Mens Winter Points Trophy

Hi All,
A couple of quick things to mention reagarding the men's winter points trophy:

Changes to the Scoring System

Following the first winter points trophy report I had a number of athletes speak to me about the scoring system that was a new system brought in at the beginning of the 2010/11 season. Having heard what various people thought it was clear the general feeling was that it favoured the ‘faster’ athletes too much. Traditionally the trophy was designed to reward a combination of ability and regular turnout for the club, resulting in a tightly contested competition between athletes of all abilities.

It was put to the committee and a few keen individuals were given the task to determine a fairer and more competitive system which would open it up to all athletes. So, following rigorous discussion and in depth statistical analysis we have devised a new scoring system. Under this new regime 2 points are awarded to all athletes competing in the Chingford league regardless of finishing position. However, in championship races the first 6 finishers will be awarded 3 points whilst all others will be given 2 points. This ensures that any points deficits as a result of being a slower runner should be recoverable by turning up to more races.

Also there has been one slight change to the results table; please note the amended date of the club XC champs which I had failed to update previously.

The Chase for the Trophy

So I have attached the latest update of the table using this new system. Things are extremely tight at the top with 5 athletes sharing the top spot and 3 others only a point adrift. Any advantage will really only start to show later in the season and will remain fragile until all races have taken place. Somehow that rogue Pete Ellis has got his name right up there – persistence pays off!!

So it is absolutely crucial that to remain in the chase you turn out at the next scoring race – the London XC champs at parliament hill. We have a huge number of runners entered and we need as many of those to turn up if we are going to chase a top 5 finish position ahead of some of the capital’s biggest clubs. This is a race we can have a big impact on and is a great ‘dry run’ for the Nationals at the start of next year.

For those interested in some muddy action before then I will be at the Met league this weekend and it would make my day to see a handful of you toeing the line with me (you should have received an email with more details a while ago).

See you all soon,

Cheers, Alex
10/11/11

Updated table here