Please click here to download a copy of the course / site map.

Dogs on site must be kept under control, and must be cleaned up after.

Registration will begin at 08:30 and close at 12:00. This is also when the Long Race declaration forms will open and close. You do not need to declare athletes for the Short Race.

The BUCS Registration desk will be located by the finish area, indicated on the site map.

Teams for the long races must be declared by 12:00. Any teams not declared by this time / any athlete not declared on these sheets will be subject to immediate disqualification.

Team Captains should come to the BUCS Registration desk upon arrival to collect the race bibs for their institution

Men’s Long Race Declaration Form

Women’s Long Race Declaration Form

Athletes must:

• only compete in one race at the Championships
• be on the start line 10 minutes before your start time
• ensure you have your bib number attached to the front of your vest. Your bib number contains your race timing chip do not remove it.

A team must be declared for those wanting to race in the Men’s and Women’s Long Race. If your institution has less athletes than to constitute the full team, please still declare them on the team declaration forms.

All races will start with a gun.

Women’s Short Race - 11:30

• Distance: 5,590
• Start Time: 11:30
• Lap 1 – A+B+C+D
• Lap 2 - D+E+F+G+B+C+D
• Lap 3 - D+E+F+G+Finish
• This race is for all athletes entered into the Women’s category who are not competing in the Women’s Long Race.

Men’s Short Race - 12:30

• Distance: 8,210m
• Start Time: 12:30
• Lap 1 – A+B+C+D
• Lap 2 -  D+E+F+G+B+C+D
• Lap 3 - D+E+F+G+B+C+D
• Lap 4 - D+E+F+G+Finish
• This race is for all athletes entered into the Men’s Category who are not competing in the Men’s Long Race

Women’s Long Race - 13:30

• Distance: 8,210m
• Start Time: 13:30
• Lap 2 -  D+E+F+G+B+C+D
• Lap 3 - D+E+F+G+B+C+D
• Lap 4 - D+E+F+G+Finish

• Up to FOUR athletes entered into the Women’s category per institution may compete in the Women’s Long Race.  These athletes should be declared on the Long Race team declaration form.

Men’s Long Race - 14:30

• Distance: 10,870m
• Start Time: 14:30
• Lap 1 - A+B+C+D
• Lap 2 - D+E+F+G+B+C+D
• Lap 3 - D+E+F+G+B+C+D
• Lap 4 - D+E+F+G+B+C+D
• Lap 5 - D+E+F+G+Finish

• Up to SIX athletes entered into the Men’s category per institution may compete in the Men’s Long Race.  These athletes should be declared on the Long Race team declaration form.

Lap details can be seen on the course map

PLEASE NOTE: When Captains collect the institutions race numbers from the BUCS Registration desk, they will need to complete the long race declaration forms. Please complete the forms in race number numerical order e.g. 101, 105. 107, 109.

The declaration forms will close at 12:00, when registration closes.

Links to these forms can be found above in the Registration tab

A warning will be given 10 minutes before the start of each race. Team Managers must marshal their teams to the start line at the time of the ten minute warning. All races will start at the stated times unless the race referee deems a minor delay is necessary due to previous races overrunning.

Each university will only be allowed one athlete on the front row of the start, thought there will likely not be space for every university to have one athlete on the front row. This will be enforced by the Marksmen and Race Referee.

There is no parking on site. The site can be accessed on foot from various directions and is situated in Cardiff City Centre. The park is an 18 minute walk from the train station.

The closest disabled parking spaces to the park are located on North Road. Please follow this link to the location - what3words /// The simplest way to talk about location

There are various parking / drop off options located on roads around the park.

The BUCS Athletics rules and regulations can be found here.

Race Rules:

1. No institution will count in the Team Events unless all scoring runners finish.
2. Team points will be calculated by adding together the placing of each scoring member. The team with the lowest number of points will be named Team Champions. E.g. 2^nd, 10^th and 15^th = 27 points.
3. “Scoring members” will be the first scoring runners past the finish line (first 4 in the Men’s races and first 3 in the Women’s races). The scorers are not identified in advance.
4. In the event of a tie on points in the team competition, a “countback” will take place, with the position of the last counted finishers (4^th in the Men’s races and 3^rd in the Women’s races) for each team compared.
5. In the Men’s and Women’s Long Races only one team per institution can be entered, and therefore counted in the competition.
6. In the Men’s and Women’s Short Races, the team championship will constitute of the first 4 finishers (Men’s) and top 3 finishers (Women’s) placings. If applicable, a B team and so on, will be created from the next 4 finishers (Men’s) and next 3 finishers (Women’s).
7. In the Men’s and Women’s Short Races, medals will be awarded to the top 3 teams irrespective of whether these teams are from the same institution.
8. Team medals will only be awarded to scoring runners (first 4 athletes from an institution in Men’s races, first 3 athletes from an institution in Women’s races).

Any updates will be posted on the BUCS website and communicated to your institution

Weather Notice:

Please plan for all weather situations. Please dress appropriately for all weather conditions and ensure you bring a change of dry clothes. When you have finished your race, ensure you keep moving to stay warm. Make sure you drink enough fluids throughout the day. 

Race Presentations will be held at approximately 15:50 near to the BUCS Registration desk located on the site map.

Refreshments

There will be two catering units in the Event Village area serving food and drink throughout the event (located on site map).

There are also cafés located throughout the park.

There will not be access to water refill outlets at the event. The BUCS staff team will have a supply of water for emergencies, however all competitors are encouraged to bring enough water with them to sustain a day of competition.

Facilities

There will be portable toilets for athletes and spectators to use on the hardstanding ground by the Old Ambulance Station on Blackweir Fields (located on site map).

To withdraw from the event, please contact your Institution Administrator who should inform the event lead, Maddi Cannell.

Please see REG 7.9 for our withdrawal policy

Please ensure that ALL gazebos are safely secured to the ground. Please note the ground will be extremely muddy!

Please note the set-up of gazebos is weather dependent. We ask for your cooperation on this matter if you are asked not to set them up / take down.

Teams can set up gazebos in the areas indicated on the site map. Gazebos set-up outside of these areas will be required to be taken down.

The course will be run on open parkland fields with some woodland sections and a section of stone dust. There are 5 road crossings. The course is flat and will be fast.

Cross country spikes or trail shoes are recommended.

There is a zero tolerance on alcohol at this event. There is strictly no alcohol permitted on site and any found will be confiscated. Any breach of this will result in disciplinary action.

These championships will run under the BUCS General Regulations and UK Athletics Rules of Competition. The sport specific regulations can be found here. It is important to note the regulations surrounding student’s behaviour. These have been breached in previous years resulting in £650 fines and 2 year suspensions from BUCS Cross Country Events. These sanctions have been handed out in previous years for behaviours such as streaking, consumption of alcohol on site and running under someone elses name.

Universities are reminded of BUCS Regulation 5.1.2. ‘REG 5.1.2 The consumption of alcohol or recreational drugs (in addition to substances covered under REG 4.5) will not be tolerated. Competitors at any event or fixture found to be consuming such substances will be automatically disqualified and may face further disciplinary action under this regulation.’

Please read Appendix 1 in conjunction with Regulation 6 for the BUCS Points available at this event.

The sustainability of our event matters to us and these are the positive steps we are taking to manage our environmental impact:

• All staff and volunteers are encouraged to travel to the event via public transport
• We have used local suppliers where possible
• Event programmes are all online, minimising paper use
• We will print on demand merchandise (if applicable)
• We are beginning to track our carbon footprint across BUCS events to identify areas of improvement.

How can you help at this event? Here’s some ideas:

• Be self-sufficient by bringing your own water bottles and coffee cups to reduce waste.
• Ensure you are disposing of waste correctly. Welsh government regulations means we are required to split all rubbish so please ensure waste is placed into the correct bins.
• Travel smarter – as a team on a minibus, cycle or use public transport. Please see the council website for information on public transport options, and parking.
• Go paperless - use your phone for all event information.