Please review the following document carefully because it directly effects how you should make race entries and how RA's accept race entries.

VARA Race Entry Policy

1. The preferred method of entry for VARA level races is by one email sent from each club that is attending the race. This email should be an accurate list of the athletes that will be attending and should be sent by a coach who will be attending the race, or by a suitably responsible representative of that club (head coach, club secretary). The entry should include athletes full name and USSA number as well as contact info for the coach attending the race. All race organizers are expected to accept this form of entry.
2. All athletes appearing on a coach’s emailed entry will be allowed to pay at registration without incurring a late fee.
3. Athletes who will be appearing on a coach’s entry MUST be notified by that coach of the entry and discouraged from sending entries by other methods (multiple faxes, phone calls, etc...)
4. The race organizer SHOULD confirm by email the receipt of all emailed entries by 7pm of the day that they are received (starting five days before the race.)
5. The organization sending an emailed entry list is responsible for the payment of all of those entries. The full entry fee for DNS athletes appearing on emailed coach’s lists will be billed to the club sending that entry. That fee must be paid to the host club.
6. A voucher received by the prescribed deadline that includes full payment must be accepted as valid entry to any VARA/USSA level race.
7. Individual athletes who fax, mail, phone, email, etc. their own individual entries without payment or not received by the prescribed deadline will be subject to any late fee that the race organizer decides to set, within the limits already laid out in the existing VARA/USSA rules. Independent athletes, (who cannot be represented by a coach) may email their entries, but will be subject to the same penalties applied to team athletes who do not abide by the entry policies prescribed here.
8. Entries will be accepted on a first come basis according to established deadlines, up to that maximum field size. Remember that participating clubs are required to pay the entry fee for any of their DNS athletes. All pre-paid US mail (or delivered) entries must be accepted ahead of unpaid similar entries. Athletes and coaches may pull entries according to current rules in the case of injury or other unexpected situations. VARA member competitors will take priority for VARA/USSA races. In the event the field is full prior to the entry deadline, out of state racers may be pulled. Out of state racers will be pulled in an order determined by: last entry received is the first entry pulled.
9. If the maximum field size is reached when processing all of the entries from one club, that club will be informed that they must decide internally how they are going to fill their available spots. For example: for a maximum field size of 200, a race-administrator has entered 180 athletes in the order that their entries were received. The next entry in chronological order contains 40 athletes. The club that sent that list will be contacted and told that they must reduce their list down to 20 athletes of their choosing.
10. Programs that have athletes in a race closed because of field size may withdraw but not substitute athletes up to 48 hours before the day of the race. Any spots opened because of withdrawals will go to the next chronological entry. Ultimately this is up to race organizer how they want to deal with this but it must be stated on the website before race day registration
11. It is up to the race organizer as to whether or not race day substitutions/additions will be made at all, but it must be determined before the race and posted on their club info link on the VARA Website.
12. IT IS THE CLUB COACH RESPONSIBILITY TO NOTIFY THE HOST SITE ANY ATHLETE WITHDRAWLS IN A TIMELY MANNER OTHERWISE THE PROGRAM WILL BE BILLED THE ENTRY FEE!!!!
13. All race results must display the club affiliation of each athlete.
14. It is up to the race hosts to forward bad check names to the next race site and the VARA office should be copied.
15. For J3 and younger Council races, there will be a rolling entry policy. That is, each Council will maintain a list of athletes that have participated at that level and will distribute that list in a useful format to the organization hosting the next race. If an athlete has raced previously, they will continue to appear on future start lists unless they specifically request to be permanently removed from the master list. Race organizers will accept additional entries (including day-of-race) and will make the list-coordinator aware of those additions.
16. There will be a review at the completion of the season regarding host sites and those sites not in compliance with VARA/USSA policy will be noted.

(REV12/04)