A new competition starts tomorrow. Here’s a list of four things you need to know.
1. It’s embedded within the LUCA XC League
The new competition is embedded within the LUCA XC League. Similar to the University of London Championships and Bannister Cup, relevant results are extracted from the race results. You don’t need to do anything differently when registered and captains don’t need to worry about filling out any forms. As with all LUCA competitions, athletes need to be registered before the race.
2. It’s for your ‘A-Teams’
The purpose of the competition is to award the top ranked club at the end of each season. The ranking is based on the performances of the two ‘A-Teams; in each race. We compare the position of each A-Team in the men’s and women’s races. The top six teams in each race get points (6,5,4,3,2,1).
Comparing the placement of the ‘A’ teams, we award points (6,5,4,3,2,1) in the men’s and women’s race and then total them for each club. Hence, if a club finished top in both the men’s and women’s races, they would get 12 points.
Example scoring
| Men’s Race | Mike Baggs Positions | Points | Women’s Race | Mike Baggs Positions | Points | |
| SMU A | SMU A | 6 | UCL A | UCL A | 6 | |
| SMU B | ICL A | 5 | UCL B | SMU A | 5 | |
| ICL A | UCL A | 4 | SMU A | KCL A | 4 | |
| UCL A | KCL A | 3 | SMU B | ICL A | 3 | |
| ICL B | KCL A | |||||
| KCL A | ICL A |
We extract the A-Teams and compare them head-to-head. The top six A-Teams in each gender category score.
Example total points
| SMU | 11 |
| UCL | 10 |
| ICL | 8 |
| KCL | 7 |
We then sum the scores of each club’s A-Teams.
3. It’s named after a late XC league Secretary
Mike Baggs is the longest serving Secretary of the London Colleges League (which became the LUCA XC League in 2015). He was secretary for 31 consecutive years between 1980 and 2011. He returned to watch the league final in spring of 2014 and 2015. He passed away in January 2016. Baggs was a UCL graduate and worked at the University for many years. He was a stalwart of London University athletics.
4. They’ll be a new trophy
To honor Mike’s memory, the alumni club Motspur AC has been fundraising for a new trophy baring Mike’s name. Fundraising will continue into January. You can donate here.
