Bump to the boards...
Silence will not be welcomed on this topic...I really want to hear your opinions and thoughts on the different XC post-season events.
this post season me and my team mates will be traveling to Footlocker South.
At our school, the coaches never even mention these kind of meets, and the athletic director would not support them or travel. All they talk about is districts. I think they should be required to allow travel.
I have been encouraging some of our top runners to go to the footlocker regional meet. I see it as a great opportunity to run a fast time against the best our region has to offer. Also, a few of our athletes may run in the Kelly Watt Memorial Cup race on Saturday, November 17, at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville.
With the depth that Virginia has, I think that more people should attend the MA vs. VA Border War, because last year really wasn't a true display of Virginia's running strength.
XC BORDER WAR II: MD vs VA will return to Smokey Glen Farm on November 17th. We will get a presser out shortly with some details. We will try and lock up a VA site for 2008 this fall/winter. The Smokey Glen site is ideal and the amenities cannot be beat. We are looking into offering a single loop (1.55K) race for runners going to Footlocker North or South the following weekend. The double loop 5K race will be the primary race. XC Border War II tees will be showing up at races this fall.
-Battle of the Potomac XC Organizers
No offense but i think the border clash is kind of stupid. I think if your Midlothian, Oakton, Western Albemarle or any of the other teams with a decent shot at NTN, then you should no doubt go to the ntn regional. IF not, Footlocker is where it's at. You can run fast + great comp. I dont see any reason to go to border clash. I think we all know VA is much better than MD.
Why in the world is the aau national championships being held at the VA Beach sportsplex? What a terrible course. It's going to be like a road race.
I heard that it was a really well organized meet last year, everyone who ran there really seemed to enjoy it. I think its a good option if you want a more relaxed ending to your season. Not to mention it dosen't conflict with footlocker for individual runners hoping to do well there.
the border clash that is....
The VA vs MD event is modeled after the Nike Border Clash, OR vs WA. Two top runners for Team MD last year benefited from their Battle of the Potomac XC performance: The POST's All-Met first team selections noted their 1-2 finishes (Nick Bax and Kelli Thiboux). Ask the runners who ran the Battle of the Potomac MD vs VA event and get their feedback.
Battle of the Potomac is now added to the site's calendar. Send me any more meet information when it is available Mr. Watt.
To get aau xc nationals, someone needs to put in for it (a bid). It normally takes two years. Lets be honest. Sportsplex does suck. Know question. But on there behalf, know one else put a bid in. Maybe they can change the venue to Bells Mill Park in Chesapeake.
I can see why though that the Border Challenge regionals could be appealing to some.
1. Allows individuals of the team to still compete at Footlocker South.
2. Less expensive of a trip than Hoover, Alabama. Lets face it...the location of NTN regionals is probably the absolutely worse location they could put the meet in terms of a central geographical location as well as relative to the concentration of best teams in the region (i.e. # of quality VA boys teams).
3. A free all-expense paid trip to Orlando, Florida if they quality out of the Border Challenge South Atlantic Regional. I don't know about you guys but I wouldn't mind a free trip to Florida in December.
As someone that attended NTN last year...it was an amazing event and everyone that was part of the event was treated like royalty and Nike goes out of their way to make it a great experience for all. However, only a select few are able to get that opportunity so I understand the lure of these alternative events to those who feel they do not have a shot at making the cut for NTN. I think the Border Challenge will be more popular in some regions of the country more than others depending on the logistics, location, and scheduling of the meet.
Programs like Midlothian who have been to NTN and have realistic shots at making it back are obviously going to go to the NTN regional. I think the next tier teams are going to be heavily weighing in the two regionals and look at the pros and cons of each before making a decision.
Or...the athletic directors are just going to take the decision out of their hands and say no...but there are ways and loopholes around getting to these meets. The top people at VHSL seem to have the current position to turn their head or not bother with the post-season meets as battling the club system with all sports seems to be a can of worms they like not to open up. At NTN for example, most of the "coaches" of the teams are stand-in parents of athletes on the team. In general, cross country parents are pretty supportive of their kids and their teams are willing to open up their pocket books to travel around to meets. If teams plan in advance and set some of these meets into their "unofficial" season calendar...do the coach a service and take it out of his hands (or at least keep him in the clear of getting in trouble with his employer in the AD) and do the fundraising to travel or coordination on your own and put a responsible parent in control of handling the entries and trip.
Footlocker South and possibly the border war
Footlocker South and possibly the border war
For those in the NoVA area looking for yet another option for a post-season meet, Chantilly will host our 3rd annual Open 3200m this year, also on Saturday, November 17th. While it is certainly not as large, or as well sponsored as some of these other meets, it has served the last couple years as a good tune-up for Footlocker, the following week. It will be held on the Chantilly track, rain or shine, and while it has not attracted huge numbers the first two years, the quality of the top runners for both the boys and girls has been very decent. I know, Dave, that it conflicts with your meet, but I hope that we are meeting the needs of all interested runners in the area, and I wish you the best in this regard.
In answering your original question, I do support the Footlocker South meet for those athletes who are prepared to do well, especially for those who go to states and do well. Otherwise, I think that there is little need to extend a season, if you (or your team) has peaked at regionals or state. I think that most of the sponsors have done a good job of creating meets for just about everyone, although I would naturally wonder if it is all too much, given the limited weekends directly following the state meets. Just my humble opinion, though.
The Battle of the Potomac is a great event! The course is challenging and the atmosphere is awesome. It is also a shorter trip than Charlotte for most of the state.
I have to agree with Brandon, NTN regionals are set in the worst possible location.
The Chantilly 3200 is a great tuneup for Footlocker South.
Be happy that Virginia has chosen not to legislate participation in these events. Other states nearby are starting to ban all contact with coaches for a time period following the state meet.
Add another event to the Saturday, November 17th date.
The Virginia AAU XC Meet will be held on that day at Sportsplex in Virginia Beach. In order to compete at the AAU Nationals on December 1st, individuals will need to compete and qualify out of the Virginia AAU XC Meet on November 17th.
Unless it has changed from last year, you must finish in the top 20 at your association meet (VA Association in this case on November 17th) in your age group division to qualify for the national race.
"Be happy that Virginia has chosen not to legislate participation in these events. Other states nearby are starting to ban all contact with coaches for a time period following the state meet."
Yep, that would be the great state of Tennessee: 3-week ban beginning the day after the State Meet and ending the day after NTN-SE/FLS.
Re, Battle of the Potomac XC, aka VA--MD Border War II: we thought about trying to move this event to the regular season, but the site would not be available in October. We may make a few changes to make the event attractive to runners going to the "Border Challenge Regional Qualifier" or the Footlocker North / South races (MD runners head to Van Cortlandt Park in NYC). The Chantilly event is a good speed event and I realize it's a chief fundraiser for the Chargers' program. I also can't fault a fellow Statesmen alum in Coach Matt G. We do offer one element that is key: barbecue chicken dinner after the races.
the only race is footlocker. The best are their consistently and these other races were made to try and compete with footlocker. They can't and never will so its footlocker or nothing for me.
I am planning on doing the Border War for sure this year. And possibly Footlocker South.
