Info Official regulations
SECTION 1.
ORGANIZERS AND OFFICIAL COMPETITION RULES
The “Carpathia Trails” competition (hereinafter referred to as the “Competition”) is a mountain running race that takes place in 3 mountain massifs (Bucegi Mountains, Leaota Mountains and Piatra Craiului).
The event is a sports event organized with the help of donations/participation contributions of the competitors, the support of sponsors and partners.
The event will take place between July 6-7, 2024, and the location of the event will be at the Cheile Grădiştei Resort, Fundata.
The event is organized by the YOLO Events Club Sport Association.
As organizers, we trust that all participants understand the rules’ importance, as they are the best able to honestly assess their own skills and whether they are at the required level to participate in such a competition.
By registering, participants declare that they have read, agree to respect and comply with all the provisions, terms and conditions of these Official Regulations.
Failure to carefully reading of the Regulations and all Sections cannot be interpreted as a lack of information, recommendations, rules and conduct from the organizers’ part, and participants who register for the event without knowing all the information presented on the website, are directly responsible for any inconvenience caused therefore, before, during and after the event.
The official website of the event is http://carpathiatrails.com
SECTION 2.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COMPETITION
2.1 Main features
The competition’s characteristic is mountain running. The races are difficult and especially intended for athletes with specific mountain running skills, mountain experience and special endurance training on mountain trails at high altitude. The routes are mainly set up on marked tourist paths.
2.2 Races
During the competition, 6 individual races will be available:
SECTION 3.
PARTICIPATION AND CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION
3.1 Who can participate?
The competition is intended for those who meet the minimum age condition for each race and are medically, physically and mentally fit to sustain the type of effort required by the competition.
To participate, athletes must possess the following skills:
to have the physical training to safely complete a mountain route
to have experience of crossing difficult mountain areas (exposed and high-altitude paths, fixed ropes, etc.)
The organizers may impose special participation conditions for certain races that will be announced on the official website. If the participant cannot prove meeting those conditions during the week of the race, the registration cannot be returned and the conditions of cancellation of participation apply.
3.2 Competition registration
Registration is done by filling out the online form in the Registration section of the event’s official website.
Registrations are limited and are made within the range and spot limits, as announced in the registration page on the official website.
The organizer may at any time grant wildcards to recognized athletes who wish to participate in the competition, above the communicated limits.
3.3 The participation package. Kit pick-up
By registering to the competition, participants benefit from a participation package composed of products and services. These are detailed on the Participation Package page of the official website.
All participants are required to present an identity document when picking up the kit and to validate with the organizer the previously signed declaration of responsibility in electronic format. By entering this event, competitors automatically accept its rules.
3.4 Cancellation of participation
If for any valid reason you wish to cancel your participation in the race, please notify us through the official methods detailed on the contact page on the website.
The participation contribution to the event IS NOT RETURNABLE, it is considered a donation for the event’s organisation.
If you are unable to participate, you have the following alternatives within the deadlines and with the change fees below.
Alternative Change term Change fee
Transfer to the next edition 30 days until the event 50% of the paid fee
Transfer to another person 14 days until the event 30% of the paid fee
Transfer to another race 14 days until the event 0 if it is done to a race with a higher fee, otherwise the fee difference + 20% of the paid fee
3.5 Taking of Liability. Declaration on own responsibility
All participants will electronically sign a declaration of participation on their own responsibility before coming to the event, which will be validated on the spot by a QR code.
The participants are directly responsible for participating in this race, the organizer does not assume any kind of obligation in case the participant has an accident or injures himself/herself. An ambulance will be available in the start/finish area providing a first aid point where emergency medical service will be offered in case of need.
In this regard, participants must be aware of the dangers they expose themselves to, by participating and crossing a mountain route. These include and are not limited to: collisions with stones, rocks, trees, people, motor vehicles, other vehicles, other objects; falls, slips, cold and/or heat injuries, hypothermia, sunstroke, dehydration, frostbite, burns, altitude sickness, rock falls, hail, snow avalanches, rocks and/or earth, floods, storms, lightning, animals, reptiles, insects, fires, drowning, physical exertion.
3.6 Anti-Doping
The organizers reserve the right to prohibit the registration and participation in the competition of athletes who have been positively detected by the National Anti-Doping Agency or any other accredited anti-doping institution and then have been sanctioned, even if they have completed the suspension period.
Athletes who have benefited from financial rewards and who will be tested positive and subsequently suspended by any accredited anti-doping institution within the next six months from the end of the race undertake to return the rewards offered for the result obtained.
SECTION 4.
CONDUCT OF COMPETITION, SECURITY
4.1 Competition route
In order to give the competitors a nice experience, the routes may undergo changes. Any changes will be notified in due time to competitors through official channels.
The description and maps of the routes are on the official website in the race pages.
Due to the method of measurement, the distances and level differences of the routes may differ from those published and announced.
The event will have route segments on public roads. Competitors are responsible for complying with the provisions of the Roads Code regarding the use of public roads (example: driving on the right side of the road). Failure to comply with them may lead to disqualification of the participant.
4.2 Route marking and tracking
The routes will be marked with signaling tape. Please read the information sent before the event, but also be present at the technical sessions to learn more specific details about the marking (signaling tape color, etc.)
Competitors must always follow the official route and complete it. If you leave the official route, you must re-enter from the point where you left it, in order to avoid the risk of disqualification.
4.3 Checkpoints
At different points of the running route there will be control points where the route referees will supervise the progress of the race.
If a referee notices an attempt to “cut/shorten” the route, the competitor will be disqualified. Participants who are not detected passing through these control points may be disqualified.
4.4 Limit times and intermediate times
The cut-off times for completing an event and the intermediate times will be published on the official website on the route page.
They can be modified by the organizer for weather reasons or other aspects that influence the competition conditions. Any changes to cut-off times will be announced before the start.
Participants who fail to pass the intermediate points within the time limits will be stopped from the race and directed to retreat to the finish area.
4.5 Aid stations
Help from the outside (food, energizers, sticks, clothes, etc.) is allowed only at the aid stations on the route, within the space defined by the organizers.
4.6 Mandatory/recommended equipment
If the weather forecast indicates bad weather, the organizer reserves the right to request/modify the mandatory equipment by communicating what the changes are, the latest at the technical meeting on the evening before the competition, and will check the compliance with the required equipment by poll, before the start. We recommend having bad weather gear in your luggage, to avoid being surprised by last minute changes.
The full list of equipment items is available on the page below:
https://carpathiatrails.com/info/echipament/
Mandatory equipment:
The lack of an element of the mandatory equipment will lead to the prohibition to take the start or to the disqualification, if it is observed on the route, by the referees/volunteers!
4.7 Stopping / withdrawing from the race
Safety is essential to us as organizers, so we will assume the role of reason where we believe a competitor cannot complete the race/stage without major health and safety risks to himself, another competitor or anyone else in the organization ( organizational team, volunteers, partners, etc.). So, we reserve the right to stop a participant in the following cases:
the competitor was injured after the start, and his state of health no longer allows him to continue/finish the race;
failure to meet intermediate deadlines;
other exceptional cases (eg bad weather, visible signs of extreme fatigue).
The Race Director may stop a competitor, during the race based on his medical condition, based on information provided by the medical team present at the event.
If a participant decides that he no longer wishes to continue the race, he must inform the organizers as soon as possible. This can be done in the start/finish area, at the control points or by calling the emergency numbers announced by the organizers.
Failure to announce the withdrawal from the race may cause a search and rescue operation (rescue teams, mountain rescue, helicopter) at the expense of the participant involved.
4.8 Changing the route or canceling the race
Weather in mountain areas and especially over several days is a big factor of uncertainty. If the weather is not on our side and we, as organizers, cannot ensure the safety of the participants, we reserve the right to modify the routes (alternative route) of the competition or even to cancel/postpone the race.
4.9 Medical. Safety and risks
The routes also contain isolated segments, where the access and duration of mountain rescue interventions can be long. Thus, we recommend competitors to consider:
– the appropriate choice of equipment
– concluding a personal medical insurance for mountain sports events.
The route also includes small road segments open to road traffic, where traffic will not be restricted. On these segments, the participants have the obligation to respect the traffic rules imposed by law.
SECTION 5.
RANKING AND AWARDS
5.1 Timing. Establishing results
Timing will be provided by a specialized company. The timing system calculates the time of each runner, recording each competitor’s passage – at the start, at the control points on the route and at the finish.
The ranking for each race / category is done in the order in which the competitors cross the finish line.
The age categories will be established according to the age reached on December 31 of the event’s year.
5.2 Prize categories
The ranking will be done by age categories.
Age categories are detailed in the categories page on the official website.
If a sufficient number of participants are not registered in a category (minimum 10 participants), the Organizers reserve the right to combine that category.
Prizes are awarded only to winners physically present at the Awards Ceremony.
5.3 Penalties and Disqualifications
The situations that lead to the automatic disqualification of the competitor:
Throwing consumed products and/or other rubbish on the route
Missing an object from the mandatory equipment or leaving an equipment on the route
Missing a checkpoint or not following the route
Use of a means of transport during the race
Violation of competition rules
Unsportsmanlike behavior towards other participants, officials, public, other people
Modification or change of competition numbers
The participation fee will not be refunded in case of disqualification.
5.4 Appeals
Any competitor dissatisfied with the position in the ranking can do so, after immediate verbal notification of the organizers and appeal in writing up to a maximum of 24 hours after the display of the results.
For the analysis of the appeal, the organizers can ask for a guarantee of 500 lei, which will be returned in case of favorable approval of the appeal.
5.5 Cash Prizes
Cash prizes are awarded only in the Open category (male and female) and in the age categories diplomas and prizes in products, as far as possible.
The value of the announced prizes is gross and is expressed in lei.
The prizes will be transferred to the personal accounts of the winners within a maximum of 30 days from the date of the competition.
The prize money equivalent will be paid by bank transfer within 30 days of the event date. Within 30 days of the event, the winners will send an e-mail to the official address on the website with the IBAN account number to which the cash prizes will be transferred, together with a copy of the identity card (certificate of fiscal residence for citizens foreigners).
SECTION 6.
CODE OF CONDUCT
The routes of Carpathia Trails cross several areas of land in public and private ownership. We are guests on all these trails and share the joy of running them with the general public, so your exemplary behavior during training and the event is essential for us, in order to use them in the future and for the trail running growth and welcoming.
All runners and their supporters must adhere to this Code of Conduct at all times. Failure to do so may result in you or your supported runner being disqualified or even banned from future events.
6.1 Physical safety
Participation implies undertaking sufficient preparation and training for the chosen race. As a participant, you must ensure that, on the day of the race, you are in an adequate state of health and physical condition to finish the race safely and within the official time limit.
Both before the start and during the event, you should monitor your own health and well-being and withdraw if you are no longer fit enough to continue safely.
Event team members (volunteers, staff, lifeguards, etc.) will visually monitor the runners’ well-being and direct you to withdraw if they feel it is unsafe for you to continue. If you are directed to withdraw by a member of the event team for any reason, you must comply.
If you notice another participant in danger, you will stop to help them and stay with him or them, if necessary, until help arrives.
You must wear all mandatory equipment items throughout the competition. They are designed for your own safety and are mandatory for all runners.
If you withdraw from the race during the event, either at a checkpoint or in between, you must signal this to one of the volunteers at the points, at the finish or at the emergency numbers. The costs for a possible search and rescue operation that would result as a result of not announcing the withdrawal may be borne by the competitor.
The use of headphones is strongly discouraged. If you choose to use them, they must not affect your ability to hear instructions, calls for help, warnings, or the sound of others approaching from behind. Move them away from both ears in crowded areas, such as near checkpoints.
6.2 Community
Volunteers and all event team members must be treated with respect and their instructions must be followed at all times. Anyone who engages in rude, abusive behavior or willfully ignores the instructions of the event team may be disqualified from the event and in serious cases may be banned from future events.
Fellow participants must also be treated with respect. Behaviors denoting a lack of sportsmanship as well as verbal or physical abuse will not be tolerated.
All trails and paths are also open to the general public and we must share them. Allow other people on the path to pass safely and if you can maybe leave a friendly “hello” or “thank you”. If you overtake someone behind him, announce that you are approaching in a friendly way and in time.
6.3 Environment responsibility
Littering will not be tolerated for any person. Anyone seen littering of any kind may be immediately disqualified from the event. There will be areas at each checkpoint if you wish to leave any rubbish.
Participants who damage or vandalize any part of the course will be disqualified. This includes damage to natural features such as trees, rocks, etc.
Smoking is not permitted at checkpoints or anywhere else on the route.
SECTION 7.
ADMINISTRATIVE CONDITIONS
7.1. Photo/video agreement
Before, during and after the competition, photos and video materials can be taken with the competitors and/or spectators of the event. By registering and participating in the race, they implicitly accept that the materials can be used by the organizers in making clips, collages, covers and/or other advertising products to promote the contest.
The photos and results from the event are public documents and can be used in statistical, journalistic and research endeavors without the prior consent of the participants.
7.2. Administrative conditions
In accordance with the legislation in force, the organizers are obliged to make public the names of the winners and the prizes awarded in this Competition.
The list of winners will be published on the official website, no later than 2 days after the event.
The organizers also undertake to comply with the provisions of Law no. 677/2001 on the protection of personal data. As such, the Organizers undertake to maintain the confidentiality of the personal data of the participants/winners of this Competition and to use them in accordance with these Official Regulations and the legislation in force. The organizers reserve the right to modify these Regulations until the start date of the competition with the obligation to announce the changes made on the website and at the venue of the competition.