Competition rules

Last modified: 17 April 2024

General

1. The Batavierenrace is an annual student relay race between the Radboud  University Nijmegen and the University of Twente, organised by the Organisation  Committee of the Batavierenrace foundation.
2. Teams participating in the Batavierenrace submit to the Registration Rules and  these Competition Rules.
3. The Dutch Competition Rules are leading in all cases. This translation is only  provided as a convenience.
4. When the Competition Rules do not provide a solution, the responsible body  decides (Article 6).
5. The official bodies reserve the right to occasionally diverge from the Contest Rules.

Competition layout

6. The Batavierenrace has the following official bodies:
   1. The Organisation Committee, taking care of the organisation of the  competition;
   2. The Race Management, being responsible for the safety and general  progress of the competition during the race;
   3. The Competition Secretariat, being responsible for processing the results,  presenting the results and handling possible objections;
   4. The Aid Workers, taking care of the medical support during the race.
7. The Batavierenrace distinguishes three classifications: the Topicus University  Competition (UC), the General Classification (AK) and the Companies’ Classification  (BK). A team may only participate in one classification.
8. Participants in the Batavierenrace must conform to the requirements as laid out in  the Registration Rules.
9. The Batavierenrace consists of 25 stages, divided into 9 women’s and 16 men’s  stages, as listed in the participant’s booklet.
10. The published distances of stages and running speeds are only indicative.
11. The start of the competition will take place in Nijmegen (city centre). There are  four restart locations: Nijmegen (university), Ulft, Barchem and Enschede.
    1. The start in Nijmegen (start) occurs in a single starting group.
    2. The restarts in Nijmegen (university), Ulft and Barchem are divided into  seven starting groups.
    3. Stages 24 and 25 will start in Enschede. Those stages follow the same route.  Two restarts take place here, one for all runners of stage 24 and one for all  runners of stage 25.
12. The route and stage layout may be subject to change by the Organisation  Committee and the Race Management if this is desired due to specific  circumstances. In special circumstances, these bodies may cancel a stage or the  entire competition.
13. Every stage, a different runner is running the stage for the team. The change of  runner happens by passing on a vest in the switch area at the switch point. At a  stage ending at a restart location, the vest will not be transferred in the switch  area; the next stage starts at the restart location.
14. Each stage has its own limit time which is published in the participant’s booklet.  The limit time is the maximum time a runner may take to finish the stage. The Competition Secretariat has the right to change the limit time in special  circumstances.
15. Teams are solely responsible for the transport of participants between the switch  points and the timely arrival of the right runner at every switch point.
16. The switch points are indicated by a registration area, switch point port and a  switch area. From the runner’s perspective, the registration area starts ten meters  before the switch point port and ends approximately a meter after the switch  point port. The switch area starts where the registration area ends and ends at the  last chained pole.
17. Switch points are manned during the time indicated in the participant’s booklet,  unless the last runner has passed before the specified closing time. Outside of the  specified timeslot, results will not be registered.
18. Switch points can have an earliest and/or last starting time, as published in the  participant’s booklet. Runners cannot start before the earliest starting time. At the  last starting time, all runners who have not started yet, should start their stage,  even if the previous runner has not arrived yet. After the last starting time, runners  can no longer start their stage.
19. The Race Management and Competition Secretariat can impose sanctions if  teams do not abide by the clauses of these Competition rules or if the  circumstances justify such sanctions. Sanctions include applying a penalty time to  the team or individual runner, disqualifying a team or runner, and/or removing the  team or runner from the competition. Furthermore, a team may receive an official  warning, a second of which automatically leads to a disqualification of the entire  team.
20. Shortly after the competition, preliminary results will be published. The official  results will be published on the website on the Friday after the competition.
21. Prizes for the top 3 of each classification will be granted based on the official  results. Other prices are granted based on the preliminary results.
22. Objections about the preliminary results can only be directed to the Competition  Secretariat. The Competition Secretariat can be reached during the competition  by phone, email and the website. Directly after the competition, objections can be  directed personally in Enschede. Until Wednesday after the competition, it is  possible to direct objections through email and the website.
23. Complaints about the treatment of objections can be directed to the Organisation  Committee in Nijmegen/ Enschede. This does not have any influence on the result  of the objection.

Order provisions

24. Every participant takes part at his or her own risk. The Batavierenrace Foundation  cannot be held responsible for the loss or damage to personal property or any  personal injuries.
25. The Dutch and German Traffic laws, as well as all other regulations, will remain in  force during the competition.
26. Instructions of the police, traffic controllers, and Batavierenrace staff must be  followed promptly and strictly.
27. All organisation vehicles must be granted immediate passage throughout the  race.
28. In case of accidents or serious injuries, a staff member of the Batavierenrace must  be contacted immediately (after contact with emergency services). This staff  member will contact the Race Management or an Aid Worker. The victim must  wait until help arrives.
29. It is strictly forbidden to make (noise) disturbances during the race, especially  during the nightly stages.
30. Teams may not hinder others in the broadest sense.
31. Teams are always solely responsible for the transport of its team members. It is not  allowed to leave participants behind.
32. Participants are prohibited from using doping or being under the influence of any  narcotics (including alcohol and drugs) during the race, except for when this is  required for medical reasons.
33. Disabled participants may participate in the Batavierenrace provided that the  Organisation Committee in Nijmegen/ Enschede has been consulted beforehand.  The name of this person and the stage that he or she is going to complete must  be communicated in advance, so that volunteers of the Batavierenrace can reckon  with this person. For disabled participants, no additional security measures or  other arrangements are made.
34. Team captains must attend the team captain instruction in Nijmegen on the  Friday before the race. The exact time and location will be announced in team  captain letter 3.
35. Sponsor claims before and during the race and prize ceremony can be prohibited  by the organisation, after which these must be removed or covered immediately.
36. The Batavierenrace foundation reserves the right to publish photos and video  material of participants. All participants declare that they will not object to the  usage of photos or video of their portrait.
37. Every team is obligated to bring with them at least 2 water bottles per runner.

Runners and cyclists

38. Unless otherwise indicated, runners must run on the right side of the road and  each runner must be accompanied by (exactly) one cyclist. However, on stages 1,  24 and 25, the runner cannot be accompanied by a cyclist, taking the safety of the  competitors and the crowd into account.
39. Runners are required to wear a white light on the front and a red light on their back during the night.
40. The routes, as described in the participant’s booklet, are compulsory, unless other  instructions are provided by the staff of the Batavierenrace. The signs along the  runner’s route are only there to clarify the route.
41. Runners are required to leave the registration area at the switch point as quickly as  possible. It is disallowed for anyone to unnecessarily stay in the registration area.
42. When a runner needs to pre-emptively end his or her stage, this should be  communicated to the following switch point. The next runner can start there.
43. The bike will be checked by the organisation in Nijmegen on the Friday of the race.  The bike must meet the legal standards (including well working lights and brakes)  and may not be any wider than 50 cm with exception of the handlebars. Tandems  are allowed. The exact time and location of the checkpoint will be announced in  team captain letter 3.
44. The cyclist may never go through the registration area, switch point port or switch  area at the switch point. The switch area must be passed on the left side, unless otherwise indicated.
45. At some switch points, a runner-cyclist switch is mandatory, as published in the  participant’s booklet. At these switch points, the runner and cyclist of the previous  stage must switch places for the next stage.

Runners' and cyclists' vests

46. Team captains must report to the team registration on the Friday before the start  of the race in Nijmegen to receive the cyclist’s vest. The exact time and location  will be announced in team captain letter 3.
47. The runner of the first stage must report at the issuing of the vests on the Friday of  the race in Nijmegen city centre to receive the runner’s vest. The exact time and  location will be announced in team captain letter 3. If the vest is not picked up in  time, it will be brought to the restart location in Nijmegen.
48. The runner’s vest must be worn by the runner and the vest number must be  visible at any time. The runner must wear the vest until after finishing his or her stage. If the Race Management has decided that runner’s vests do not have to be  worn, the runner should always carry the runner’s vest with him or her.
49. At the restart in Enschede, runners must report to the organisation, half an hour  before the specified starting time of stage 24 at the latest, to receive bib numbers.  On stages 24 and 25 these bib numbers will be used instead of the vest. The bib  number must be worn visibly at any time.
50. If a runner must start without a vest, the runner must start with a temporary bib  number and the team must bring the vest to the active runner as soon as possible.  A temporary bib number can be requested at a switch point or an information  desk. When a vest is no longer available, a temporary vest can be requested at a  switch point.
51. The cyclist is obliged to wear the cyclist’s vest at any time and to make sure the  vest number is visible.

Participants' vehicles

52. Transportation of participants, who are not running or cycling the stage, must take  place along the car’s route as published in the participant’s booklet.
53. For the participants’ vehicles, it is forbidden to use the runners’ route, except for  the parts where the car’s route and the runners’ route coincide. Where those  routes coincide, the speed should be adjusted in such a way that the safety of the  runners is guaranteed. The vehicles may never drive directly in front of, behind or  next to the runner.
54. All participants’ vehicles are prohibited to visit switch points where a mandatory  runner-cyclist switch is in effect (Article 44).
55. Each team can use only one participants’ vehicle. If a team wants to make use of  two participants’ vehicles, permission should be requested at the Organisation  Committee in Enschede before March 31st 2023. In this case, the skipping route  should be used as much as possible. Permission will only be granted to teams  participating in the Topicus University Competition.
56. All participants’ vehicles must be vehicles that can be legally driven by any driver  in the possession of a valid Dutch driving license B. Trailers are not allowed.
57. Van placards, which will be distributed by the organisation, should be placed on  every participants’ vehicle, visible on the passenger’s side on the inside of the  windshield and clearly visible on the back of the vehicle.
58. Parking must be done as described in the participant’s booklet and will be marked  by signs or by the present staff.

Competition clauses

59. The running time is the finish time minus the start time if both are registered  correctly. Times are registered in whole seconds.
60. For the starting time the following may apply:
    1. The (re)start time in Nijmegen (2x), Ulft, Barchem or Enschede;
    2. The automatically or manually registered finish time of the previous runner;
    3. The time of a start, led by a staff member at the switch point, which will be  applied if there is no finish or a finish outside the specified earliest and last  starting time.
61. For the finishing time may apply: the automatically or manually registered finish  time at the switch point.
62. The automated time registration is indicated with a sound and light signal. The  runner must pay attention to this signal and, if this signal is not perceived, the  runner must warn a staff member immediately. Only then can the time still be  registered. The runner is responsible for the time registration.
63. The runner’s time may be registered anywhere in the registration area. No  compensation is granted for inconsistencies this may cause.
64. Runners who are delayed in the broadest sense of the word, e.g. by waiting for  railway crossings, arriving too late, or taking wrong turns, are not compensated.
65. Based on Article 19 the Competition Secretariat can decide to assign a penalty or  declare a running time invalid if any violation is observed. When a runner is  disqualified or when the running time is not representative (e.g. Articles 71 to 73),  the running time is always declared invalid. A cancelled stage is not counted as  invalid time.
66. The classification time is the running time, possibly with additional penalty time.  The maximum classification time is the limit time plus 15 minutes. When there is  no valid running time, the classification time is equal to the maximum.
67. When the running time exceeds the limit time, the classification time is equal to  the maximum classification time.
68. At a (re)start the runner may only start at the official starting time. It is not allowed  to start in another starting group than the team is assigned to. If the previous  runner has not completed his or her stage yet, the runner must start in the  assigned starting group. If there is no other possibility because of the  circumstances, the staff at the information desk should be informed.
69. At a switch point, runners can only start after the vest is transferred through the  finishing runner in the switch area, unless the transfer of the vest could not take  place.
70. If a man runs on a women’s stage, the penalty time will be a factor 1.4 of the  running time. No compensation will be granted for women running a men’s stage.
71. A participant can participate in only one team and in only one stage. If the runner  runs more stages, every additional stage will be penalized with 15 minutes penalty  time.
72. It is not allowed to split stages. Every stage may only be run by one runner per  team.
73. It is not allowed to shorten stages without permission of the Race Management.
74. It is not allowed for a runner to move themselves other than by running, unless  otherwise permitted by the Organisation Committee in Enschede.
75. A runner can be excluded and removed from the competition by an Aid Worker  for medical reasons. The classification time will then equal the limit time.
76. The final classification time of a team is the sum of all classification times of all  stages.
77. A team that has an invalid running time at more than five stages will be included  in the results outside the competition.
78. When two teams achieve the exact same final classification time, the classification  time of the final stage is decisive.

Special clauses

79. Stage 24 may only be completed by a female runner. If this is not possible, the  team cannot start at this stage.
80. For runners, it is not allowed to carry attributes that could cause any disturbance  or danger for participants, spectators or equipment at the final switch point port of  stage 24 and 25. Such attributes may temporarily be taken by staff members of  the Batavierenrace.

Additional clauses Topicus University Competition

81. Articles 81 to 86 only apply to teams participating in the Topicus University  Competition and have priority over the articles mentioned above.
82. A team and the runners of the team must meet the standards for participating in  the Topicus University Competition as described in the Registration Rules.
83. In advance of the (re)start of their starting group, the runner must personally  report to the University Competition Verification with valid identification (passport,  ID card or driver’s license, copies are not accepted). The runner will receive a wrist  brand here.
84. Immediately after completing his or her stage, a runner should have their wrist  band cut off in the original state, by a staff member at the switch point. This is the  own responsibility of the runner. The runner will receive a receipt that must be  kept as proof if any dispute arises concerning the cutting of the wrist band.
85. The classification for the NSK (Dutch Student Championship) Batavierenrace is  determined based on the official results of the Topicus University Competition.  Only universities having a sports council associated with Studentensport  Nederland (SSN) are included.
86. The limit time is equal to the Topicus University Competition limit time published  in the participant’s booklet. The Competition Secretariat has the right to change  the limit time in special circumstances.
87. The maximum classification time (Article 65) is equal to the Topicus University  Competition limit time.

Overview of penalty codes and associated penalties

When any violation is observed, the Competition Secretariat may use the following penalty codes and penalties, which may deviate from the mentioned article numbers:

Code	Violation	Article	Penalty
A	Moved differently	74	invalid running time
D	Disqualified runner	8, 19, 25-58, 79, 80	invalid running time
F	Invalid switch	69	15 minutes
H	Male on women’s stage	70	running time × 1,4
I	Shortened stage	73	invalid running time
L	Limit time exceeded	67	maximum time
M	Medical exclusion	75	limit time
N	No running time	42, 59	invalid running time
O	Split up stage	72	invalid running time
Q	Disqualification team	19, 25-58, 30	no running time
R	Regulatory exclusion	5, 19	limit time
T	Double stage running	71	15 minutes
U	Running irregularly (UC)	81-83	invalid running time
V	False (re)start	68, 69	invalid running time
W	Violation	19, 25-58, 30	15 minutes
X	Stage cancelled	12	no running time
Z	More than 5× invalid running time	77	outside competition

Please note that an invalid running time is always equal to the maximum time. This is the Topicus University Competition limit time for the Topicus University Competition, and limit time + 15 minutes for all other classifications.