Meet Directors for the Federation Cross Country Championships and the Nike Cross Regional - New York Championship announced today that they would be combining to create a unified meet, that would serve both purposes as a culminating State Event, as well as a qualifier for Nike Cross Nationals. The event will be held on November 23rd, in continued conjunction with NXR-NE.
The move to the 23rd also opens up individual athletes to contest Foot Locker Northeast on November 30th. Typically, the two meets had been held on the same date, forcing athletes to choose between the two. Several potential Foot Locker National Champions had missed the event due to the conflict in the past.
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The move comes after years of discussion on the potential merger, as New York teams saw a conflict in their racing schedule each year. Typically, the NYSPHSAA State Championship would occur the second weekend of November, then the Federation Championship would be held at Bowdoin Park a week later. Billed as our "Meet of Champions," it would crown the best teams out of the four different Federations across New York State. However, attendance began to wain in the late 2000's, as teams who were vying for National ambitions, were hesitant to tackle the difficult course two weekends in a row before the Nike Cross Nationals.
Before the process of 'Regionals' for Nike Cross Nationals selection, the New York State Federation meet was the culminating team event in the State, and one of the most hotly contested meets of the year nationally. Teams were selected by a committee up until 2008, many of which saw determinations from the outcome of the meet. The Regional process began in '08.
In the past, the two meets have been operated very differently. For the Federation Meet, there were strict allowances from each Federation on who could participate. Teams and individuals were invited based on their prior ranking and State performance, and were able to defer those invitationals. NXR would power seed teams based on quality, regardless of Federation affiliation.
In addition, NXR had been run as a club event, which meant teams and athletes had to run under club affiliations, and were not allowed to wear their school jerseys. For many Coaches, it was an out-of-season venture.
More details about the exact format of the race are expected to be announced by the Meet Directors deeper in the Season.
Meet Directors for the Federation Cross Country Championships and the Nike Cross Regional - New York Championship announced today that they would be combining to create a unified meet, that would serve both purposes as a culminating State Event, as well as a qualifier for Nike Cross Nationals. The event will be held on November 23rd, in continued conjunction with NXR-NE.
The move to the 23rd also opens up individual athletes to contest Foot Locker Northeast on November 30th. Typically, the two meets had been held on the same date, forcing athletes to choose between the two. Several potential Foot Locker National Champions had missed the event due to the conflict in the past.
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