Cross Country Operating Procedures

1. 2024 meet is scheduled for Nov. 1 at Windcrest Golf Club in Windcrest, Texas. (Host: Our Lady of the Lake)

2. USATF official(s) with knowledge of NAIA/NCAA cross country regulationsshould become mandatory for RRAC meet host sites.

3. The designated USATF official will be the final say on any appeals filed at the meet. Appeals must be filed within 30 minutes of the conclusion of the race.

4. All coaches should be ready to act as an appeals panelat the RRAC meet. If an appeal is made; three coaches having no connection with the point of appeal need to be selected. The panel of three along with any USATF official(s) needs to make a preliminary decision to present to the RRAC Commissioner.

 

5. The entirety of the course needs to be 1) defined with two solid white lines and/or natural barriers on the boundaries of the path or 2) t-posts and pennant flags and/or natural barriers on the boundaries of the path.

 

6. Timing and tabulation of results needs to be done by an independent entity. It doesn't necessarily need to be chip timed or tabulated, but it should be done by a professional not directly tied to any one RRAC institution. This is not to say the person has to be completely untied to anyone involved, but again that they not be directly tied to any one RRAC institution. For example, a school's basketball coach should not be doing the timing or results at the RRAC meet, but a friend of a school's coach who is a basketball coach at a high school, would be cleared to handle the timing.

 

7. The top 10 finishers both the RRAC men's and women's cross country championships will be named to the all-conference team.

 

8. All bids to host the RRAC Cross Country meet must meet Conference course requirements.

 

9. Sportsmanship Policy.

Inappropriate acts by Administrators, Coaches or Players before, during and following athletic contests shall be handled by the Commissioner using the following guidelines, until the matter is resolved.

A. An informal phone call from the Commissioner shall be made to the coach and administrator requesting correction or attention to the matter.

B. A formal letter from the Commissioner to the coach, administrator and/or athlete, detailing examples and requesting correction or attention to the matter. This letter will be copied to the offending party’s supervisor and the President of the offending party’s institution.

C. Inappropriate acts by Administrators, Coaches or Players before, during and following athletic contests that are deemed to be conclusive following a review by the Commissioner, with the approval of the Council of Presidents, will result in an automatic one game suspension for next athletic contest for the offending individual.

D. A second inappropriate act by Administrators, Coaches or Players before, during and following athletic contests subsequent to the first offense that are deemed to be conclusive following a review by the Commissioner, with the approval of the Council of Presidents, will result in an automatic two game suspension for the next two athletic contests for the offending individual.

E. Ineligibility for the remainder of all regular season and post season participation will result for the offending individual if that Administrator, Coach or Player accumulates a third inappropriate act before, during and following athletic contests in a single season that are deemed to be conclusive following a review by the Commissioner, with the approval of the Council of Presidents.

There is no appeal for an ejection. Suspensions may be appealed. This appeal may be sent to the Commissioner’s Office for review. The appeal will follow the bylaws and the constitution process.

10. Chair/Rater

The chair and rater for men's cross country is Nat Amare of Texas A&M-Texarkana, and the chair and rater for women's cross country is Nat Amare of Texas A&M-Texarkana.

11. Cross Country Meet

A required Zoom call with take place prior to the meet with all coaches attending to discuss the meet and awards.

12. Championship Host Hotels

For 2024-25, when host schools have agreements with hotels and rooms are part of the commitment for RRAC championship events, teams that qualify for those events are required to stay at the hotels designated by the host.