How are cross country meets scored?

In USATF competition, a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 8 athletes (in each age division / gender) comprise a team. In middle school and high school, the maximum is 7 athletes. For USATF Junior Olympic meets we have to form multiple teams in each age division / gender if we have more than 8 athletes. This is known as Team A, B, C, etc.

Typically for development and middle school meets we don't declare the team in advance. Instead, the first 5 athletes are the scoring athletes and the next 2 or 3 (depending the meet type) form the team for award medal purposes.

The top 5 finishers in each race for a club are the "scoring athletes", their points comprise the team score. The place that a runner gets in a race is the same number of points he/she scores for their team. The lower the team score, the better.

The 5 individual scores are added together for the team score. For example, if the top 5 runners come in 1st, 4th, 6th, 13th, and 20th, then our team score for that race would be 44 (1+4+6+13+20). If a team sweeps coming in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th, the score would be 15 (1+2+3+4+5) ... a perfect score; this rarely happens.

The additional athletes on the team - if any, up to the maximum of 7 or 8 athletes - are also awarded a score, but their score is not included in the team score. Instead, their score, "displaces" (or "uses" / "consumes") points that another team could get. Because a low score is better, these non-team scoring finishers forces other teams behind them to score higher.

A runner does not score any points under these situations: If there are less than 5 athletes from the same club in the race, hence they do not score as a team. If the runner finishes after the last member of the team from the same club in the race. As stated above, a maximum of 8 athletes (in each age division / gender) comprise a team. In middle school and high school, the maximum is 7 athletes. If there is a tie between teams, per USATF Rule 7.9(b) Ties between two or more teams shall be resolved in favor of the team whose last scoring member (5th) finishes nearer to first place.

Who receives an award/medal:

Results (and awards) will be available approximately 30 minutes after the completion of each race. The timing crew tabulates the results from each previous race as the next race is underway. Unforeseen circumstances (lost bib # numbers, athletes running in the wrong race) may affect the amount of time needed to prepare these results.

• Top 10 individuals (8 & under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14)

  1. Top 2 teams (8 & under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14)

     • Team awards go "8 deep"; non-scoring runners "9 and above" do not receive medals

Full Rules from USATF