Sheffield Sprint Relay - classes

[Spookster]

SYO is hosting the Sheffield Sprint Relay on 1st September, which is a round of the UK Relay League. Obviously we will have "Mens Open" and Womens Open" classes, which will be the UK Relay League races.

But what other classes should we offer?

I'm thinking there are various options:

(a) use a cut-down version of something like the Nopesport League categories (e.g. M/W40+, M/W55+). Problem is, how many clubs have got for example three W40s that want to run an urban sprint relay? Entrants per category could be too low.

(b) as above, but make it "at least one woman" in each team of three. In other words, it's a mixed relay, apart from the M/W Open.

(c) use the Scottish relays system of a handicapped relay, with age categories assigned a number of points, and then the race categories are based on those points.

(d) something else?

We want some exciting head-to-head racing, but we probably can't start everyone at once (as per Scottish) since it would be too dangerous in an urban campus area that has some slow-traffic roads.

Ideas welcomed... (asap, as I need to get the entries system set up).

Martin
Organiser, Sheffield Sprint Relay

[andy]

handicap with three starts to spread things out - MOpen, WOpen, handicap. I'm not sure how many you expect to get going but I think you'll be best allowing lots of options when it comes to teams, so handicap seems like the fairest.

[graeme]

Don't see why you need more than one course?

Why not give prizes based on performance vs ranking list (i.e. speed) rather than age (proxy for speed)? i.e. give the prizes to people who ran well *by their personal standards*, rather than the same old old people.
Bit biassed towards novices - but that's good - and removes any reason for a club putting the slowest three people on the same team.
Or even - men's open, womens open for those who want to come as a team, then anyone else enter as individuals and draw teams by (seeded) lot. We might even make some new friends...

Since you're worried about the mass start, and its short anyway, it would make sense for any handicap to be of the "start early" type rather than the SRC "run shorter" type.

[andypat]

This is a great idea and if it didnt clash with the WOC meeting in Edinburgh I'd be there for sure! We did a tiny sprint relay as a club training activity and it went down very well (even though the map scale was incorrect )

Since you're worried about the mass start, and its short anyway, it would make sense for any handicap to be of the "start early" type rather than the SRC "run shorter" type.

But if you get that right you might have to worry about a mass finish!

I'd definitely allow for ad hoc - there's a lot of individuals who like sprint/urban who might have trouble raising a team for a weekend. I'm sure there will be some Scots down for the weekend who could hook up. Last years Lincoln race was worth the trip!

[greywolf]

In general I'd say
a) relays should have as few separate races as possible, either all in together or separate Men & Women (if necessary the very old men and/or ad-hoc can go in with the women)
b) age related classes should be M/W 120+ style, rather than M/W 40 - the former gives more option & opportunity for smaller clubs

I don't know the venue, but given that you're running relays in an environment with some traffic, albeit slow, why is a single mass-start more dangerous than multiple mass starts and the general highspeed haring around that's likely to happen?

[Spookster]

I like the idea that (other than Mens Open and Womens Open) teams are formed on the day by some sort of draw, perhaps in a way that evens up all the teams so that the prize winners aren't likely to be the usual people.

Regarding the mass starts, the pavements and gaps in the walls just aren't wide enough to cope with say 120 in a mass start, whereas 3 starts on 40 people will probably work fine. Road crossings will be marshalled, but without a time-out, so again I don't want batches of runners to be too big.

p.s. "mixed sprint relay" may still make it into the WOC programme - the format is certainly among some of the proposals going to the IOF General Assembly next month.

[haloite]

Regards making up teams on the day - surely some clubs will be able to field complete teams - could there not be 2 versions of the ad-hoc relay (both in the same mass-start) - one for individual runners who need to/want to be paired with others, and one for "complete" club teams. I know we often get odd numbers for relays - i.e. 7 runners for 6 places, that way everyone gets a run one way or another? Other than that I'd guess you'd be ok with MOpen / WOpen and the Ad-Hoc - if you had alot of entries on Ad-Hoc you might them want to split it into "drawn teams" and "club teams"?