2024 ATM Championship points system
Intro
Last Update: 11 January 2024
We changed the ATM Championship regulations for the first post-pandemic season in 2022 and have a winner-takes-all race with qualified runners in national country teams, which turned out to be a big success on the basis of feedback received from all parties: runners, organisers, fans and sponsors. We continued with the format in 2023 and also this year we will have a one-race shoot-out for the ATM title between qualified runners.
So, during Season IX in 2024, runners will again score points in designated races at each event on our ATM calendar. The best performing runners will be invited to join their national country team for the Asia Trail Master Championship Final in Q3 of 2024 - Yes, earlier than usual. Per country maximum five male and five female runners will get the honour.
How to score ATM points?
The top 25 men and top 25 women in an official ATM points race collect 100 ‘finisher’ points, plus x number of ‘performance’ points according to a fixed points table. In essence, male and female race winners go home with 500 points in their bags, 2nd place gets 450, 3rd place 425, then 400, 375, 350, 340, 330 and so on until 60 points for 25th place.
In trail running events there’s typically several race distance categories. Normally, the longest race is the one to focus on as the A-race for the ATM Championship. However, this is not always the case! It can be that there are two A-races at the same event. Therefore, always check our race overview to find out which race offers how many Championship points.
One stubborn misconception is still that you must do long ultras to get a high ranking. Not true: you can select medium distance A-races of 40 to 70k and get just as many points as for a long ultra of 100k or more. The best example of this is Veronika Vadovicova, who became ATM champion in 2019 although her longest race was “only” 84 km. Runners choose the race distance that fits their qualities best. The ATM Final race aims to compromise between medium and long ultra, with a race distance of approx 75 km.
In 2024, we will work again with a “four-best-count” , a.k.a. “best of four” system. Only a runner’s best four race results will count for his or her points total before the ATM Championship Final race.
The bonus points system remains unchanged. The Abroad Bonus (50 bonus points for scoring a Top 25 at least in 1 race outside of one’s resident country ) and the 100 Miles+ Bonus (25 points) remain.
Penalty points. Organising the ATM Championship Final is a serious effort and is meant to be in the interest of everyone in the Asian trail running scene. Runners who do not turn up despite being qualified to be part of their country’s national team will be penalised by a symbolic 100 points in the final ATM points ranking of Season IX (except proven illness/injury).
The ATM Championship Final of Season IX
The 2024 Asia Trail Master Championship Final will be a winner-takes-the-title race as in 2022 and 2023. The male and female finalists who cross the finish line first will be the new ATM Champions.
However, you do need to qualify to be able to take part in that last race, the ATM Final. In each country, maximum five male and five female runners who score most ATM points during the year will qualify and be invited to enter their country’s National Team for the Asia Trail Master Championship Final.
The Final is therefore a race with selected elites-only, who are members of National Teams. Maximum five male runners and five females. Apart from the Individual Championship there will also be a Team Championship. The latter will be based on the accumulated finish times of the best three male runners and best three female runners in each team (= 6 finishing times in total)
Runners who are ranked 6th to 8th in their country are the eligible reserves in case anyone in the top 5 cannot take part in the Final.
ATM Championship Final Event: Host of the 2024 ATM Championship Final is to be confirmed soon. Envisaged event window is mid-September/mid-October 2024.Expats working and residing in Asia: if the expat is an Asian passport holder, he will represent his native country and not his resident country. If the expat has a European or American passport, or any other non-Asian passport, he will be eligible to join Team Asia Expat. Exception: expats who have resided in one and the same Asian country for 8 years or more can join their resident country team.
Minimum requirement of 2 ATM race finishes: runners in the top 5 of their country ranking must have completed minimum 2 ATM races to be eligible to join the ATM Championship Final and represent their country.
Wild cards: former ATM Champions get a wild card to take part in the 2024 Final, provided they have scored points in minimum two ATM points races during 2024. Also, the team of the host country can at any times be represented by 5 male and 5 female runners, provided these have scored points in minimum two ATM points races during 2024.
Equal points: if two runners have the same points total in the country ranking, a distinction will first be made on the basis of highest ranking obtained in a race (e.g. a 3rd place race result is better than a 5th place race result). If that still does not divide them, the number of kilometres run in the relevant races will determine who receives the highest place in the country ranking.
How to score points throughout the ATM season?
General rule: The points system is designed to be easily understood on purpose. Runners score points in each Asia Trail Master series race that they finish, as long as the race distance qualifies for Asia Trail Master points. Runners score two kinds of points:
Finisher points: the top 25 men and top 25 women of each ‘points race’ score 100 ‘finisher points’
Performance points: each runner will score additional performance points according to his ranking in the official result of the race and according to a fixed table. The winner collects 400 points, 2nd place 350, third place 325 and then onwards from fourth place 300, 275, 250, 240, 230, 220… all the way down to 60 points for rank 25.
Bonus points:
finishing any 100 Miles race distance (or longer) is rewarded with 25 bonus points
if you finish at least one of your three races outside of your resident country, you collect the “abroad bonus”: 50 points
Additional general notes
When there is more than one race distance at the same event
If an event offers two, three or more race distances, runners should check which of the race distance(s) offer ATM Championship points. Usually it is the longest race, but not always, and nowadays two race distances mostly have the same status in terms of ATM points.
Joint finishers
An important distinction will be made as of the second quarter of each season, i.e. 1 April (now as of 1 April 2024): If runners cross the finish line together hand-in-hand, their ranking relative to each other at the last timing checkpoint before the race finish will be consulted to determine who scores the most performance points. If no distinction can be made, both runners will receive the points linked to the lowest of the two positions. E.g. joint winners will not get 500 points, but 450 points equivalent to 2nd place.
We also like camaraderie and people enjoying successes together, yet the ATM Championship is a sporting competition and we must avoid a situation whereby, late in the season, a joint finish of two or more championship contenders could be done deliberately for tactical reasons.
ATM Championship Ranking before the ATM Final
Four-best-count system: only the best 4 point-results of each runner obtained during the calendar year will be taken into account for the selection into the National Teams for the ATM Final. This means if a runner has done six races, his two worst points results will not be taken into account. Even if you run 13 ATM races, only your best 4 results matter.
In the last race of the ATM season - the ATM Final - all qualified runners will score additional points according to their ranking in the race result. This will result in the year’s final points ranking. However, remember that the ATM Champion will be the male and female runner who crosses the finish line first.
Abroad Bonus
Runners who score points in at least 1 race outside of their resident country get a 50-point bonus.
Joint points total in final Points Ranking
If two or more runners have the same points total at the end of the year: preference goes to the runner who won the most recent direct confrontation between the relevant runners. If this does not separate the relevant runners, we check what their highest points score in 1 single race was and how many times that score was obtained (eg. three race wins against 1 race win). If this still does not separate them, the advantage goes to the runner who did most races and accumulated most total points during the year (e.g. a runner who scored points in eight races against a runner who only scored points in five races).
Sportsmanship & integrity
Trail running is a non-olympic sport that is often praised for its friendly community spirit. This has also been one of the pillars of Asia Trail Master since the beginning. Any person who is observed causing deliberate damage to others, physically or psychologically, or engaging in online defamation, including libel and slander, against others may be disqualified from the ATM Championship points ranking and/or Championship Final race.
