Competition Outline
When was the 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 its end in early September.
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 2008.
How many and which events are in the Challenge?
The total of 42 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 such as the Northern Ireland Championships, Northern Ireland, Scottish National Champs, Scotland and the Welsh Senior Championships.
A number of well established events are also included such as the Loughborough International, CAU Championships, BIG 2008 and LEAP 2008. The Norwich Union Trials are also included.
Also included are the BAL and UKWL fixtures and the BMC Nike Grand Prix’s.
In order for athletes to focus on their particular events there are also included two Event Specific Competitions, JumpsFest and ThrowsFest.
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 42 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 Steeplechases.
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 UK Athletics website www.ukathletics.net. 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 12 weeks and 42 events there are various prizes awarded to the athletes.
What do the finalists win?
UK Challenge Final 2008 – Saturday 9th August
The Top 8 athletes ranked in the UK Challenge rankings with their Fantastic Four, following the last qualifying event on the 2nd 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 `UK Challenge Champion 2008` and added to the UKC Roll of Honour
- Prize Money
1st Place:- £400
2nd Place:- £250
3rd Place:- £150
4th Place:- £100
5th Place:- £50
If an athlete also sets an improved UK P10 National Mark or achieves one for the first time they will compete for their individual Challenge points score as points = £’s, however they must win their event at the Final.
The Final will be organised and presented as a first class competition.
