AGN - LEAGUE

Aim of the league systems

To develop and encourage a sound spirit of competition between runners and especially their clubs with the objective to improve running performances and greater participation in road races.
 
The league structures
 
Currently there are 4 separate leagues in operation and they are:
 
Road Running:     Participation League.    Super League (Men)    Super League (Women)
Race Walking:     Race Walking League
 
1. Road Running Participation League
 
1.1 The League Structure
 
This league is divided up into three divisions. Divisions 1 and 2 are each comprised of twenty clubs. The remaining clubs are in Division 3 and can vary as new clubs are registered with Athletics Gauteng North.
 
The league is over a calendar year and at the end of each league season there is automatic promotion and relegation. The top two clubs from divisions 2 and 3 move up to divisions 1 and 2 respectively. The bottom 2 clubs from divisions 1 and 2 are relegated to divisions 2 and 3 respectively.
 
1.2 The League Points System
 
Points are earned by each registered AGN club athlete. It is therefore important in league races that AGN athletes indicate that their club is a Gauteng North club. Failure to do this could lose valuable points for their club.
 
The number of points earned by each athlete is based on gender, age category, race distance and time. A minimum 1 point is earned by every athlete who's name appears on the official set of results. 
 
1.3 The League Handicap System
 
In order to level the playing field between big and small clubs, a handicap factor is applied to the total number of points that each club has earned. This handicap is based on the number of licences, as at the end of the month prior to the league race, that a club has bought from AGN. The minimum number of licences that is used in the handicap calculation is 35.  Please note it is not based on the number of licences that the club has sold to members.
 
Once the total handicap points have been calculated (The total number of points earned x 200 / number of licenses bought), the clubs in each division are sorted in descending order based on their number of handicap points. Clubs in divisions 1 and 2 are then each allocated from 20 down to 1 "league point". In division 3 they are allocated from 40 points down. These "league points" then go in to the league log and are used to determine the relative league standing as the league season progresses.
 
2. Road Running Super League (Men) and Super League (Women)
 
2.1 The League Structure
 
These two leagues are over a calendar year and they are the same races as the Participation League races.
 
2.2 The League Points System
 
Points can only be earned by registered AGN club athletes. The first 50 AGN men and the first 25 AGN women to finish per distance qualify for points. The first AGN man to finish will earn 50 points, the next 49 and so on down to 1 point, whilst the first AGN woman to finish will earn 25 points, the next 24 and so on down to 1 point.
 
Once the points per club have been calculated, the clubs are sorted in descending order based on their number of points. Clubs are then each allocated from 50 down to 1 "league point".
 
3. Race Walking League
 
3.1 The League Structure
 
This league takes place over a calendar year.
 
3.2 The League Points System
 

• Only Agn registered athletes qualify for league points.

• The league is based on the points scored per club.

• In multi-distance races, the number of athletes and points are combined.

• A maximum number of 10 athletes per club is used for points calculation.

• Clubs that have more than 10 athletes that finish a race will default to 2 or more teams with the highest 10 points scored being allocated to the ‘1st’ team and the next 10 or less points scored being allocated to the ‘2nd’ team.

• Once the points have been calculated for each club, a sort is done, listing the clubs from most to least number of points. The club with the highest number of points will then be allocated 50 league points, the next 49 points and so on down.

• The athletes whose points make up the top 10 points in one league race will not necessarily be the same 10 athletes in the next walking league race.

• For example club “A” has 8 finishers and 40pts (8, 7, 7, 5, 5, 3, 3, 2) in the 10km and 4 finishers and 21pts (9, 6, 3, 3) in the 21km. The total number of athletes is 12 and the total number of points is 61. The top 10 points will be allocated to the ‘1st’ team. In this example 9, 8, 7, 7, 6, 5, 5, 3, 3 and 3 giving a total of 56 points. The ‘2nd’ team will then be allocated 5 points.

• The league points table is available upon request. This table allocates points to each athlete who finishes a race. The number of points is dependant on gender, age category, distance and finishing time. A minimum of 1 point is allocated to everyone whose name is on the official set of results.