The South Carolina Cross Country Coaches Association announced course changes to the new course used for several high profile meets in the state.
**scrunners is working with management to shoot a course video of the new course.
From SCTCCCA: We have had a good bit of discussion, and the course layout has been redesigned for all meets at the location moving forward based on the priorities listed below:
1. We want to ensure that the athletes have a safe and fair course on which to race.
2. We want to be sure that our use of the facility does not negatively affect the facility itself .
3. We want the athletes to have a good race experience while maintaining that safe and fair course environment.
4. We want the spectators and coaches to be able to access the facility safely.
5. We want coaches and spectators to be able to view as much of the course as possible, with priority on the finish line of the course.
We will be making the following changes to the course and meet management based on those priorities:
· The course will follow the new map that has been attached. This will allow for easier access to the mile and two-mile marks, and allow for coaches to get to the finish line when needed. It will also eliminate the super long stretches of straight-line running (as much as possible). We'd like to thank Rich Wideman from Darlington for the new suggested layout- as it addresses many of the issues.
· The new course layout allows for foot traffic to flow from the tent area in the infield to the grandstand without crossing the course. This will remedy a lot of the issues we had on Saturday. Blue lines on the map indicate foot traffic paths.
· Springdale will be opening the other two restroom facilities and we will order four more portajohns for restroom use. This allows for over 20 stalls per gender in the middle restrooms, 4-6 stalls on each side restroom, and restrooms at the grandstand for spectators. This compares to 12 total portajohns that were in use at the last state championship.
· Buses will enter through the gate on the opposite side of the facility as shown on the map and will park on the backside. This allows for a shorter distance for teams to travel to the tent area, and hopefully, teams will set up in the middle of that field so PA announcements can be heard.
· Issues with water access at the finish line will be handled- all issues happened due to miscommunication with a new training staff that we had not used before.
· We are in the process of trying to locate 1-2 more gators to be able to pick up injured athletes. The proximity of the course to the training area will help this issue as well.
· Because we are moving the buses, we will be able to access two entry points for cars, and this should speed up the parking process.
After a discussion with the facility, we can not change the length of the grass in the areas where horses will race this spring. We are investigating if we can cut the course a little shorter in the areas where horses are not racing.
The new course will be run for Spring Valley's CiCi's Invitational on October 26, and for the Mid-State AAAAA and A/AA Qualifiers. We realize it is not ideal to change the course between Coaches Classic and State, but the SCTCCCA board agreed unanimously (along with multiple responses from coaches, parents, spectators, and some people that weren't even there) that this was best for our athletes.
