RACE NUMBERS

Please note we will not be posting numbers to entrants for this series. Instead, you will collect them before the first race in North Cave from Race HQ near the start area.

Keep hold of your number - you will be using the same race bib throughout the series!

2024 RACE TIMETABLE

*Age restriction for race 8: 17+. England Athletics regulations mean that entrants must be 17 years or older on the day of the race to take part in race 8.

*Please note that races 7 and 8 have staggered handicap start times, with race 8 starting at 6.30pm.

The Champagne League is ONLY OPEN TO FIRST CLAIM MEMBERS OF: City of Hull, Barton, Beverley, Bridlington, East Hull Harriers, Kingston, West Hull Ladies, Goole Viking Striders, White City, Selby Striders, and Fitmums. For safety reasons the entry limit is 240.

No headphones to be worn whilst running.

The Champagne League is a series of handicap races with points awarded on the basis of 100 for the winner down to 60, with bonus points for those nearest to the handicapper’s forecast.

At the end of the series, the runner with the greatest number of points from any 8 races in the handicap section will receive the Champagne League Trophy, a bottle of Champagne and £100.

The male with the fastest aggregate time for all 10 races will receive the Peter Jarvis trophy, a yellow tshirt and £100.

The female with the fastest aggregate time for all 10 races will receive the Pete Taylor trophy, a yellow tshirt and £100.

Female veteran categories - those with the fastest aggregate time will receive £20.

Male veteran categories - those with the fastest aggregate time will receive £20.

Team handicap races 3-10 - will consist of teams of 3, from any club, best 2 scores to count, £90 team prize.

The winner of race 8* will receive the John Bobczuk trophy.

Runners completing all 10 races will receive a tshirt.

The winner on handicap time (races 2 to 6 & 9 to 10), the female and male winner on handicap time (races 7 and 8) and the fastest female and male (races 1 to 6 & 9 to 10) will each receive £20.

Champagne League Trophy, how the points are awarded.

Points are awarded to each finisher in each race, and is based on a handicap system, meaning that anyone is capable of doing well, irrespective of their athletic capabilities. The key here is usually to improve steadily throughout the series. To give the handicapper the opportunity to get to know the capability of some of the new runners, the first race is not handicapped. Every finisher is awarded 75 points for their efforts, and the time in race 1 is used as a basis for handicapping race 2. To stop someone deliberately running slow in race 1, then blasting race 2 to win the handicap (as if anyone would do that !!!!), race 2’s handicap is based on finishing as near as possible to your handicap time. Points are awarded dependent on handicap position, with the nearest to the handicap getting 100 points, 2^nd 95 points and 3^rd 90 points. Points then decrease by 1 until reaching 60 points. Everyone who finishes gets a minimum of 60 points. Additionally, the runner finishing nearest to the handicap is awarded 20 bonus points, the next nearest gets 10. This means that the handicap winner for this race would earn 120 points.

From race 3 to 6, and 9 and 10, the format changes. The handicap position is based on how far you beat your predicted handicap time. The person beating their handicap time by the biggest margin is awarded 100 points, 2^nd 95, 3^rd 90, then decreasing by 1 point up to 60. Again, all finishers receive at least 60 points. Again, the nearest to the handicap time receives 20 bonus points, next nearest receives 10. A point to bear in mind is that, if you miss a race, you will not be handicapped for the next race, so you would only receive the basic 60 points for your unhandicapped run.

Races 7 and 8 are staggered handicaps, with the slowest runners going off first, followed by progressively faster runners with the runner the handicapper deems the fastest being last to start. This gives EVERY runner an equal chance of finishing first (that’s the theory). Even if you didn’t run in the previous race, you will still be given a handicap start time for the staggered handicaps, but you still only receive the basic number of points if you finish high up in the finish order. The first to finish gets 100 points, 2^nd 95, 3^rd 90, and again, decreasing by 1 point until 60. Race 8 (Wauldby Green) is the longest and toughest race in the series, and all finishers in that race are rewarded with an extra 20 points as an incentive. This means that by finishing race 8, you would guarantee yourself 80 points. Again, in the staggered handicaps, there are bonus points awarded. The handicapper bases his handicap on a set finishing time. The person finishing nearest to this time gets 20 bonus points, next nearest gets 10.

As the series progresses, each runner’s score in each race is added to give a total. The series is based on the best 8 scores from the 10 races, giving people the opportunity to miss 2 races without ruining their chances of doing well. The final totals are sorted into order to give a final league position. The runner amassing the best total from their best 8 scores wins the competition.

Yellow Jersey Competition

The Yellow Jersey Competition is a prestigious award, recognizing those athletes who have managed to put in fast times throughout all the races. There is no luxury of being able to miss a race, as in some of the other competitions. To remain in the running for the Yellow Jersey, you must finish every race; once you miss a race, your name is removed from the competition. The basis for this competition is quite straight forward, all of your times for the 10 races are added together to give a series total. The runner with the lowest aggregate total is the winner. There are prizes in this competition for males and females, and also for the various Veteran categories, so as to give the older runners the opportunity to finish top of their category. The leading male athlete in this competition will receive the Peter Jarvis Trophy, whilst the leading female will receive the Peter Taylor Trophy. To acknowledge their achievement, every runner who completes all 10 races will be awarded with a series t-shirt.

Team Competition

To download the team competition form, click HERE

This competition doesn’t get under way until Race 3. Before the start of race 3, runners are required to put themselves in teams of 3, which can be any mix of club or sex. A form must be handed in to the organisers before the start of race 3, naming the team members, and giving yourselves a team name (any name will do, no need to be too serious). Runners can only be a member of one team. Races 3-10, the points scored (in the main Champagne League competition) for each team member will be recorded. The best 2 of those 3 scores will constitute the team score for that race, with the 3^rd score discarded. Points for each race are added together to make a series total, and the team with the highest score will be the winner. This has an added advantage of often prompting a runner to run, where they may otherwise not have done so. Team spirit kicks in, and people don’t want to let down their team.