McCain Race Walking Challenge

When was the McCain UKA Race Walking Challenge created?

In 2007, when UK Athletics launched it as a new competitive structure for race walking, to bring about more appropriate and meaningful competition for athletes and to elongate the season for top club athletes.

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 through to the Final in September.
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 many events are involved?

The UKA Race Walking Challenge for 2009 involves a total of 7 events including a Final during the course of the season and is created through a number of existing competitions. Existing competition providers have chosen to be part of this increasingly prestigious series to form links across a number of events.

The events are as follows:-

4th April Molly Barnet and CAU Inter County Championships, Coventry

12th April National 20km RWA/UKA Champs Shrewsbury

26th April National 50km RWA/UKA Champs Stockton-on-Tees

24th-25th May CAU Inter Counties 3km Bedford

28th June EAA Grand Prix, Dublin 20km Dublin

10th-12th July AVIVA National Championships 5km Birmingham

3rd September Final – McCain UK Race Walking Challenge Final Leeds

How does the McCain UKA Race Walking Challenge work?

Throughout the season athletes will have the chance to register their 3 best performances and these will be converted into points and displayed in a rankings system. Even if you compete at all the qualifying events it will still only be your best 3 scores that count.

Athletes take this overall score into the Final. At the Final an athletes score will be calculated based on their performance and multiplied by a factor of 1.5. This score is then added to their previous points total and the athletes with the highest number of points will be awarded the prizes and the titles of McCain UKA Race Walking Challenge Champions for 2009.

How are the points calculated?

McCain UK Challenge points tables have been produced specifically for the McCain UKA Race Walking Challenge. The results will be taken from each meet and converted into points and displayed in the McCain UKA Race Walking Challenge Rankings.

Men and Women will be scored separately.

How can an athlete check their rankings?

The McCain UKA Race Walking Challenge rankings are readily available and can be accessed via the UKA 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 performances.