Coaches,
I wanted to alert you that the High School portion of the Pirate XC Invite at Lake Kristi has been cancelled due to some circumstances beyond my control. The college meet is still a go for Sept 23. Download college meet entry info
As you know, we have held this meet every year since 1997 in conjunction with ECU's Collegiate Pirate Invite. Last year, due to some changes in NCAA rules, we were forced to move the college meet to a different date, as the HS and college meets could not be held in conjunction (which is why I stepped up to coordinate the meet under the direction of my track club). In spite of that change, ECU's Track/XC teams were still able to provide the needed manpower to make this event happen.
ECU's coaches were informed by their administration this week that they and their athletes are no longer allowed to participate in the conducting of high school meets. In my conversations with ECU's coaches it was evident that they were disappointed with the administrations decision, but understandably they have to abide by the decision. That said, the short notice has left us in a position where we needed to cancel now rather than waiting a couple of weeks from now as we attempted to pull together the necessary resources.
It takes a lot of manpower to provide parking, course marshals, course setup/cleanup, and finish line staff for a meet this size. With less than three weeks to go we are not able to secure the manpower needed to pull the meet off. In addition to the short time frame, there are a couple of other factors involved. One, ECU has a home football game that afternoon, so that limits the availability of obtaining another group to provide manpower. Secondly, since Lake Kristi is private property, there are a few other factors involved with assuring that property is properly maintained, coordinating responsibilities, and making sure liability issues are covered. This is important because we want to be able to continue using Lake Kristi for future meets! ECU's coaches have done a large part of the work in covering all of these details in the past.
It is our intention to resume the meet next year, once we have had a year to obtain a group to provide the needed volunteers, and have sufficient time to ensure all of our bases are covered. We are committed to continuing our efforts to promote high school cross country in Eastern North Carolina!
I apologize for the short notice, and hope that you understand the position we are in. If you have any questions please let me know!
Thanks!
Charlie "Coach Choo" Justice
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