Competition Outline
When was the McCain UK Challenge created?
In 2005, UK Athletics launched a new competitive structure for the outdoor season, the UK Challenge. The ideas came from a group of volunteers within the sport who worked alongside UK Athletics to bring about more appropriate and meaningful competition for athletes and to elongate the season for top club athletes.
Through a combination of quality existing events as well and newly devised competitions to concentrate on building strength in depth within the specific disciplines, the branded series provided a focus for the season for Britain’s top club athletes and aspiring internationals and was introduced to create a structured pathway from the beginning of the season in May through to the end of August.
What are its objectives?
- To provide the strata of British athletes just below that of our international standard with effective, professional competition from the beginning of the season in May through to the Final in August.
- To provide wider competition opportunities and focus for the season for aspiring athletes.
- To provide quality competition for athletes who may not otherwise have the opportunity to compete against each other.
- To provide competition that covers the whole of the UK.
How does the Challenge work?
Throughout the season athletes will have the chance to register their 4 best performances and these will be converted into points. After the last qualifying event those ranked in the top eight in each event will be invited to compete at the UK Challenge Final, to be potentially crowned as one of the 34 UK Challenge Champions for 2009.
How many and which events are in the Challenge?
The total of 46 events have been created through a number of existing competitions and new initiatives such as the Event Specifics. Existing competition providers have chosen to be part of this increasingly prestigious series to form a link across a number of events during the season. The events are spread across the 4 Home Countries including their own National Championships.
A number of well established events are also included such as the Loughborough International, CAU Championships and BIG 2009. The Aviva Trials & National Championships are also included as are the BAL/UKWL fixtures and the BMC Nike Grand Prix’s.
As there are a number of opportunities this gives athletes every possible chance to achieve their `Fantastic Four` performances and see where this places them into the UK Challenge Rankings.
How are the points calculated?
An example of how the athlete’s performances are converted into points is outlined below:
Men
50 points 100 points 200 points 250 points
100m 11.05 10.80 10.30 10.05
1500m 3:54.00 3:49.00 3:39.00 3.34.00
Long Jump 6.70 7.10 7.90 8.30
Hammer 41.00m 51.00m 71.00m 81.00m
Women
400m 58.75 56.75 52.75 50.75
5000m 18:10.00 17:20.00 15:40.00 14:50.00
High Jump 1.56m 1.66m 1.86m 1.96m
Shot 10.00m 12.50m 17.50m 20.00m
If an athlete also sets a PB, P10 National mark, breaks a UK Challenge Record or wins one of the 46 Qualifying events they will receive bonus points.
An athletes best 4 performances across the series (4 highest scoring performances) or commonly known as the `Fantastic Four` will be used as a basis to calculate their overall score. This points total will then be used as a basis to calculate athletes final placing in the rankings.
In certain events, due to the limited number of opportunities across the Challenge, less than 4 performances will be considered with an example being the Steeplechase's.
As outlined later, an athlete may then potentially be invited to compete at the Final.
How can an athlete check their rankings?
The UK Challenge rankings are readily available and can be accessed via the link at the top of this page or by clicking here to visit the Power of 10 website. The rankings are updated after each event and an athlete’s current placing will be shown based on the scores derived from their ‘Fantastic Four’ performances. An athlete’s progress or decline in the rankings is shown by a directional arrow indicating their current status.
Are there individual event prizes?
During the course of the 13 weeks and 46 events there are various prizes awarded to the athletes.
- McCain UK £5K Golden Challenge
- McCain UKC Class Champions
- £100 Crew
- Monthly Prize
What do the finalists win?
McCain UK Challenge Final 2009 – Saturday 15th August, Cardiff
The Top 8 athletes ranked in the UK Challenge rankings with their Fantastic Four, following the last qualifying event on the 8th August will be invited to compete at the Final. If those invited athletes are unable to compete then the next highest ranked athlete, assuming they have 4 best performances, will be invited. This process will continue until 8 athletes have accepted. Athletes with less than 4 performances maybe invited to the Final however they will only be `Guesting` at the Final and will not be considered for prize money.
The full Olympic schedule will be timetabled for the Final. Each athlete at the Final will be offered the following benefits:-
- Title of `McCain UK Challenge Champion 2009` and added to the UKC Roll of Honour.
- Prize Money, approx £30,000
As part of our ambitions to drive up the level of performances we will be introducing a `Performance Related Prize` structure for the Final. This will include a set amount for Positions 1 - 4, however there will be an additional amount that can be won if the Performance Related Prize criteria is met.
Further details will be announced soon.
The Final will be organised and presented as a first class competition.
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