Season 10 ATM Championship points system

Intro

Last Update: 21 September 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 for Seasons 8 and 9 and also for Season 10 it is our strong ambition to have a one-race shoot-out for the ATM title between qualified runners.

We currently have two main candidates to host the 2025 Finals. Please stay tuned in the coming few months for further updates on this matter. Any other event organiser or sponsor keen to talk about this subject can approach us on kris@asiatrailmaster.com .

So, during Season 10 in 2024-2025, 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 2025. 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. Often, 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 Championship points.
In Season 10 , 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. Note that the Abroad Bonus will be added to the total at the end of the season.

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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. in Season 10 that is 1 January 2025 : 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 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.

Abroad Bonus

Runners who score points in at least 1 race outside of their resident country get a 50-point bonus that will be added to the total at the end of the season.

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.