The Valley Royals Grand Prix Cross Country Series is usually hosted every Wednesday afternoon over 4 consecutive weeks in the fall (the last two Wednesdays in September and the first two Wednesdays in October). The racing series attracts hundreds of students in Grades 4 to 8, from the Abbotsford and Mission area.
2021 Dates
Race dates for 2021 are October 6th & 13th. The Series is open to ALL students in grades 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8. If a student is home-schooled, or attends a school that does not participate in this event, they can register as “unattached”.
Fees
The Registration is $8.00 (includes both races) per athlete if registered before midnight on October 1, using the online “Trackie” system. Late Registration is not possible this year. See Registration and Payment Section below for details.
Location
The Grand Prix takes place in “Clearbrook Park” (also called “Ron Wiebe Park”) over a 1-Mile (1600 m) race course around the main field and through the woods on the north edge of the park. Students get better at running the course each week, learning how to pace themselves for a race of this distance, and improving their stamina. Students love to try and improve their personal best time (PB) or finishing position from week to week. Results are posted on this webpage each Monday after a race. All four race results are calculated together to determine the placement of award winners.
For a printable PDF of the race course click here: 2021 Grand Prix Race Course
Racing Schedule
3:45 PM Grade 4 Girls
4:00 PM Grade 5 Girls
4:15 PM Grade 4 Boys
4:30 PM Grade 5 Boys
4:45 PM Grade 6/7/8 Girls
5:00 PM Grade 6/7/8 Boys
Information Package
2021 Grand Prix Letter & Package
Registration and Payment
- Select how many individuals you want to register and fill out the form for each individual. Need to register lots of individuals? Use the “import entries” option on Trackie’s registration page to download Trackie’s Template File. Use it to create a spreadsheet of all your athletes’ info, and then register them all at once by importing your newly saved file into the Registration Page on Trackie.
- Once done entering all athlete data, click on the “PROCEED TO STEP 2” button.
- Review your information on the confirmation page, and then click “CONFIRM REGISTRATION”.
- If you have any issues with Trackie, please contact [email protected]
- Trackie will not accept payment for this event. Please bring cash or cheques (payable to “Valley Royals”) to the Valley Royals registration tent on site in Clearbrook Park on the first Race Day. Upon payment, schools will receive an envelope of numbered racing bibs and an athlete roster matching each athlete with their number. Each home schooling family will receive the same for their registered children.
- LATE REGISTRATION is not available for the Grand Prix this year.
Send any questions to Christa McAuley at: [email protected] Please note that Christa won’t be able to accept registrations. All athlete registrations must be done online, using the link to Trackie.
Parking
We realize parking is an issue at Clearbrook Park but ask that you kindly park on neighbourhood streets south of the park or to the east at Exhibition Park and walk across to Clearbrook Park using the underpass tunnel near the northwest corner of Exhibition Park.Athlete drop off is available at the west parking lot (off Clearbrook Rd) and the south parking lot (off Sparwood St.)There is NO parking:
- in the Clearbrook Park Parking Lots (Drop off is okay.) Parking on the grounds of Clearbrook Park is for VOLUNTEERS only.
- at Maranatha Baptist Church. The church has daycare and after school programs, and people parking at the church create significant problems for parent pick-up and the safety of their kids.
- at Clearbrook Elementary. The school locks its gates when done for the day, which is before the Grand Prix races are done. Don’t risk getting locked in for the night.
- Avoid illegal parking in and around the parking lots of Clearbrook Park. Jumping the curb to park on the grass or parking against the curb in lane-ways of the parking lots is illegal and could result in being ticketed and/or towed. We need to be able to get emergency vehicles into the Grand Prix area if there is a serious injury so, to keep the lane-ways clear, please park on the neighborhood streets south of the park if all of the parking lot stalls are occupied. Thanks!
For a Printable PDF of this Parking Map click here:Parking Map for Clearbrook Park
Food & Beverage
THERE IS NO DRINKING WATER AVAILABLE AT THE PARK, so runners should bring their own water bottles. However the Valley Royals will be hosting a stand that will sell a few small concession items. Note: The concession tent and the registration tent will be located together at the finish line area.
Volunteers Needed
Calling all volunteers…. We need you! Wednesday afternoons – Oct 6th & Oct 13th. We are looking for people to help fill various roles including:
- Set-up (beginning at 2:00 PM each race day)
- Race day volunteers (beginning as close to 2:45 PM as possible, including take-down, ending approx 5:45 PM)
- Concession
- Volunteer coordinator
- Gator test and load – (perfect for those not able to make Grand Prix Dates)
To register as a volunteer, please contact Debbie Foote at [email protected] or 604-614-4044.
2021 Grand Prix Results
Results will be posted here.
***Results from Recent Years***
2020 Grand Prix Results
The 2020 Grand Prix was not held due to COVID-19 safety and gathering restrictions.
2019 Grand Prix Results
Congratulations to the 2019 Individual Winners! Each are listed from 1st to 10th place based on points accumulated in all four races:2019 Grand Prix Individual Points Scores 1st to 10th place
School/Team points have been calculated, and Abbotsford Christian Elementary School is the recipient of the Jane Swan Fitness Award!
2019 TEAM and JANE SWAN Award Winners
Results from Week #1: Grand Prix Week 1 Results – September 18th 2019
Results from Week #2: Grand Prix Week 2 Results – September 25th 2019
Results from Week #3: Grand Prix Week 3 Results – October 2nd 2019
Result from Week #4: Grand Prix Week 4 Results – October 9th 2019
Please note that there are multiple pages on each spreadsheet file of race results. Click tabs at the bottom of page to find the grade/gender results that you are looking for. (If you can help fill in any missing information on the results spreadsheets, please email Meet Manager, Debbie Foote, at [email protected] )
Photos from 2019 Grand Prix: https://valleyroyals.ca/photos-from-2019-valley-royals-grand-prix/
The All Time Top 10 Record Holders including results of the 2019 season can be found here...VALLEY ROYALS GRAND PRIX ALL TIME TOP TEN
Congratulations to our new ALL TIME TOP TEN RECORD HOLDERS from the 2019 Grand Prix Racing Series:
- Grade 4 Girls – #8 Shyla Maiden (Auguston Traditional) 7:06.58, #9 Zoe Hartman (McMillan Elementary) 7:07.89
- Grade 5 Girls – #5 Alexia Smith (Unattached) 6:48.13
- Grade 6 Girls – NEW ALL TIME TOP 10 CHAMPION #1 Sorell Lenz (Abbotsford Virtual School) 6:22.12
- Grade 7 Girls – #2 Chanine Klaus (Abbotsford Christian Middle) 6:14.93
- Grade 5 boys – #10 Kaiden Gleeson (Auguston Tradional) 6:27.61
- Grade 6 Boys – #7 Riley Simmonds (Vedder Middle) 6:06.29
- Grade 7 Boys -#5 Sam May (Chief Dan George) 5:47.02, #10 Arata Nakanishi (Clayburn Middle) 5:54.33 16
- Grade 8 Boys -NEW ALL TIME TOP 10 CHAMPION #1 Brendan O’Brien (Unattached) 5:15.28, #5 Mark Molina (Clayburn Middle) 5:34.39, #10 Saihajpal Takhar (Eugene Reimer) 5:44.55
2018 Grand Prix Results
Please note that there are multiple pages on each spreadsheet file below. Click tabs at the bottom of page to find the grade/gender results that you are looking for.
Results from Week #1: Grand Prix Week 1 Results – Sept 19th 2018
Results from Week #2: Grand Prix Week 2 Results – Sept 26th 2018
Results from Week #3: Grand Prix Week 3 Results – Oct 3rd 2018
Results from Week #4: Grand Prix Week 4 Results – Oct 10th 2018
2018 individual winners, from 1st to 10th place based on points accumulated in all 4 Races: 2018 Individual Winners Based on Points from all 4 Races
2018 team awards, from 1st to 3rd place, based on points accumulated by top four runners per school in all four races:2018 Team Awards Based on 4-Person Team Points from all 4 Races
The 2018 Jane Swan Fitness Award goes to Fraser Middle School .
Congratulations to our new ALL TIME TOP TEN RECORD HOLDERS from the 2018 Grand Prix Racing Series:
- Grade 4 Girls – #2 Alexia Smith (unattached) 6:52 95
- Grade 5 Girls – #9 Payton Finnie (unattached) 6:51 48
- Grade 6 Girls – #3 Amy Trent (ACS Middle) 6:28 10, #4 Chanin Klaus (ACS Middle) 6:30 05
- Grade 7 Girls – #10 Kristin Kampman (ACS Middle) 6:31 53
- Grade 8 Girls – #7 Malia Lenz (Abby Middle School) 6:17 68
- Grade 4 boys -#8 Kaiden Gleeson (Auguston) 6:43 04
- Grade 5 boys – #9 Oliver Teer (ACS Elem) 6:26 82
- Grade 6 Boys – #10 Arata Nakanishi (Clayburn Middle) 6:11 16
- Grade 7 Boys – NEW ALL TIME TOP 10 CHAMPION #1 Brendan O’Brien (Unattached) 5:36 92, #3 Mark Molina (Clayburn Middle) 5:42 57
- Grade 8 Boys – #3 Nathaniel Leroux (Vedder Middle Schoool) 5:35 63
2017 Grand Prix Results
Please note that there are multiple pages on each spreadsheet file below. Click tabs at the bottom of page to find the grade/gender results that you are looking for.
Results from Week #1: Results Week One – September 20 2017
Results from Week #2: Results for Grand Prix Week 2 – September 27 2017
Results from Week #3: Grand Prix Week 3 Results – Oct 3rd 2018
Results from Week #4: Results for Grand Prix Week 4 – October 11 2017
Overall Winners based on Points Accumulated in all 4 Races: 2017 Grand Prix Series Top 10 Racers by Grade for Boys & Girls
Top School Teams: Grand Prix 2017 Team Awards and Jane Swan Fitness Award (To qualify for team scoring in a grade/gender category, a school must have at least four runners compete in 3 of the 4 Races in the Grand Prix Series.)
The 2017 Jane Swan Fitness Award is awarded to John Calvin School.
Congratulations to our new TOP TEN RECORD HOLDERS from the 2017 Racing Series
- Grade 4 Girls: #8 Alexia Smith
- Grade 5 Girls: #9 Amy Trent
- Grade 5 Boys: #1 Daniel Fleming, #5 Arata Nakanishi, #7 Luke Wight
- Grade 6 Girls: #6 Demi Timmerman, #8 Lyn Chuang
- Grade 6 Boys: #4 Mark Molina, #8 Ben Brandsma
- Grade 7 Girls: #2 Mikaiah Zietsma, #3 Malia Lenz, #8 Stella Petrie
- Grade 7 Boys: #8 Hayden Sansalone, #10 Tyler Pretty
- Grade 8 Boys: #4 Josh Vandevelde
Photos from the 2017 Grand Prix Races
Photos by Paul Funk: https://valleyroyals.ca/2017-2/nggallery/track-
Valley Royals Grand Prix History
In 1983, the elementary school’s Grand Prix Cross Country series of races came into being after Gerry Swan returned from the Canadian Track and Field Team tour of Europe. He noticed that a very popular series of meets in Europe were called the Grand Prix, where the winners were awarded points in each of the five Grand Prix meets they competed in. The winners were awarded prizes in ounces of gold or even a Mercedes Benz car. When Gerry arrived home from that series of meets, he suggested to his wife Jane, that perhaps they could initiate a series of cross-country meets for elementary school aged athletes that would follow the format of the European Grand Prix. Jane thought this was a great idea and set forth in putting the wheels in motion to begin what is now known as the Valley Royals Cross Country Grand Prix. The first meets began in 1984 and took place in Centennial Park. These early meets had races for grade 4, 5, 6 and 7, and in the initial years attracted less than 100 competitors. There were some memorable races in Centennial Park. On one particularly noticeable race day, a giant thunder and lightning storm took place during the grade 5 boys’ competition. The loud claps of thunder and bolts of lightning so frightened one youngster, who at the time was leading the race, that he ran off the course and jumped into his mother’s arms. After that the competitions were delayed for half an hour until the skies cleared. With the advent of middle schools, the series was enlarged to include grade 8s. In addition to declaring winners in each grade division, it was decided to have an overall/ aggregate winner declared with the Jane Swan trophy awarded as the grand prize. Now we are in the 36th year, the series is as popular as ever. Schools use it as their kick-off point for the other athletic teams that will have their competitions following the cross-country season. In addition, it’s hoped that the series will promote general fitness, and that is the purpose behind the awarding of the Jane Swan Fitness Award. So good luck to all the schools and competitors, and we will hope that this series of meets is as popular in the coming decades.