35TH GIRLS' AND 69TH BOYS' CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

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CONDITIONS OF ENTRY

The 2008 PIAA Cross Country Championships shall be conducted pursuant to all applicable By-Laws, Policies and Procedures, and Rules and Regulations of PIAA. Additionally, it is important that the Principal, Athletic Director, and head cross country coach of all individuals that will participate in the 2008 PIAA Cross Country Championships and all persons who will have responsibilities involving these activities be fully informed of the policies and procedures described herein. It is also necessary that everyone associated with these championships comply with all policies and procedures, without exception. Failure to comply may result in removal from the 2008 PIAA Cross Country Championships.

PIAA member schools are not required to enter PIAA championship events. Entry and participation in the 2008 PIAA Cross Country Championships are voluntary. Entry into the 2008 PIAA Cross Country Championships signifies that the member school accepts the fact that the PIAA Executive Director, or the Executive Director's designee, reserves the right to make changes in the management, operation, schedule, and site of the 2008 PIAA Cross Country Championships if, in the judgment of the Executive Director or the Executive Director's designee, it becomes necessary to do so.

DISTRICT QUALIFIERS

Each PIAA District that sponsors a qualifying meet involving at least four (4) member schools sponsoring a cross country Team, which participates in more than 50% of the maximum permitted number of Regular Season Contests in that sport, shall be entitled to a minimum of one (1) Team entry (qualifier), and a minimum of five (5) non-Team individual entries (qualifiers), per enrollment classification, to the PIAA Cross Country Championships.

Additional entries (qualifiers) are computed on a modified proportional representation basis, with the larger Districts limited to an appropriate maximum number of Team and non-Team individual entries (qualifiers) to the PIAA Cross Country Championships.

It is permissible for a District to replace a maximum of one (1) Team entry with a maximum of seven (7) additional non-Team individual entries, thereby, increasing the maximum number of non-Team individual entries from that District by seven (7) entries, per enrollment classification, as qualifiers to the PIAA Cross Country Championships.

NOTE: Five (5) or more non-Team individual entries (qualifiers) from the same member school shall be eligible to receive a Team score.

TEAM

A cross country Team shall consist of seven (7) members. Eight (8) runners may be entered; however, a minimum of five (5) runners and a maximum of seven (7) runners shall be permitted to run.

DATE, SITE, AND STARTING TIMES

The 2008 PIAA Cross Country Championships will be conducted on the Parkview Cross Country Course, Hershey, PA (click here to view course map)

CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE Saturday, November 1, 2008
AA Girls -	9:00 am (1 - 325 Competition Numbers)
AAA Girls -	10:00 am (326 - 650 Competition Numbers)
AA Boys -	11:00 am (651 - 975 Competition Numbers)
AAA Boys -	12:00 pm (976 - 1300 Competition Numbers)
Awards Presentation -1:00 pm (adjacent to the finish area)

Re-ranked Team and overall individual results will be available on the PIAA Web site at www.piaa.org and a limited number of results will be available to the attending or on-site media at 2:00 pm, on Saturday, November 1, 2008.

REGISTRATION

Registration will be conducted from 12:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m., Friday, October 31, 2008 at the red brick building adjacent to Hockersville Road on the Parkview Cross Country Course. Late registration will be conducted from 8:00 a.m. until 9:00 a.m., Saturday, November 1, 2008 at the trailer adjacent to the Finish Area.

SCHOOL REGISTRATION PACKETS

School Registration Packets shall include:

1. General Information Sheet.
2. Parking Pass.
3. Competition Number(s) with four (4) pins.
4. ChampionChips in numbered packets.
5. Complimentary Program (Includes: Map of Course; Starting Line Assignments, by enrollment Classification, Competitors' Names; and Assigned Competition Numbers by Enrollment Classification, by PIAA District).

COACHES

Neither the Public School Code nor the Regulations of the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) currently places restrictions on the hiring or qualification of persons employed as coaches in public schools. Upon satisfactory compliance with applicable laws relating to completion of required background checks, schools may hire as coaches any persons who meet their local criteria.

PIAA does not impose additional requirements on the hiring of coaches in either public or private schools. However, a coach from each member school that has qualified a Team or non-Team individual(s) to the 2008 PIAA Cross Country Championships must accompany and supervise those persons representing that member school.

The member school may send a full-time professional employee of the school district in lieu of a coach for purposes of accompanying and supervising the member school's qualifiers to the 2008 PIAA Cross Country Championships. This full-time professional employee must be a properly designated representative of the school of the qualifiers, and that individual must be fully responsible for supervision of the qualifiers.

COMPETITOR'S UNIFORM

Each competitor's uniform shall be in compliance with the 2008 NFHS Track and Field and Cross Country Rules Book and relevant PIAA adoptions and/or modifications. A copy of the Competitor's Uniform requirements is available here. Coaches are requested to review these rule provisions with members of their team or non-team individual qualifiers prior to the start of the 2008 PIAA Cross Country Championships. PENALTY: For an illegal uniform the competitor is disqualified from the event.

COMPETITION NUMBERS

Competition numbers, as assigned by PIAA, are set forth in the PIAA Cross Country Championships program. Head cross country coaches are responsible for distributing to their runners the appropriate PIAA-assigned competition number.

Assigned competition numbers must be securely pinned at all four (4) corners to the outside of the front of the runner's jersey at chest level, so as to be plainly visible from a distance of at least twenty (20) yards, as follows:

ChampionChips

At registration, all head coaches will be issued a packet containing ChampionChips. The chips will be in numbered envelopes that will be consistent with the PIAA-assigned competition number for each runner. Please distribute the appropriate pair of chips to your runners, making sure not to mix them up. The computer file is pre-calibrated with the data for each runner matching the competition number for that runner.

It is preferred that the chips be secured by lacing them through the competitor's shoelaces. Secure one chip to each shoe so that they will not come off during competition. However, PLEASE DO NOT TAPE OVER THE CHIPS AS THIS MAY DISRUPT THE TRANSMISSION OF DATA FROM THE CHIPS TO THE TIMING MATS!

Coaches will be responsible for collecting the chips from his or her Team or non-Team individual(s).

The chips will be provided in a packet at registration. Please place chips back in the provided packet after the race. Please wait until the conclusion of the race to return your chips. A designated area adjacent to the Finish Area will be made available for the purpose of returning chips immediately following each championship race. Schools will be charged $35.00 for each unreturned ChampionChip or $70.00 for each unreturned pair of ChampionChips. It is imperative that runners are instructed on the importance of properly securing the chips to their shoes and returning them to their head coach immediately following their championship race.

FinishLynx will provide a video recording of the Finish Area in order to clarify any discrepancies in the competitors' order of finish by utilizing the torso of those runners breaking the plane of the finish (PIAA Modification of Rule 9-3-3, 2008 NFHS Track and Field and Cross Country Rules Book).

COURSE & SPIKES

The cross country course is 5000 meters in length. The course is almost entirely grass with a few macadam and gravel roads being crossed by contestants while running the race. The course will be clearly marked with white lines and signs (Red = left; Yellow = right; Blue = straight). Splits will be visible on a digital clock adjacent to the timing mats laid across the course at the one (1) mile and two (2) mile marks. ALL RUNNERS ARE REQUIRED TO RUN THE PRESCRIBED COURSE! If any competitor fails to run the proper course, or receives any assistance from any other person, COURSE UMPIRES shall report the infraction to the MEET REFEREE.

COURSE INSPECTION

QUALIFYING MEMBER SCHOOL TEAMS AND NON-TEAM INDIVIDUAL(S) ARE PROHIBITED FROM INSPECTING THE CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE PRIOR TO 12:00 PM ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31 2008. VIOLATION MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION FROM THE 2008 PIAA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS. NO EXCEPTIONS! Cross country course inspection will be permitted from 12:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m., Friday, October 31, 2008 and from 7:30 a.m. until 8:30 a.m., Saturday, November 1, 2008, under the following conditions:

1. Individual qualifiers and qualifying Teams may jog or walk the cross country course only while under the direct supervision of the individual qualifier's coach(es) or qualifying Team's coach(es).
2. Individual qualifiers and qualifying Teams are restricted to the cross country course which will be clearly marked with white lines and signs (Red = left; Yellow = right; Blue = straight).
3. Interference with visitors or conduct by any person or persons which may cause a distraction or harm to any other person or persons or to the Parkview Cross Country Course is PROHIBITED.
4. Activities such as, but not limited to, pick-up touch football games, soccer games, and Frisbee throwing are PROHIBITED.

STARTING LINE AND FINISH LINE PROCEDURES

Competitors must report to the starting line ten (10) minutes before the starting time. Lane positions will be checked five (5) minutes before the starting time.

Runners are instructed to run through the Finish Area over both timing mats. Officials will exercise maximum effort to get runners away from the Finish Area; however, it is the responsibility of the contestants to move quickly through to the back of the Finish Area.

LODGING AND MEALS

Housing is not available at the Parkview Cross Country Course and housing will not be provided by PIAA. If needed, a representative of each participating school must make arrangements for housing and for meals, as required, for the school's competitor(s) and coach(es). An abbreviated list of hotels and motels in the Harrisburg/Hershey area is available at www.piaa.org.

• Access Featured Hotels and Motels in the Harrisburg/Hershey Area

Toll free reservations are available through (1) Hershey Group Room Reservations at (800) 437-7439 or visit their Web site for online reservations at www.hersheypa.com; (2) Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors' Bureau at (800) 995-0969 or (877) 727-8573 or visit their Web site for online reservations at www.hersheyharrisburg.org; or (3) visit the Hershey Harrisburg Area Welcome Center Web site at www.visithhc.com.

EMERGENCY HEALTH CARE

PIAA Sports Medicine personnel will be present to provide emergency healthcare to participating contestants. An EMS crew will be available to provide emergency assistance and transportation, as needed. PIAA-assigned certified athletic trainers reserve the right to charge a school for any training supplies that were supplied by the certified athletic trainers or that were used by the school. SCHOOLS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING THEIR QUALIFIERS WITH WATER!

PARKING

Parking for competing schools on Friday, October 31 and Saturday, November 1, 2008 will be restricted to the reserved parking area located adjacent to the Parkview Cross Country Course. Signage located along HERSHEYPARK Drive will direct competing schools to that reserved parking area. EACH QUALIFYING SCHOOL WILL RECEIVE ONE (1) PARKING PERMIT VALID FOR RESERVED PARKING ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2008, ONLY.

PARKING FEE

Spectators desiring to park on Saturday, November 1, 2008 will be charged a $6.00 per vehicle parking fee. Spectator parking on Saturday, November 1, 2008 will be limited to the lots of the GIANT Center.

Pedestrians crossing the HERSHEYPARK Parking access drive will be restricted to the crosswalks adjacent to the GIANT Center.

CHAMPIONSHIP MERCHANDISE

Team IP is the official merchandiser for the PIAA. Team IP will offer official merchandise at the PIAA Cross Country Championship on November 1, 2008. Team IP will offer a variety of items to include: Event t-shirts, long sleeve t-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, caps, visors, golf shirts, mesh shorts, and much more. All items will be available at the Parkview Cross Country Course in Hershey, PA. If you would like to receive any of the championship merchandise after the event, please visit www.teamip.com. Team IP looks forward to offering one of a kind memorabilia at your event!

MEDALS AND TROPHIES

Awards will be presented adjacent to the finish area, after all races are completed and all scores are tabulated. The championship and the runner-up Teams in each class, both girls and boys, will receive trophies. Members of the champion and runner-up Teams will receive medals (ten [10] per Team). The top twenty-five (25) individual finishers in each class, both girls and boys, will receive medals.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Dr. Robert A. Lombardi, PIAA Associate Executive Director, will serve as the 2008 PIAA Cross Country Championships Meet Director.

Mr. Mark E. Byers, PIAA Assistant Executive Director, will serve as the 2008 PIAA Cross Country Championships Assistant Meet Director.

For further Meet information, access the PIAA Web site at www.piaa.org or contact PIAA at either (717) 697-0374 or (800) 382-1392.