TECHNICAL INSTRUCTIONS
2014 USA Masters 8 km Championships
Brea, CA
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Runners competing in the 2014 USA Masters 8 km Championships on Sunday, February 23, 2014 should
be aware of the following points of emphasis. Competitors who fail to comply with these and other
applicable USATF Rules of Competition risk possible disqualification.
There will be a Technical Meeting scheduled for Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Embassy Suites 900 East Birch
Street, Brea, CA. Questions should be directed to the Championship Referee.
1) The Race Course. The course map is available at http://www.usatf.org/usatf/files/9f/9f495363-e1a6-492da337-eb61305eb518.pdf
The course is the roadway between its edges and curbs. Please follow directions of course marshals and any
road cones.
2) Cutting the Course. Any competitor who has been found by the Referee to have gained an unfair advantage
by receiving assistance or by intentionally shortening the route of the race (“cutting the course”) shall be
immediately disqualified.
3) Illegal Assistance. Anyone found to have received illegal assistance is subject to disqualification.
“Assistance” is the conveying of advice, information or direct help to an athlete by any means, including a
technical device. It also includes pacing in running or walking events by persons not participating in the
event, by competitors lapped or about to be lapped, or by any kind of technical device. The use of wireless
devices (I-pods, etc…) is not permitted. Competitors may carry or wear articles of personal equipment such
as wrist chronometers and heart-rate monitors. Verbal or other communication, without the use of any
technical device, from an individual not on the course shall not be considered assistance. Pacesetting, by a
person entered in an event as an officially designated pacesetter, is permissible. There are no designated
pacesetters for this event. Questions should be directed to the Championship Referee.
4) Competition Front Bib Numbers/Timing Tag and Age/Gender “Back” Numbers. Competition bib
numbers must be pinned on the front of the outermost layer of clothing that you will be wearing in the race.
They should be worn as issued and not be folded or cut. All Masters entered in the USA Masters 8 km
Championships must also wear an age/gender “back” number pinned to the back of the outermost layer of
clothing that they are wearing in the race. Please use 4 pins to affix the “back” number in such a manner that
it is visible to any runner behind them and will not flip up. Any competitor failing to wear a competition bib
number on the front and a visible age/gender “back” number will be subject to disqualification. If your packet
is lacking a “back” number, extras will be made available at packet pick-up and at the start line.
5) Start Time. Each competitor is responsible for knowing the starting time of 7:30 a.m. All competitors are
responsible for being at the starting line at the appointed time with their competition bib number and
age/gender “back” number properly affixed.
6) Packet Pick-up.
Friday 5pm – 8pm Brea Olinda High School, 789 Wildcat Way, Brea, CA
Saturday 2pm – 5pm Embassy Suites Hotel, 900 East Birch St, Brea, CA
7) Start Details. The Master Championship portion of the 8 km will start promptly at 7:30 a.m.
All complete teams must report to the Clerks at the starting line beginning at 7:00 a.m. to verify their team
uniforms. All runners will be checked for proper front bib and back numbers prior to the start. There will be a
two-command start: “On your marks” followed by the firing of the starter’s pistol signaling the start of the
race. All awards are based on “gun time”. Net times may only be used for record purposes.
8) No false start. False starts will not be recalled. Runners who false start are subject to disqualification.
9) Withdrawal for medical reasons. A competitor must retire from the race immediately if directed to do so
by a duly authorized official of the race or by an appropriately identified member of the race medical staff.
10) Eligibility. All Master athletes must be citizens of the United States and eligible to represent the United
States in international competition to be eligible for USATF medals and prize money. In addition, all athletes
entered and competing in the 2014 USA Masters 8 km Championship are required to have a 2014 USATF
membership card.
11) Awards Ceremony. The awards ceremony will take place at 10am at Embassy Suites.
12) Race Day Registration. There will be no USATF championship race day registration.
13) Results. Results will be posted near the finish line as soon as possible. See the Masters Championship
Referee if there are any problems/omissions. There is a one hour protest period once results have been posted.
14) Eligibility.
Clubs
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All clubs must be registered with USATF for 2014. Please submit your club application to your local
Association office.
Only teams consisting of duly accredited representatives of a member club shall be eligible to score as a
team.
All athletes entering as part of a club must be affiliated with that club as part of their USATF online
membership profile (an athlete's current affiliation can be viewed in his/her membership profile and as part
of the online entry process) and meet the requirements of USATF Competition Rule 341.8. Athletes
wishing to change affiliations can make such a request through their local Association (note that this
request must be made by the athlete--see Regulation 4 in the USATF Governance Manual, Section III).
The formation of club teams must meet all of the parameters as noted in Regulations 4 and 6 in the USATF
Governance Manual, Section III and the USATF Rules of Competition, specifically Rule 341.8. This will
be strictly enforced.
Pursuant to Rule 341.8, Master Teams shall represent current member clubs of USATF, verified through the
national office. USATF Association, Regional, or National “all-star” teams are not eligible to compete in
Masters Long Distance Running Team competition. Team members shall be affiliated with the club they are
representing on their USATF membership record prior to entering the competition. Only one athlete per team
(i.e., Club M50+ team) who is a non-resident member of an Association is eligible to compete for a team in that
Association.
All USA Master 8 km Championship Entrants
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All athletes must be U.S. citizens (with the exception of Master athletes, who may also be resident aliens).
All athletes must be 2014 members of USATF in good standing. USATF memberships may be purchased
online, through your local Association Office, or by calling the USATF National Office at 317-713-4665.
Athletes will not be permitted to compete unless they have a 2014 USATF membership and completed the
entry process.
Club affiliation: Athletes must be bona fide members of a 2014 USATF club in order to represent a club
and score team points. All athletes entering as part of a club must be affiliated with that club as part of their
USATF membership (an athlete's current affiliation can be viewed in his/her membership profile and as
part of the online entry process). Athletes wishing to change affiliations can make such a request through
their local Association (note that this request must be made by the athlete--see Regulation 4 in the USATF
Governance Manual, Section III).
Sponsor Affiliation: In addition to a club affiliation, athletes are able to represent one (1) corporate sponsor.
This corporate sponsor must be a registered USATF Corporate Member and be part of the athlete's
membership profile. Corporate Membership applications can be obtained by sending an e-mail to
membership@usatf.org. All sponsor affiliations must be finalized by close of entries. No sponsor changes
will be accepted after this date for the Championships.
Unattached athletes are encouraged to join a local club or create a new club. Contact your local Association
for information on starting your own club. "Unattached/Non-Scoring" athletes (those athletes not with a
registered USATF club) may participate but will not be factored into team scores.
Unless your date of birth/age has already been verified according to your USATF online membership
profile, all entries must be accompanied by a copy of a legal document (passport or birth certificate) in
order to verify date of birth and citizenship. If you have a valid passport at the time of entry, please use a
copy of the information page of your passport as verification of citizenship and birth date. These copies
will not be returned. You must FAX the copy of your passport or birth certificate, with your membership
number, event, and championships name ("USA Masters 8 km Championships") written in it to: USATF
National Office at 317-261-0514 no later than February 13, 2014 by 5:00 p.m. EDT.
There are no performance standards to participate.
USATF member athletes who are citizens of the United States or resident aliens are eligible to compete in
these Championships. However, only U.S. citizens may score for a team or win championship awards.
Prize money is available for U.S. citizens only, per USATF Championship rules.
Athletes must be 40 years or older on the day of competition.
All master athletes must wear an age/gender “back” number showing age division. Runners competing
without back numbers will be subject to disqualification.
15) Masters Team Scoring. Masters Teams for all Road Race Championships shall be scored by time as follows:
The team score shall be the aggregate official time of the scoring members. The team with the lowest aggregate
time is the team winner. Team divisions for both Master Men and Master Women are: 40+, 50+, 60+, 70+ and
80+. All Master Teams – three (3) individuals shall score with a maximum of five (5) individuals declared per
team. Each age division shall be scored separately by adding the official times of the top 3 declared team
finishers. A runner may only be listed on a single team roster. We will score only complete teams.
USATF Rules indicate that when scoring by time:
(a) If a team fails to finish with a complete scoring team (i.e., less than 3 finishers), then that team shall
not be scored. However, the team members who do finish shall be counted as individuals in the race
results and shall be eligible to win individual awards.
(b) Ties between two or more teams within a division shall be resolved by determining which team wins
the most one-on-one match-ups among their 3 scoring members, comparing first runner to first runner,
second to second and third to third. The team that has more wins in these one-on-one match-ups will be
awarded the higher place.
16) Master Team Declarations. Note that only five athletes are allowed to be on the final team declaration per
team respective of team division. If you have listed more than five athletes on your team’s online declaration
form, only the first five listed shall comprise your club's declared scoring team unless you revise your
declaration form. A hard copy revision to final team declarations may be submitted in-person at packet pickup no later than 7pm on Saturday, February 22. Team revision forms will be available at packet pick-up.
Questions should be directed to the Championship Referee.
Please follow these instructions if you need to access the USATF online Club Management Area:
Access to the USATF Club Management Area is available to the person listed as the main contact on your
original yearly member club application form, as well as club coaches and club administrators as designated
by the main club contact. To gain access to your club, e-mail your club's main contact with your name,
individual membership number, and role within the club. Note: access to the Management Area is limited to
those people who are current individual members of USATF. If you joined as a new individual member
instead of renewing, please e-mail your club's main contact person to have your new membership number
attached to your club profile. You can find your club contact information at:
https://www.usatf.org/clubs/search/
* If your club does not appear on the list, it may be because the club hasn't renewed for the current year.
Please contact your local Association for more information.
17) Team Uniforms. The jersey or singlet worn by the members of a team (i.e., San Diego Track Club M50+
“A” team) in Master LDR Championships shall be basically identical for each member in color and style,
and must be clearly visible throughout the race, i.e., worn as the outer garment if other apparel items
are worn underneath by one or more team members. Individuals not complying with this uniform rule
may be disqualified from scoring for a team. If a club has an “A” team and a “B” team in the same age
division then please see the Referee for identifying tags if both teams uniforms are the same.
18) 2013 USA Masters 8 km Championships Awards and Prize Money.
Prize money, medals and plaques will be presented at the awards ceremony at the Finish Line Fest tailgate area
immediately following the race.
USATF Championship medals will be awarded to the top 3 places in each 5-year individual age division for both
Master Men and Women beginning at 40-44 and continuing to the age group of the oldest finisher. USATF
Championship Medals will also be awarded to the top 3 Age Graded Master Men and Master Women and the top 3
Overall Master Men and Master Women. In addition, USATF Championship medals will be awarded to the declared
members of the top 3 teams in each team division (40+, 50+, 60+, 70+ and 80+) for both Master Men and Master
Women. Team plaques will also be awarded to the top 3 teams in each team division. A minimum of $17,000 in
prize money will be awarded as indicated above to USATF Master Runners appropriately entered in the USATF
Masters Championship competition. Awards and Prize Money are available for U.S. citizens only, per USATF
Championship rules. Masters shall be allowed to win awards in all categories (e.g., overall, age group, age graded
and team) if they so qualify.
Prize Money
Top Age-Graded USATF Masters Finishers - $3,500
Top 5 Age-Graded Men
Top 5 Age-Graded Women
1st
$500
1st
$500
2nd
$400
2nd
$400
3rd
$350
3rd
$350
4th
$300
4th
$300
5th
$200
5th
$200
Top Overall USATF Masters Finishers - $1,500
Men
Women
1st
$300
1st
$300
2nd
$250
2nd
$250
3rd
$200
3rd
$200
Age - Groups - $2,000
Men
1st
$100
Team Prize Money - $3,500
Men
40+
1st
$225
2nd
$125
50+
1st
$225
2nd
$125
60+
1st
$225
2nd
$125
70+
1st
$225
2nd
$125
80+
1st
$225
2nd
$125
90+
1st
$225
2nd
$125
Women
1st
Women
40+
50+
60+
70+
80+
90+
$100
1st
2nd
1st
2nd
1st
2nd
1st
2nd
1st
2nd
1st
2nd
$225
$125
$225
$125
$225
$125
$225
$125
$225
$125
$225
$125
There will be a total of $10,000 awarded for the 2014 USA Masters 8 km Championships.
Double-dipping, triple dipping and quadruple-dipping are of course, permitted and expected.
19) Drug Testing. All competitors (including master competitors) are eligible for “in-competition” drug testing.
Any questions regarding prescriptions or other over-the-counter medication should contact The United States
Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) at 1-888-233-0393.
Note: If the 2014 USA Masters 8 km Championship is selected for drug testing, prize money checks will be mailed
following our receipt of the drug testing results. The race has no control over when the results of the drug tests are
released, and we cannot release the prize money until we have official results as it can directly affect the distribution
amounts.
23) Additional Notes:
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Only citizens of the United States or resident aliens are eligible to compete in these
Championships. However, only U.S. citizens may score or win championship medals.
Athletes must be 40 years or older on the day of competition.
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All athletes must be members of USATF in good standing. USATF memberships may be purchased online,
through your local Association Office, or by calling the USATF National Office at 317-713-4665.
There are no performance standards to participate.
Master athletes shall be allowed to win awards in all categories. (e.g., overall, age group, team, age-graded,
etc.)
24) Protests concerning the result or conduct of an event shall be made to the Referee at once and not later than one
hour after the announcement/posting of the results.