​​FAQ

Does a high school 5k race or time qualify for a team or individual? No

Does an individual have to be attached to a team? No they can race as unattached in Public, Private or Charter School Divisions. No unattached individuals in the Club Division​

What happens if an individual has qualified with a club team and with a school team in separate races? That individual must choose before registration closes which team he/she will be representing. Cannot compete for both teams at the XC Championship meet.



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5th Graders


 As of 2026 fall, 5th graders will no longer be allowed to compete in the Middle School State Championship Divisions 3k's or the Middle School Open 3k. 

Nomenclature clause


 Nomenclature: We realize that some school teams are not allowed to compete and represent  their schools outside of their county. We have allowed for a team name change if that is the  case. When registering your qualified team for the Championship divisions, please inform the meet director if the competing name is different from the school name. 


HOW TO QUALIFY a Team or individual for the Championship Divisions


 What kind of meet does my team or individual need to run in to qualify for the Florida MS Cross Country Championship  in Lakeland?

 At the State meet, (No qualifying is needed for the Open Division on Friday or the Elementary races on Friday

 What makes up a team?

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Qualify in one of the following types of meets  

 

 a designated 3k BASIC QUALIFIER Meet


  •  Basic Qualifying meets are thru out Florida and are *usually open to all. Public School Teams, Private School Teams, Home school Teams and **Club Teams and *Unattached Individuals. 
  • .............................................................................................................................................................
  • TEAM QUALIFICATION: the  team has to finish in the Top 30% of scored teams based on Final Results in a Qualifying meet.  See definition of Team below. Will round up if above .5 in the calculation. See example below. 
  • We do not move down the results if a top 30% team has already qualified in a previous qualifier
  • ...............................................................................................................................................................
  • INDIVIDUALS:  An individual must finish in the Top 10% of total finishers based on final results in a qualifying 3k meet.  Will round up if above .5 in the calculation. See example below. 
  • We do not move down the results if an individual has already qualified in a previous qualifier. OR is on a qualifying team. Individuals can run as "unattached" or under their school name. Unattached individuals must be entered into the championship division that represents "how or what kind of school they attend. Public, Private, Charter. Unattached homeschoolers will enter the "Private school division". There are no "unattached" individuals in the Club division. 
  • ...................................................................................................................................................................
  •   EXAMPLES:  Individual Calculation:   10% of 113  Individual finishers equals 11.3, so we round down to 11 qualifying spots. 10% of 115 finishers equals 11.5,  we round up to 12 qualifying spots. Team Calculation: 30% of 8 scored teams equals 2.4 , we round down to 2 team spots. 30% of 9 scored teams equals 2.7, we round up to 3 teams. Point 4 and below gets rounded down. Point 5 and above gets rounded up.
  • ............................................................................................................................................................

​      * It us up to the individual meet directors to allow club teams and unattached individuals.           There are some meets that are hosted by schools and are not allowed to have non school teams and individuals.  With that in mind, we try to make sure that a FLYRA designated Qualifier is open to all. But on occasion a (semi-closed) meet gets qualifier status to meet a geographical need.   

OR


Qualify thru a Conference, League, City or County Championships. 


  • These meets are only open to conference, league and county schools and not open to everyone. These meets will not be listed on the calendar or map. 
  • The Basic Qualifier Rule will be used to determine which teams and individuals have qualified.
  • Teams: Top 30% of Finishing Teams
  • Individuals: Top 10% of Finishers.
  • If you are a meet director of a championship, please post championship results on Direct Athletics or FLRunners or send results to LauraF4584@gmail.com


Teams:


  •   School Teams (Charter, Private, Public, Homeschool) must be composed of kids that attend the same public middle school, private school, charter school or homeschool team, regardless of whether the team competes under the name of the school or some other nomenclature (name).  See nomenclature below. 
  • CLUB Teams are composed of kids who attend different schools and have raced and qualified together in a qualifier 3k meet.
  •  The kids on a team must have raced together as a team in a qualifying middle school meet or in their middle school district, league or county championship. High school 5k races do not count.​
  • ​
  •  A middle school team is made up of 6th thru 8th graders. 

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  • ​ Subsitution: May subsitute up to 2 kids on your qualified team in the Championship Division


  • ​Uniforms: Teams do not have to wear their school uniforms. The teams can match or somewhat match. Our starting official will not be scrutinizing uniforms or jewelry. 

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  • Attendance Proof: Meet Director may ask for proof of same school attendance after registration.  I.E. copy of report cards of each runner on qualified team. 
  • Grade Proof: An athletes report card may be ask for proof of grade.