/Articles/ARHE.pdf.
Club points are awarded per age group starting at 20 points for the winner of the age group and going down to 1 point for 20th and below in an age group. If a runner has registered with a club then that club gets the points. All age groups are equal – so you could win your age group regardless of the time result and you would still get 20 points. You could come second in your age group by 1 second to 10 minutes and you would still get 19 points.
AWARDS
Medals are presented to the top ten in each age category. Trophies are presented to the overall top male and female in the series, and the top male and female masters (40 years old)
Awards are presented based on gun time, not chip time. It is the responsibility of the runner to seed themselves accordingly at the start line.
Runners who complete all eight races in the series, or five races and volunteer at their own race, will receive a special rate the following year. An additional processing charge will be added when you register online.
Draw prizes will be presented at each race that have been provided by our sponsors. Runners must be present at the drawing of all prizes.
IMPORTANT: NO DOGS, ROLLERBLADES, STROLLERS, BABY-JOGGERS, OR WHEELCHAIRS. OUR LIABILITY INSURANCE POLICY SPECIFIES THAT IT COVERS RUNNERS ONLY.
FOR SAFETY REASONS AND FOR RUNNERS TO HEAR EMERGENCY SERVICES, WE STRONGLY ADVISE RUNNERS AND WALKERS TO NOT USE LISTEN TO MUSIC WITH HEADPHONES OF ANY KIND. DISQUALIFICATION MAY HAPPEN IF IMPEDING EMERGENCY SERVICES.
