European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country

Summary

The European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country is an annual cross country running competition between the European running clubs that are the reigning national champions for their country. It is often abbreviated to the name ECCC Cross Country.[1] It is traditionally held on the first Sunday of February.

ECCC Cross Country
The winning men's club, Bikila, in 2010
SportCross country running
FounderEuropean Athletics Association
First season1962
ContinentEurope
Official websiteECCC Cross Country

Organised by the European Athletics Association, it was first held in 1962,[2] making it the second oldest regional cross country event in the world (after the Balkan Cross Country Championships).[3] Only the International Cross Country Championships and World Military Cross Country Championships are older than these two events.[4] It also pre-dates the European Cross Country Championships (the international event) by over thirty years.[5]

The competition was initially launched as a senior men only event, with a senior women's race being added to the programme twenty years later in 1982. Junior races for both men and women were initiated in 2006.[6] Historically, the women's race was typically held at a separate location from the men's race. The two events have been held in conjunction since 2005 and each edition now features all four races (senior and junior) at the same venue.[7] Reflecting the early roots of the tournament, until 2002 the United Kingdom sent four teams – one from each of its constituent countries.[6] The event garners wide participation: in 2015 a total of 287 athletes competed across four races and clubs from 21 nations were present. The men's race is the most contested, with the field typically reaching 100 runners.[8]

It is one of three annual athletics club competitions held by the European Athletics Association, alongside the European Champion Clubs Cup and European Champion Clubs Cup for Juniors in track and field.[9][10]

The competition was staged in Belgium on all but one occasion up to 1980. Thereafter, it has been mostly held in the Iberian Peninsula and Italy, reflecting the prominence of the region in hosting elite level cross country meetings.

Rules and format edit

The eligible clubs for each race differ as each needs to have qualified through the respective national level competition – for example, only national junior women's club champions compete in the junior women's race. The men's senior race is over ten kilometres (6.2 miles), the senior women's and junior men's races are over six kilometres (3.7 miles), and the junior women's race is four kilometres (2.5 miles).[11] Each team race is scored by combining the finishing positions of a team's top four athletes. The team with the lowest cumulative score is the winner. Teams with fewer than four finishers are declared non-finishers. Medals are awarded for both the individual and team element of the competition. Non-point-scoring members of winning teams are recognised in the team ceremonies.[12]

As a club-level competition, athletes of any nationality may compete in the competition as long as they are registered with an eligible European running club. However, athletes whose nationality is different from that of the country that their club is based in must be entered as a "Declared Foreign Athlete" in order to compete. This applies equally to non-European athletes and European athletes competing for a club of a different European nation.[13][12][14]

The host venue for the event is decided by a host bidding process. The tournament has been held as a one-off sporting event for the host venue and also as an element to be incorporated into a long-standing cross country meeting – the annual Almond Blossom Cross Country race in Portugal has been host to the clubs cup competition on numerous occasions.[15][16]

Editions edit

Men edit

Ed. Year City Country Date Team winner Individual winner
1st 1962 Arlon Belgium 7 January   Derby and County AC (ENG)   Jean-Pierre Delloye (FRA)
2nd 1963 Arlon Belgium 13 January   Derby and County AC (ENG)   Gerhard Hönicke (GDR)
3rd 1964 Arlon Belgium 12 January   Union St. Gilloise (BEL)   Léon Moreels (BEL)
4th 1965 Arlon Belgium 24 January   Portsmouth AC (ENG)   John Cooke (ENG)
5th 1966 Arlon Belgium 23 January   Portsmouth AC (ENG)   Tim Johnston (ENG)
6th 1967 Arlon Belgium 22 January   North Staffs & Stone Harriers (ENG)   Gaston Roelants (BEL)
7th 1968 Arlon Belgium 19 January   ASC Darmstadt (FRG)   Lutz Philipp (FRG)
8th 1969 Arlon Belgium 28 December   RFC Liège (BEL)   Lutz Philipp (FRG)
9th 1970 Arlon Belgium 22 November   RFC Liège (BEL)   Lutz Philipp (FRG)
1971 Not held
10th 1972 Arlon Belgium 16 January   RFC Liège (BEL)   Karel Lismont (BEL)
11th 1973 Arlon Belgium 14 January   RFC Liège (BEL)   Norman Morrison (SCO)
12th 1974 Arlon Belgium 6 January   RFC Liège (BEL)   Karel Lismont (BEL)
13th 1975 Arlon Belgium 19 January   Educación y Descanso Palencia (ESP)   Mariano Haro (ESP)
14th 1976 Messancy Belgium 25 January   Educación y Descanso Palencia (ESP)   Brendan Foster (ENG)
15th 1977 Palencia Spain 6 February   Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)   Carlos Lopes (POR)
1978 Not held
16th 1979 Arlon Belgium 4 February   Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)   Karel Lismont (BEL)
17th 1980 Liège Belgium 10 February   RFC Liège (BEL)   Léon Schots (BEL)
18th 1981 Varese Italy 31 January   Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)   Fernando Mamede (POR)
19th 1982 Clusone Italy 30 January   Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)   Carlos Lopes (POR)
20th 1983 Lyon France 30 January   Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)   Fernando Mamede (POR)
21st 1984 Albufeira Portugal 5 February   Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)   Alberto Cova (ITA)
22nd 1985 Albufeira Portugal 3 February   Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)   Carlos Lopes (POR)
23rd 1986 Albufeira Portugal 2 February   Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)   Alberto Cova (ITA)
24th 1987 Clusone Italy 1 February   Pro Patria Milano (ITA)   Francesco Panetta (ITA)
25th 1988 Clusone Italy 6 February   Pro Patria Milano (ITA)   Francesco Panetta (ITA)
26th 1989 Albufeira Portugal 5 February   Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)   Domingos Castro (POR)
27th 1990 Albufeira Portugal 4 February   Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)   Domingos Castro (POR)
28th 1991 Marignane France 10 February   Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)   Domingos Castro (POR)
  Dionísio Castro (POR)
29th 1992 Alicante Spain 2 February   Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)   Domingos Castro (POR)
30th 1993 Albufeira Portugal 7 February   Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)   Domingos Castro (POR)
31st 1994 Amorebieta Spain 6 February   Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)   Domingos Castro (POR)
32nd 1995 Albufeira Portugal 12 February   Maratona Clube de Portugal (POR)   Paulo Guerra (POR)
33rd 1996 La Flèche France 4 February   Maratona Clube de Portugal (POR)   Paulo Guerra (POR)
34th 1997 Cáceres Spain 2 February   Maratona Clube de Portugal (POR)   Paulo Guerra (POR)
35th 1998 Vilamoura Portugal 8 February   Maratona Clube de Portugal (POR)   Mohammed Mourhit (BEL)
36th 1999 Oeiras Portugal 31 January   Milla Int. Madrid Adidas RC (ESP)   Paulo Guerra (POR)
37th 2000 San Sebastián Spain 30 February   Maratona Clube de Portugal (POR)   Eduardo Henriques (POR)
38th 2001 Vilamoura Portugal 4 February   Olympique Marseille (FRA)   Serhiy Lebid (UKR)
39th 2002 Saint-Junien France 3 February   Adidas RT Madrid (ESP)   Alberto García (ESP)
40th 2003 Jaén Spain 2 February   CA Adidas (ESP)   Alberto García (ESP)
41st 2004 Almeirim Portugal 1 February   CA Adidas (ESP)   Zersenay Tadese (ERI)

Women edit

Ed. Year City Country Date Team winner Individual winner
19th 1982 Formia Italy 31 January   Fiat Sud Lazio Formia (ITA)   Cristina Tomasini (ITA)
20th 1983 Viterbo Italy 30 January   Fiat Sud Lazio Formia (ITA)   Kathy Carter (ENG)
21st 1984 Cassino Italy 4 January   Cardiff AAC (WAL)   Angela Tooby (WAL)
22nd 1985 Fuenlabrada Spain 3 February   Dublin City Harriers (IRL)   Angela Tooby (WAL)
23rd 1986 Albufeira Portugal 2 February   Dublin City Harriers (IRL)   Angela Tooby (WAL)
24th 1987 Clusone Italy 1 February   Sporting Braga (POR)   Angela Tooby (WAL)
25th 1988 Cardiff Wales 7 February   Sporting Braga (POR)   Angela Tooby (WAL)
26th 1989 Albufeira Portugal 5 February   Sporting Braga (POR)   Albertina Machado (POR)
27th 1990 Braga Portugal 3 February   Sporting Braga (POR)   Conceição Ferreira (POR)
28th 1991 San Marino 9 February   Sporting Braga (POR)   Rosario Murcia (FRA)
29th 1992 Cassino Italy 1 February   Sporting Braga (POR)   Fernanda Marques (POR)
30th 1993 Albufeira Portugal 7 February   Sporting Braga (POR)   Conceição Ferreira (POR)
31st 1994 Cassino Italy 6 February   Maratona Clube da Maia (POR)   Albertina Dias (POR)
32nd 1995 Maia Portugal 5 February   Maratona Clube da Maia (POR)   Albertina Dias (POR)
33rd 1996 Lanciano Italy 3 February   New Balance AC Vigo (ESP)   Albertina Dias (POR)
34th 1997 Newport Wales 9 February   New Balance AC Vigo (ESP)   Julia Vaquero (ESP)
35th 1998 Istanbul Turkey 8 February   SC Luch Moscow (RUS)   Carla Sacramento (POR)
36th 1999 Lanciano Italy 7 February   SC Luch Moscow (RUS)   Mariya Pantyukhova (RUS)
37th 2000 Salamanca Spain 6 February   Maratona Clube da Maia (POR)   Marina Bastos (POR)
38th 2001 Vilamoura Portugal 4 February   Maratona Clube da Maia (POR)   Svetlana Baygulova (RUS)
39th 2002 Ortuella Spain 3 February   Maratona Clube de Portugal (POR)   Carla Sacramento (POR)
40th 2003 Jaén Spain 2 February   Maratona Clube de Portugal (POR)   Helena Sampaio (POR)
41st 2004 Lanciano Italy 31 February   Maratona Clube de Portugal (POR)   Dorte Vibjerg (DEN)

Combined edit

Ed. Year City Country Date Men's team winner Men's individual winner Women's team winner Women's individual winner
42nd 2005 Mantua Italy 5 Feb   Adidas (ESP)   Zersenay Tadese (ERI)   Maratona Clube (POR)   Fernanda Ribeiro (POR)
43rd 2006 Cáceres Spain 5 Feb   Adidas (ESP)   Zersenay Tadese (ERI)   SC Luch Moscow (RUS)   Mariya Konovalova (RUS)
44th 2007 Istanbul Turkey 4 Feb   Adidas (ESP)   Alberto García (ESP)   Maratona Clube (POR)   Rosa Morató (ESP)
45th 2008 Albufeira Portugal 2 Feb   Adidas (ESP)   Ayad Lamdassem (ESP)   Valencia Terra i Mar (ESP)   Mariya Konovalova (RUS)
46th 2009 Istanbul Turkey 1 Feb   Maratona Clube (POR)   Alemayehu Bezabeh (ESP)   Üsküdar Belediyespor (TUR)   Alemitu Bekele (ETH)
47th 2010 Bilbao Spain 7 Feb   Bikila Toledo (ESP)   Alemayehu Bezabeh (ESP)   SC Luch Moscow (RUS)   Belaynesh Oljira (ETH)
48th 2011 San Vittore Olona Italy 6 Feb   GD Conforlimpa (POR)   Ayad Lamdassem (ESP)   Üsküdar Belediyespor (TUR)   Ana Dulce Félix (POR)
49th 2012 Castellón Spain 5 Feb   Bikila Toledo (ESP)   Ayad Lamdassem (ESP)   Üsküdar Belediyespor (TUR)   Belaynesh Oljira (ETH)
50th 2013 Castellón Spain 3 Feb   Bikila (ESP)   Andrea Lalli (ITA)   SC Luch Moscow (RUS)   Hiwot Ayalew (ETH)
51st 2014 Albufeira Portugal 2 Feb   Bikila (ESP)   Mohamed Moustaoui (MAR)   SC Luch Moscow (RUS)   Hiwot Ayalew (ETH)
52nd 2015 Guadalajara Spain 1 Feb   Unión Guadalajara (ESP)   Othmane El Goumri (MAR)   Üsküdar Belediyespor (TUR)   Irene Cheptai (KEN)
53rd 2016 Kastamonu Turkey 7 Feb   Alès Cévennes Athlétisme (FRA)   Bekir Karayel (TUR)   Üsküdar Belediyespor (TUR)   Irene Cheptai (KEN)
54th 2017 Albufeira Portugal 5 Feb   Istanbul BBSK (TUR)   Yemaneberhan Crippa (ITA)   Üsküdar Belediyespor (TUR)   Irene Cheptai (KEN)
55th 2018 Mira Portugal 4 Feb   Sporting CP (POR)   Davis Kiplangat (KEN)   Sporting CP (POR)   Katarzyna Rutkowska (POL)
56th 2019 Albufeira Portugal 3 Feb   Bikila (ESP)   Jacob Kiplimo (UGA)   Sporting CP (POR)   Fancy Cherono (KEN)
57th 2022 Oeiras Portugal 6 Feb   Ankara Ego (TUR)   Rodrigue Kwizera (BDI)   Playas de Castellón (ESP)   Likina Amebaw (ETH)
58th 2023 Oropesa del Mar Spain 5 Feb   Playas de Castellón (ESP)   Rodrigue Kwizera (BDI)   Playas de Castellón (ESP)   Anjelina Lohalith (IOC)
59th 2024 Albufeira Portugal 25 Feb   Playas de Castellón (ESP)   Thierry Ndikumwenayo (ESP)   Batman Petrol (TUR)   Likina Amebaw (ETH)

Junior winners edit

Year Junior men's team Junior men's individual Junior women's team Junior women's individual
2006   Erzurum Gençlik (TUR)   Hasan Pak (TUR)   Beşiktaş (TUR)   Ancuța Bobocel (ROM)
2007   Erzurum Gençlik (TUR)   Yusuf Alici (TUR)   Dundrum South Dublin (IRL)   Charlotte Ffrench O'Carroll (IRL)
2008   Erzurum Gençlik (TUR)   Vedat Günen (TUR)   ASPTT Nancy (FRA)   Veronica Inglese (ITA)
2009   Fenerbahçe (TUR)   Nemanja Cerovac (SRB)   Luch Moscow (RUS)   Daniela Cunha (POR)
2010   Fenerbahçe (TUR)   Muhammet Emin Tan (TUR)   Luch Moscow (RUS)   Esma Aydemir (TUR)
2011   Fenerbahçe (TUR)   Andrey Rusakov (RUS)   Luch Moscow (RUS)   Esma Aydemir (TUR)
2012   S.L. Benfica (POR)   Ruben Silva (POR)   Luch Moscow (RUS)   Vera Vasilyeva (RUS)
2013   S.L. Benfica (POR)   Erkan Celik (TUR)   Luch Moscow (RUS)   Silvana Dias (POR)
2014   Kocaeli Darıca (TUR)   Saffet Elkatmış (TUR)   Luch Moscow (RUS)   Sarah Lahti (SWE)
2015   Kocaeli Darıca (TUR)   Ramazan Karagoz (TUR)   Fenerbahçe (TUR)   Sümeyye Erol (TUR)
2016   Kocaeli Darıca (TUR)   Thierry Ndikumwenayo (BDI)   Bursa Büyükşehir (TUR)   Anna Emilie Møller (DEN)
2017   Playas de Castellón (ESP)   Ramazan Barbaros (TUR)   Bursa Büyükşehir (TUR)   Anna Mark Helwigh (DEN)
2018   Playas de Castellón (ESP)   Aarón las Heras (ESP)   Fenerbahçe (TUR)   Anna Mark Helwigh (DEN)
2019   Darıca Belediyesi (TUR)   Edward Zakayo (KEN)   Fenerbahçe (TUR)   Emine Akbingöl (TUR)
2022   Ennis Track (IRL)   Dean Casey (IRL)   Mica Romă (ROM)   Ilona Mononen (FIN)
2023   Fenerbahçe (TUR)   Dismas Yeko (UGA)   Mica Romă (ROM)   Mariam Benkert (ESP)
2024   Playas de Castellón (ESP)   Lionel Nihimbazwe (BDI)   Fenerbahçe (TUR)   Dilek Koçak (TUR)

Statistics edit

Most successful clubs
Most successful athletes

References edit

  1. ^ ECCC Cross Country. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-02-28.
  2. ^ European Clubs Cross Country. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-02-28.
  3. ^ Balkan Cross Country Championships. Association of Road Racing Statisticians (2014-08-10). Retrieved on 2015-02-28.
  4. ^ World Military Crosscountry Championships. Association of Road Racing Statisticians (2014-09-16). Retrieved on 2015-02-28.
  5. ^ Event - SPAR European Cross Country Championships. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2011-12-10.
  6. ^ a b Event: EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS CLUBS CROSS COUNTRY CUP. European Athletics (2008). Retrieved on 2015-02-28.
  7. ^ European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country: Venues & Winners. European Athletics (2013). Retrieved on 2015-02-28.
  8. ^ European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-02-28.
  9. ^ ECCC Track and Field Junior. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-02-28.
  10. ^ ECCC Track and Field Senior. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-02-28.
  11. ^ OFFICIAL INVITATION To: Qualified clubs for Seniors and Juniors, Women & Men European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country, Guadalajara/ESP, 1 February 2015. 2015 Guadalajara. Retrieved on 2015-02-28.
  12. ^ a b European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country 3 February 2013 Castellón de la Plana, Spain. 2013 Castellón de la Plana. Retrieved on 2015-02-28.
  13. ^ ECCC Cross Country, Guadalajara / ESP, 1 February 2015 Declared Foreign Athletes. European Athletics (2015). Retrieved on 2015-02-28.
  14. ^ Team Manual 52nd European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country 1 February 2015 Guadalajara , Spain. 2015 Guadalajara. Retrieved on 2015-02-28.
  15. ^ Fernandes, António Manuel (2014-02-02). Moustaoui and Ayalew take the honours at Almond Blossom Cross Country. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-02-28.
  16. ^ Albufeira plays host to European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country. German Road Races (2008-02-01). Retrieved on 2015-02-28.
List of venues and winners
  • European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country: Venues & Winners. European Athletics (2013). Retrieved on 2015-02-28.
  • European Clubs Cross Country. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-02-28.

External links edit

  • Official page at European Athletics
  • 2015 Official website
  • Video of 2014 event from European Athletics
  • Spain at the ECCC Cross Country from Spanish Athletics Federation