The Oregon High School Fall Sports season begins on August 14. With it, we begin mandatory practice.
A full schedule of the season is available here:
Here are our rules and expectations for the season:
We get some questions about the season, especially from new families. Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions:
How do I register? All registration in handled online through the BSD InTouch System. Here is a link to the registration instructions: https://sunset.beaverton.k12.or.us/athletics/athletic-registration
When do I need to register? All athletes must be fully registered before attending their first practice. Joining summer conditioning sessions requires an athlete to have completed both the permission form and the physical requirements listed in the registration process above. The $100 payment for the season can not be made until August.
Are there tryouts? We are a no-tryout, no-cut sport.
Can I try it before committing? All athletes must be fully registered before participating, even if for a day. If one would like to get a sense of what practice is like, they can watch one of our summer conditioning sessions: https://www.sunsettrack.com/xc-summer-info.
What do I need to bring to practice? Wear comfortable workout clothes and running shoes. A water bottle is helpful. Take a look at the weather forecast and pack accordingly with additional needs: sun screen, pants, rain gear, etc. While there is no need for a GPS watch, we expect that all athletes will have a watch with a timer/chronograph.
How long are practices? Most last about two hours.
How far do I need to be able to run before I can join? None, though we'd love for you to get started as soon as possible. We meet every athlete at their ability level. While some of our veteran runners may run as many as 10 or 12 miles in a single practice, or more, our novice runners may run as little as 1 or 2 to start while we work on building aerobic capacity and athleticism through other means. Some of our athletes run 7 days per week while we start our more novice athletes on 4-5 days of running (while still attending 5 practices). We expect that nearly every athlete will find the athletic demands of cross country accessible.
What kind of shoes do I need? Good running shoes are a must. We encourage everyone to buy at least their first pair of running shoes from a specialty running store (Foot Traffic on Cornell offers discounts to Sunset athletes at any time of year). The cost of a good pair of running shoes starts at $100. We discourage purchasing from a catalog or online retailer unless it is known that the shoes are a good fit for you in your development as a runner.
How long are races? Most races are 5 kilometers in length. In the early season, there are some shorter races. Beginning in October, all races are 5km.
What does race day look like? Some of our meets have many races but each athlete will only compete once. As a team, we arrive at a meet and depart. We watch and support each other in the races we aren't running.
Who runs in which races? With the exception of the State Meet and our travel meet, ALL athletes compete at ALL competitions. Line-ups for races are determined in the days that lead up to competitions.
What about uniforms? Sunset Cross Country provides a racing uniform (singlet, shorts, and a warmup jacket). Athletes wear the uniform in competition. Jackets are worn only on race day. Athletes will be given the opportunity to purchase season apparel which they can keep. These orders will be made in the early weeks of the season.
Please reach out with any additional questions: daniel_neeway@beaverton.k12.or.us
On behalf of the Sunset Cross Country coaching staff,
Coach Dan Neeway