Norfolk County Show Ground, Norwich - Saturday 18th March 2017
The 57th Boys and 49th Girls New Balance English Schools' Cross Country Championship is to take place at
Norfolk County Showground on Saturday 18th March 2017.
Find all information about the Showground,
and how to get there.
Google Earth: simply search for Norfolk County Showground.

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Click the map to find Norfolk County Showground
To find directions from your home to the showground, enter postcode NR5 0TT as the destination.
From the North and West follow the A47 East to the Norwich Southern Bypass at the A1074 Longwater Interchange.
From the South and East take the A11 from London and beyond or A140 from Ipswich,
take the A47 westbound and follow the signs for Norfolk Showground and English Schools Cross Country Event.
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Parking
There will be yellow AA signs giving directions to the public parking areas. Public parking and coach parking will be
within the showground, postcode NR5 0TT. There will be a charge of £5 per car, which includes a programme.
See the site layout shown below for details.
Note that Norwich City will be playing at home and most of the football traffic will also
be travelling along the A47, so please allow plenty of time to get there.
Disabled Access
Reserved parking space will allocated as close to the finish as possible.
You need to reserve your space before the event. Blue badge holders who wish to apply for a car park pass should
email Paul Allison (allison.pa@nottinghamhigh.co.uk) Please provide your car registration number and email address and a pass with be emailed.
Timetable
9.00 am - | Championship site open
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9.30 am - | Course open for inspection
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10.00 am - | Declarations open |
10.30 am - | Officials meeting |
12.00 am - | Declarations Close and Championship Course should be cleared |
12.30 pm - | Intermediate Girls Championship
Followed by the Individual Presentation |
1.00 pm - | Junior Boys Championship
Followed by the Individual Presentation |
1.30 pm - | Junior Girls Championship
Followed by the Individual Presentation |
2.00 pm - | Intermediate Boys Championship
Followed by the Individual Presentation |
2.35 pm - | Senior Girls Championship
Followed by the Individual Presentation |
3.05 pm - | Senior Boys Championship
Followed by the Individual Presentation |
Presentations
It is envisaged that the Team Race presentations will take place
during the afternoons races.
There will be announcements made to keep you aware of the times of
the Team Race presentations.
Championship notes for the start of each race
Competitors should assemble in the marquee behind the start area in plenty of time before their race.
Competitors will be allowed into the start area 5 minutes before the beginning of each race.
A warning will be given 3 minutes before each race. At this time, competitors should assemble behind their start pen.
With 1 minute to go competitors will be instructed to move into their start pen and line up in race order by the Start Stewards.
Competitors should listen carefully to any last moment instructions given by the Starter.
The start will be by gun.
Numbers must be securely pinned on the front of the County vest. Any mutilation or folding of these numbers may lead to disqualification
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Site Layout and Course Map
Race distances are approximate and are subject to change depending on ground conditions.

County Coaches
As with any cross country
event, athletes need to be
aware that they might very easily finish the day quite muddy, so they must ensure that they have a clean
change of clothing and footwear so that they can be allowed back on their team coach - coach companies really
don't appreciate having their brand new coach seats and floors being wrecked! We recommend bringing suffient plastic
bags to wrap up any kit that might cause damage to any coach interior.
Notes for Parents
Competing for your County Team can be a life-changing experience for children. For some, it is a
stepping stone to future glory. For many, it will be the pinnacle of achievement.
For parents who may be concerned about what exactly is involved, we have prepared a
document detailing
what to expect, what not to expect, and a few indications of how things are, and why.
Only athletes and their County team managers are permitted in the start and finish areas.
All ESAA events are conducted under the rules of UK Athletics (now referred to as British Athletics). You can find
all their rules at www.british.athletics.org.uk.
Permissible Clothing
The ESAA Competition Rule 7 [i.e. that applies to ALL ESAA competitions] in the ESAA Handbook states:
- In all Championships competitors must wear at least vest and shorts (or equivalent clothing) in registered County Colours
which are clean and so designed and worn, as not to be objectionable even if wet. All visible clothing must conform with registered
County colours.
To deal with some specific queries therefore:
- Cropped bra tops are not vests by definition and therefore not permitted. Vests by definition must reach the waist at least.
- Shorts or briefs (in County colours) are the norm for girls. Similarly cycle type lycra shorts, as long as they are
shorts and not leggings, are permitted, but only if they are in the registered County colours.
- Leggings by definition covering the leg below the knee, and body suits or tights, are not vests or shorts and are therefore not permitted.
- County Colours are those defined by, and issued by, the County Association, not just an approximation of the
colours. For instance, if the County Colours are red with blue shorts the red must be the same shade red and
the blue must be the same shade blue as those issued by the County.
The main problems in the past have been the wearing of cycle type shorts that are not in County colours, and worn under the correct
coloured shorts but clearly visible. This especially applies to the boys where the cycle type shorts are longer that the
County shorts. However, if the shorts are the lycra type and do not cover the knees then these are allowed, as long as they are
in the registered County colours (ie. the same colour as the County colours, not an approximation to them).
The pictures here indicate the sort of clothing that will result in athletes not being allowed to compete.
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Anti-Doping
All ESAA competitions are subject to the strict anti-doping policies of British Athletics and IAAF. Further
information can be found
on the ESAA anti-doping page.
Health & Safety
Athletes are advised that Health & Safety regulations recommend that you should examine the course for
potential hazards before competing.
The course will be checked by the organisers and a risk assessment conducted. A final inspection will be made on the morning of the event and any
issues arising will be addressed then.
The course is on mixed-use land which is grazed by farm animals. As a matter of normal daily life,
we advise that athletes and spectators check
that they are
up to date with anti-tetanus injections - don't forget that you need a booster jab every 10 years.
Any competitor who has concerns about a safety aspect on the course should bring it to the attention of the
organisers immediately. If the issue cannot be resolved satisfactorily, the competitor will be advised
not to participate in the event.
Photographs and Videos
Photographs of ESAA events might be published in the athletics press, local media, and on this website.
All ESAA photographs are taken in accordance with the
guidelines relating to photos in schools published by the Information Commissioner with regard to the Data Protection Act 1998.
Photographs and videos can be taken by the public from public areas for
personal use only. They may not be published in any form
(including on personal or club websites) without written permission from the ESAA.
Most ESAA competitions are held on private land and are therefore deemed to be 'not public' areas. All ESAA events
are SCHOOL events and are therefore covered by regulations governing what can and can't be done in schools.
One important
point therefore is that you are not allowed to take photographs of school activities for commercial
publication without specific written permission from event organisers. This is no different to the fact that one
cannot simply walk onto a school playing field and start taking and publishing photos - most parents, and the
Information Commissioner, would strongly
agree that school activities should not be published unless publication is under strict control.
Photographers at ESAA events wishing to publish photos in the media or in any other form (eg. internet websites),
or wishing to use them for anything other than personal use
must be officially registered and accredited by the ESAA, and register the use to which photos will be put,
and to obtain permission for that use. Permission WILL be retrospectively withdrawn if anyone is found to be
in breach of the uses which they registered with us, and under such circumstances, the offender will be required to
delete all images they hold from our events.
This therefore precludes operators who simply turn up, make videos, then publish them with associated advertising
which is outside of our control. No one has permission to do this unless they have
written consent from the ESAA.
We are aware that some people register themselves as press photographers then publish complete videos of our
events online, and even make their broadcasts available for sale.
This is very specifically not allowed. In effect, they are broadcasting companies making
television programmes without our permission. It doesn't matter how they publish their content,
whether by television over the air or via the internet, or via DVD.
The fact they broadcast our event content to the world makes them broadcasters.
To be an accreditted broadcaster for the
ESAA, they need to be properly established companies, properly registered and regulated by the broadcasting
authorities, and they need to be properly registered with the Information Commissioner. Also, in order to sell
their content they need to have been given written permission to sell what is our copyright, and pay the necessary
royalties due to us. They also need to comply with the UK Distance Selling Regulations in order to take payments
from the public. There is also the very important fact that under the rules of UK athletics, televised athletics events
in the UK need to be authorised by the UK Governing Body. The ESAA operates under these rules.
A list of officially accredited photographers will be published on this website shortly after the event
along with their contact details.
It is not possible to prevent photographs of any particular individual from appearing in the media.
If this is a problem for you, you are advised not to take part in the event.
If any parent wishes a particular picture of their child appearing on this website to be removed
please contact us and we will do our best to resolve any problem.