CCAA Cross Country Running National Championships
Championnats canadiens de courses de cross-country de l'ACSC
Past Championships
History
History and Future of CCAA Cross Country Running
The inaugural CCAA Cross Country Running Championship was held in November, 2002. Alberta Colleges had been trying to get a Canadian College XC Running Championship started since the 1980's. Since being established, it has been exciting to watch it continue to grow.
Pre-CCAA era: In about 1987, RDC Athletic Director and CCAA Executive member, Laurel Goodacre, asked other Conference representatives if there was interest in a Canadian College Cross Country Running Championship. We received enthusiastic letters from both Glenn Harkness, XC coach at Mohawk College in OCAA and Yves Paquette, Director General of FQSE. At a CCAA AGM hosted by MacEwan College in Edmonton, the CCAA Executive was supportive, including long time and still serving executive member June Lumsden from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax saying they may surprise us, even though there was no XC Running program in ACAA at that time. Starting in about 1992, several ACAC Colleges starting travelling to compete with BCCAA Colleges in an "Interprovincial College" XC Running Championship. The first year, we met in Kamloops and competed with a team from Royal Roads Military College. Subsequent "Interprovincial " College XC Running Championships were held again in Kamloops, then Castlegar, about six consecutive years in Kelowna and then in 2001 in Red Deer. In 2001, we learned that we could indeed host Championship XC meets in Alberta in November and that, if it snows, we can shovel off the course and still have an excellent race site.
The start of CCAA XC Running: The first CCAA Open Cross Country Running Championship was initially approved for Fanshawe College in 2002. Fanshawe Athletic Director Mike Lindsay sent email requests to CCAA Colleges soliciting interest and got next to no replies. Fanshawe decided to cancel based on the perceived lack of interest. Attempting to keep what appeared to be limited momentum going, Red Deer College volunteered to host. We hoped that OCAA would send the top five to seven women and five to seven men from their Conference Championship so that we could have a Conference competition. We were delighted when OCAA sent not just the 10 to 14 runners we'd hoped for but 34, including complete College teams from Fanshawe and Fleming Colleges. It was a challenge for ACAC to reciprocate by sending teams at least as large to the 2003 CCAA XC Championships hosted by St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario. Participation has continued to grow as shown in the chart below:
Participation numbers and trends, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008:
Subsequent hosts have been MacEwan College, Edmonton in 2004; Fleming College, Peterborough in 2005, ITA Ste. Hyacinthe in 2006; Grande Prairie Regional College in 2007; St. Lawrence College, Kingston in 2008; and this year the Augustana Campus of the University of Alberta in Camrose. Highlights have included the first Quebec runner in 2004 followed by subsequent strong Quebec participation including hosting in 2006. In about 2006, CCAA approved travel subsidies for the top seven women, the top seven men, and two coaches from each non-hosting Conference. In 2007, we had our first Atlantic runner (from Mount St. Vincent University! Thank you June!) and that was the first year all five Conferences were represented, although only by one runner each from BCCAA and ACAA. 2008 was our biggest and arguably the best Championship to date. With a complete Women's team from St. Thomas University from Fredericton, it was the first time we've had four Conference teams.
The future: At the CCAA AGM in June, 2009, Cross Country Running will include rankings and coach of the year awards starting in 2010, similar to Level 1 CCAA sports. St. Thomas University will be hosting the 2010 CCAA XC Championships, the first Atlantic College host. I would be delighted to see increased participation again by BCCAA and subject to increased participation for at least two years, I would welcome and support a bid by a BCCAA College to host CCAA XC Running Championships, possibly as early as 2011. The Manitoba Colleges Athletic Association (MCAA) is in the process of applying for membership in CCAA and although their primary interest is in basketball and volleyball, there is some interest in XC Running and because of the flexibility of our Open CCAA Championship, I hope we will be able to include MCAA Colleges as well in the near future.
It has been and continues to be exciting to witness the growth of our sport and this only happens because of widespread support from the College Athletic community. First, thanks to all the athletes and coaches who travel, often at significant personal expense, to compete. Thanks also to the Colleges which have stepped forward to host CCAA Championships. Hosting is a significant undertaking and it provides opportunities of a lifetime for our student athletes. The CCAA Executive and Office staff have been outstanding in supporting XC Running. Thank you. I am personally extremely grateful to my Athletic Director and CCAA President in 2002, Allan Ferchuk, who was instrumental in making the inaugural CCAA Championship happen. It is essential that a host have a strong and supportive and Athletic Director. I was lucky to have the best!
respectfully submitted by Brian Stackhouse, CCAA XC Running Convenor, October, 2009