Rules

BBR Handicap Championship Rules

On the 1st Sunday each month from February to November, BBR conducts a series of 10 handicapped races, for both 5km and 10km street course distances, to determine a club champion for each distance.
Any runner can take part in a handicap race – as a member or casual member on the day
Courses start and finish in the Warrina St Oval car park at the corner of Warrina St & Hillcrest Rd, Berowra
The 10km is run in the opposite direction each alternate month
Runners can alternate between the two distances, however any points earned at one distance shall not be carried across to increment the alternate distance point score
Runners under 12 years of age are not permitted to run the 10km course.

Start Times

All runners will have an official or provisional handicap time declared by the handicapper, or club office bearer, for that race
A common timing clock for both races is set running at 7:15am
For runners with an official or provisional handicap time, for that race, equal to 0 minutes, this will be their start signal
All other runners will then start when the displayed clock time is equal to their official or provisional handicap time, for that race
It is the runners responsibility to start at their official or provisional handicap time, for that race
To be eligible for event placings and points accumulation, runners must start not earlier than their official handicap time, for that race
The desired outcome of the handicap start is to have all runners finish concurrently, that is;

5k runners at 50 clock minutes or 8:05am
10k runners at 60 clock minutes or 8:15am.

Starter / Timekeepers

Starter(s)/timekeeper(s) will officiate at handicaps to carry out starting and finishing duties and are club office bearers for the duration of that duty
These positions are voluntary and open to all non junior membersg. former runners, injured runners etc
Starter(s)/timekeeper(s) will be awarded, 4 handicap points in the 10km handicap. Their handicap time will also be decreased by 30 seconds for the next month. This duty will also be counted as an official run for the purpose of handicap preservation – see official handicaps below
Starting duties include recording entrants and assisting runners to start at the correct time and recording start time discrepancies
Finishing duties include recording runners’ names and finish times clearing the course of runners and identifying the result
Such records shall be keep on the spreadsheet supplied by the handicapper for the event and returned to the handicapper after the event. Said spreadsheet will also be the source of declared places on the day.

Official Handicaps

Official Handicaps are provided to –
– runners who are current membership year financial members of
Berowra Bushrunners
and
– runners who have participated in two handicaps in the current or prior
membership year including if said participations were as volunteer
Starters/Timekeepers duties
New runners will be provided with a provisional handicap – this handicap will be adjusted by the handicapper over their next two runs so that it is in line with their running ability by their third run when it becomes an official handicap
A provisional handicap holder does not earn finishing position points counted toward the annual championship
All official handicaps will be reduced when rolled to a new membership year – 10km handicaps by 30 seconds, 5K handicaps by 15 seconds.

Event Prizes

Event prizes may be awarded on the day to runners with official handicaps based on the on the actual finishing order
Late starting runners, who may have a lower nett time, shall not be elevated in the finishing order for the purpose of awarding event prizes (it is the responsibility of all runners to start on time).

Annual Championship

The annual Handicap Champion and Runner-Up are determined to be runners with an official handicap who have accumulated the most points from a maximum of 8 race participations, with an official handicap, in an annual series.

If two runners scores are tied at the end of a series the following tests shall be applied, in sequence, to their eight counted results, until one emerges ahead;

the runner with the most handicap race wins will be declared the winner
the runner who participated in the most races will be declared the winner (Starter/Timekeeper duties are counted)
the runner who has shown the most time improvement (lowering of their handicap) over the series will be declared the winner
the runner with the most 2nd places, then the most 3rdplaces etc, continuing until all their 8 races are counted, will be declared the winner.

Handicap Points

Points are earned from the 5 km or 10km races by runners with an official handicap for race participations, based on actual finishing order, as follows:

20 points for 1st Place
15 points for 2nd Place
11 points for 3rd Place
8 points for 4th Place
6 points for 5th Place
5 points for 6th Place
4 points for 7th Place
3 points for 8th Place
2 points for 9th Place
1 points for 10th Place and beyond
1 if started earlier than their official handicap time regardless of their nett time finishing position
1 point for any runner who does not finish
4 points for the starters / timekeepers.

Handicap Adjustment Rules

Official handicaps are adjusted after each race to reflect a runners relative performance against the field in anticipation of their next race as follows:

Result	10km handicap	5km handicap
1st Place	their handicap will increase by the greater of 1 minute or the amount of time by which they beat their handicap	their handicap will increase by the greater of 30 seconds or the amount of time by which they beat their handicap
2nd Place	their handicap will increase by the greater of 30 seconds or the amount of time by which they beat their handicap	their handicap will increase by the greater of 15 seconds or the amount of time by which they beat their handicap
3rd Place	their handicap will increase by the greater of 15 seconds or the amount of time by which they beat their handicap	their handicap will increase by the greater of 15 seconds or the amount of time by which they beat their handicap (i.e. same as 2nd place)
4th to 9th Place‘s	their handicap will remain unchanged	their handicap will remain unchanged
*All other finishers*	will have their handicaps decreased by 30 seconds	will have their handicaps decreased by 15 seconds
*Early Start or DNF*	their handicap will remain unchanged	their handicap will remain unchanged
*Starters / Timekeepers*	will have their handicaps decreased by 30 seconds	N/A

The handicapper may adjust any runner’s Official handicap to take into account any unusual circumstances, e.g. a return from a serious injury.