EVENT | ATHLETISSIMA is involved, this summer in promoting athletics in the French part of Switzerland. With the support of Swiss Athletics, the ARA (Association Romande d'Athlétisme) and ATHLE.ch, the Coupe des Clubs has been launched and the qualifications open today.
Starting this Monday, 8 June until 15 August, the Swiss French-speaking athletic clubs will try to qualify for the grand final of the Coupe des Clubs that will take place on Sunday, 30 August at the Stade Pierre-de-Coubertin in Lausanne. Several clubs have already registered.
10 disciplines and several ways to qualify
To stand a chance to win one of the 7 spots in the final, the clubs must register an athlete in each of the 10 disciplines on the program: For the women, the 100m, 400m, 600m, long jump and javelin; and for the men, the 100 m, 400 m, 1000 m, high jump and long jump.
They can do so by either
- Organising a preliminary round organised in the form of an internal competition (the presence of a referee is mandatory to validate the results),
- Organising a preliminary round including several clubs, or
- During a scheduled club meeting already on the athletics calendar.
For the same club, the results achieved during a maximum of 4 competitions can be taken into account. Performances must be performed exclusively during meetings in French-speaking Switzerland. The same club can make two attempts (for example at the beginning and at the end of Summer). Competition dates must be announced by the 12 July. Only athletes registered in their club on 1 June 2020 can participate in the competition.
7 finalists and attractive prizes
After the preliminary rounds, the 7 best clubs (combined total performance points as per World Athletics points system) will be invited to compete in the final on Sunday 30 August in Lausanne. The final will have attractive prizes on offer. 1st place will be offered a training camp next spring for the value of CHF 5000.-, 2nd place will receive CHF 3000.-, 3rd place CHF 2000.- and the clubs classified from 4th to 7th places CHF 1'500 each. These amounts must be used for athletic projects. The best individual male and female will be rewarded with a bonus of CHF 500.-
Media coverage and the participation of Swiss athletics' stars
In the final, an 8th place will be reserved each time for a top French-Swiss or Swiss athlete, who will compete with the best athletes from Swiss French-speaking clubs.
Throughout the qualifiers, media coverage will be provided by ATHLE.ch for ATHLETISSIMA. The on-going results of the qualifications will be covered by photos and supporting summaries. Documentaries at six Swiss French-speaking clubs will also be filmed.
