Welcome back! Event Specific Series relaunches for 2021 season as we respond to survey

Tuesday 25th May 2021

Event Specific Series page of the website
Full results of the Athlete Survey (downloadable pdf)

We’re delighted to announce that the scottishathletics Event Specific Series is to make a return for Summer 2021.

Based on feedback from our Athlete Survey, we have made some changes to the format for 2021 to ensure it meets the requirements of those competing.

Key features will include:

Running from May to end of August 2021
Athletes’ performances are converted into points using Scotstats tables.
Best 3 performances count towards an individual score
Participation Tables – every score counts towards club overall score
Performance Tables – best 30 scoring members per club, 15 Male and 15 Female
League Format: 3 Tiers of 20 Clubs, remainder in Tier 4 – 5 clubs promoted and 5 relegated at the end of the season.

Included in the Event Specific Series are all scottishathletics championships and we are delighted to confirm that all Championships are scheduled to take place as planned, with the exception of the Senior 10,000m Track Championships.

Following discussions with the Track & Field Commission a suitable date and venue for this event could not be identified.

The Championships season will kick off on Friday 4 June with the U17 and U20 3000m Championships in Glasgow hosted by the Glasgow Athletics Association.

National Events Manager Alasdhair Love said: ‘League format in the traditional sense is unable to happen this summer due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

‘With the success of virtual events over the last 12 months in not only road running but also SUPERteams for our youngest athletes and the Together Apart District concept, we feel now is an ideal opportunity to relaunch the innovative competition format for clubs to compete and compare their strength on a national level through utilising local competition opportunities.”

Above and main picture: 4J Studios National Open Series at Meadowmill, 29 Aug 2020: By Bobby Gavin

Survey results – you spoke, we listened

The changes made to the Event Specific Series this year are in response to the results of the scottishathletics Athlete Survey carried out in June 2020. Among the things requested by respondents were –

A mixture of informal, relaxed, “social” competition and high-quality competitive events throughout the season.
High-quality local opportunities at all levels from open graded meetings to Championships regardless of where in Scotland the athlete lives.
Competitive opportunities that can retain a team/social element.
Well-organised events that create an atmosphere conducive to producing PB performances

The 2021 scottishathletics Event Specific Series attempts to cater for these requests by:

Including all Together Apart Districts fixtures in May 2021 as part of the series, allowing for relaxed social competition to be included.
All UK Athletics Level 2 licenced events are also included. This means Glasgow Athletics Association meetings, Joint League meetings and all Scottish Championships.
Publishing a full list of fixtures detailing where, when and which events are included will support athletes’ choice and personal competition planning.
The 2021 series will incorporate a league format of 3 divisions based on 2019 Event Specific Series results, with promotion and relegation between divisions providing a season-long team element.
The scottishathletics Events Team is continually reviewing and updating events guidance to provide support for event organisers to stage quality competition at all levels.

Tags: Event Specific Series, Event Specific Series 2021, Track and Field