Page 148 - 2019-20 NJCAA Handbook - May, 2020

12. CROSS COUNTRY – MEN'S & WOMEN'S – DIVISION III
Section 1. Tournament Site Selection
A. Colleges or organizations wishing to host the NJCAA Championship Cross Country Tournament must submit a written request or
bid to the NJCAA National Office by September 1st prior to the subsequent Annual Meeting. Bids shall be for sites three years
hence.
B. The NJCAA National Office shall place all bids before the Committee on Championship Events as provided in Article X.
Section 2. Meet/Championship Dates
A. The date of the NJCAA Championship Cross Country Meet shall be the second Saturday in November.
November 2, 2019 at Stanley Park; Westfield, Mass.
November 14, 2020 at Harper College; Palatine, Ill.
November 13, 2021 at Georgia Military College; Milledgeville, Georgia
November 13, 2020 at Stanley Park; Westfield, Mass.
Section 3. Tournament Host Pre-Meet Responsibilities
A. The national meet course must meet the course standards of the NCAA.
B. The NJCAA Cross Country Chairperson or his/her designee will make a final inspection of the course one day prior to the national meet.
NCAA Cross Country Rulebook and any exceptions must be cleared through the NJCAA Representative/Designee.
Section 4. Qualification of Teams for Competition
A. All teams will qualify by open invitation, provided they participated in their region championship.
B. No contestants shall be permitted to enter an NJCAA Championship Cross Country Meet unless accompanied by (1) coach or faculty
member of the sending institution, or (2) a designated supervisory coach or faculty member from an NJCAA member college.
Designation of a supervisory person in (2) above must be in writing. It shall bear the seal of the college and the signatures of the
Athletic Director and President or Dean of the sending institution. It shall be sent by certified mail to the Championship/Meet
Director. All contestants must remain under the supervision of their coach or the designated supervisory person throughout the meet
and until departure from the site.
C. Entries/Rosters
1. Regions are to complete region competition 13 days prior to national tournament to allow enough time for meet entry and host
logistics.
2. All entries (up to 10 runners) must be made by each college by the second Tuesday before the national competition. Final
entries must be made, and fees paid by Friday before the national meet. A college’s final declaration will be made when the
competitors (no more than 7 per school) report to the clerk of the course within 15 minutes of the published start time of the
race.
Section 5. Meet/Championship Course
A. The men's course for the NJCAA Championship Cross Country Meet shall be 8,000 meters. The women's course shall be 5,000
meters. It should be planned with due consideration for the safety and welfare of the contestants. It should not include tricky
turns, one that could be followed with minimum orientation. It should be far enough and cover enough varied terrain to challenge
competitors. The course shall be measured by approved surveyor's methods.
B. Chute length must be equal to three feet per entry. Chute may be in as many sections as the meet manager deems desirable.
Where multiple chutes are used, they must be separated by a 3' by 5' corridor to facilitate supervision.
C. The course must be available for practice on Thursday and Friday prior to the meet on Saturday.
D. The NJCAA Championship Cross Country Meet shall start no earlier than 10:00 a.m.
Section 6. Rules and Officials
A. NCAA Cross Country Rules shall be followed with whatever changes or modifications deemed necessary by the NJCAA Committee
on Cross Country.
B. The Meet Host will be responsible for securing the services of all necessary officials, judges, etc., to satisfactorily conduct the meet
as determined by the NJCAA Committee on Cross Country. These officials shall not be drawn from coaches who have teams
participating in the meet.
C. The second race shall start 45 minutes after the first race ends.
D. In the event of cold or inclement weather, meet participants may wear cold weather gear (i.e.: running tights, team sweats, rain
suits) with the approval of the Meet Director and the NJCAA Representative. If runners choose to wear cold weather gear, it
must be of like color (black) and/or matching team colors.
E. Meet results shall be made public as soon as results can be tabulated and printed. One hour after last race results have been
posted, the results become official and final and no protest can be filed.
F. Jury of Appeals: Members are the NJCAA Representative/Designee, the Meet Director and a person appointed by the other two
members, not to be a coach in the meet.
G. Tiebreaker for NJCAA regional or national championship is head-to-head competition of the top 5 runners.
Section 7. Squad Size
Participating teams are defined as and limited to a maximum of seven runners with a minimum of five runners in uniform. There should
be no delay of a contest to allow a competing institution to conform to this policy. Any violations shall automatically result in the
disqualification of the institution(s) in violation. No member institution may run athletes as individuals if they have also entered as a team.