The European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country is an annual cross country running competition between the European running clubs that are the reigning national champions for their country. It is often abbreviated to the name ECCC Cross Country.ECCC Cross Country. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-02-28. It is traditionally held on the first Sunday of February.

Organised by the European Athletics Association, it was first held in 1962,European Clubs Cross Country. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-02-28. making it the second oldest regional cross country event in the world (after the Balkan Cross Country Championships).Balkan Cross Country Championships. Association of Road Racing Statisticians (2014-08-10). Retrieved on 2015-02-28. Only the International Cross Country Championships and World Military Cross Country Championships are older than these two events.World Military Crosscountry Championships. Association of Road Racing Statisticians (2014-09-16). Retrieved on 2015-02-28. It also pre-dates the European Cross Country Championships (the international event) by over thirty years.Event - SPAR European Cross Country Championships. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2011-12-10.

The competition was initially launched as a senior men only event, with a senior women's race being added to the programme twenty years later in 1982. Junior races for both men and women were initiated in 2006.Event: EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS CLUBS CROSS COUNTRY CUP. European Athletics (2008). Retrieved on 2015-02-28. Historically, the women's race was typically held at a separate location from the men's race. The two events have been held in conjunction since 2005 and each edition now features all four races (senior and junior) at the same venue.European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country: Venues & Winners. European Athletics (2013). Retrieved on 2015-02-28. Reflecting the early roots of the tournament, until 2002 the United Kingdom sent four teams – one from each of its constituent countries. The event garners wide participation: in 2015 a total of 287 athletes competed across four races and clubs from 21 nations were present. The men's race is the most contested, with the field typically reaching 100 runners.European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-02-28.

It is one of three annual athletics club competitions held by the European Athletics Association, alongside the European Champion Clubs Cup and European Champion Clubs Cup for Juniors in track and field.ECCC Track and Field Junior. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-02-28.ECCC Track and Field Senior. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-02-28.

The competition was staged in Belgium on all but one occasion up to 1980. Thereafter, it has been mostly held in the Iberian Peninsula and Italy, reflecting the prominence of the region in hosting elite level cross country meetings.

Rules and format The eligible clubs for each race differ as each needs to have qualified through the respective national level competition – for example, only national junior women's club champions compete in the junior women's race. The men's senior race is over , the senior women's and junior men's races are over , and the junior women's race is .OFFICIAL INVITATION To: Qualified clubs for Seniors and Juniors, Women & Men European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country, Guadalajara/ESP, 1 February 2015. 2015 Guadalajara. Retrieved on 2015-02-28. Each team race is scored by combining the finishing positions of a team's top four athletes. The team with the lowest cumulative score is the winner. Teams with fewer than four finishers are declared non-finishers. Medals are awarded for both the individual and team element of the competition. Non-point-scoring members of winning teams are recognised in the team ceremonies.

As a club-level competition, athletes of any nationality may compete in the competition as long as they are registered with an eligible European running club. However, athletes whose nationality is different from that of the country that their club is based in must be entered as a "Declared Foreign Athlete" in order to compete. This applies equally to non-European athletes and European athletes competing for a club of a different European nation.ECCC Cross Country, Guadalajara / ESP, 1 February 2015 Declared Foreign Athletes. European Athletics (2015). Retrieved on 2015-02-28.European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country 3 February 2013 Castellón de la Plana, Spain. 2013 Castellón de la Plana. Retrieved on 2015-02-28.Team Manual 52nd European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country 1 February 2015 Guadalajara, Spain. 2015 Guadalajara. Retrieved on 2015-02-28.

The host venue for the event is decided by a host bidding process. The tournament has been held as a one-off sporting event for the host venue and also as an element to be incorporated into a long-standing cross country meeting – the annual Almond Blossom Cross Country race in Portugal has been host to the clubs cup competition on numerous occasions.Fernandes, António Manuel (2014-02-02). Moustaoui and Ayalew take the honours at Almond Blossom Cross Country. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-02-28.Albufeira plays host to European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country. German Road Races (2008-02-01). Retrieved on 2015-02-28.

Editions Men Ed.YearCityCountryDateTeam winnerIndividual winner1st1962ArlonBelgium7 January2nd1963ArlonBelgium13 January3rd1964ArlonBelgium12 January4th1965ArlonBelgium24 January5th1966ArlonBelgium23 January6th1967ArlonBelgium22 January7th1968ArlonBelgium19 January8th1969ArlonBelgium28 December9th1970ArlonBelgium22 November—1971Not held10th1972ArlonBelgium16 January11th1973ArlonBelgium14 January12th1974ArlonBelgium6 January13th1975ArlonBelgium19 January14th1976MessancyBelgium25 January15th1977PalenciaSpain6 February—1978Not held16th1979ArlonBelgium4 February17th1980LiègeBelgium10 February18th1981VareseItaly31 January19th1982ClusoneItaly30 January20th1983LyonFrance30 January21st1984AlbufeiraPortugal5 February22nd1985AlbufeiraPortugal3 February23rd1986AlbufeiraPortugal2 February24th1987ClusoneItaly1 February25th1988ClusoneItaly6 February26th1989AlbufeiraPortugal5 February27th1990AlbufeiraPortugal4 February28th1991MarignaneFrance10 February29th1992AlicanteSpain2 February30th1993AlbufeiraPortugal7 February31st1994AmorebietaSpain6 February32nd1995AlbufeiraPortugal12 February33rd1996La FlècheFrance4 February34th1997CáceresSpain2 February35th1998VilamouraPortugal8 February36th1999OeirasPortugal31 January37th2000San SebastiánSpain30 February38th2001VilamouraPortugal4 February39th2002Saint-JunienFrance3 February40th2003JaénSpain2 February41st2004AlmeirimPortugal1 February

Women

Ed.YearCityCountryDateTeam winnerIndividual winner -1962-81Not held19th1982FormiaItaly31 January20th1983ViterboItaly30 January21st1984CassinoItaly4 January22nd1985FuenlabradaSpain3 February23rd1986AlbufeiraPortugal2 February24th1987ClusoneItaly1 February25th1988CardiffWales7 February26th1989AlbufeiraPortugal5 February27th1990BragaPortugal3 February28th1991—San Marino9 February29th1992CassinoItaly1 February30th1993AlbufeiraPortugal7 February31st1994CassinoItaly6 February32nd1995MaiaPortugal5 February33rd1996LancianoItaly3 February34th1997NewportWales9 February35th1998IstanbulTurkey8 February36th1999LancianoItaly7 February37th2000SalamancaSpain6 February38th2001VilamouraPortugal4 February39th2002OrtuellaSpain3 February40th2003JaénSpain2 February41st2004LancianoItaly31 February

Combined

Ed.YearCityCountryDateMen's team winnerMen's individual winnerWomen's team winnerWomen's individual winner42nd2005MantuaItaly5 Feb43rd2006CáceresSpain5 Feb44th2007IstanbulTurkey4 Feb45th2008AlbufeiraPortugal2 Feb46th2009IstanbulTurkey1 Feb47th2010BilbaoSpain7 Feb48th2011San Vittore OlonaItaly6 Feb49th2012CastellónSpain5 Feb50th2013CastellónSpain3 Feb51st2014AlbufeiraPortugal2 Feb52nd2015GuadalajaraSpain1 Feb53rd2016KastamonuTurkey7 Feb54th2017AlbufeiraPortugal5 Feb55th2018MiraPortugal4 Feb56th2019AlbufeiraPortugal3 Feb—2020-2021Not held57th2022OeirasPortugal6 Feb58th2023Oropesa del MarSpain5 Feb59th2024AlbufeiraPortugal25 Feb60th2025AlbufeiraPortugal2 Feb61st2026AlbufeiraPortugal8 Feb

Junior winners

#YearJunior men's teamJunior men's individualJunior women's teamJunior women's individual120062200732008420095201062011720128201392014102015112016122017132018142019—2020-21Not held152022162023172024182025192026

Statistics Most successful clubs

Overall: Sporting Clube de Portugal, 17 titles Men's: Sporting Clube de Portugal, 15 titles Women's: Sporting Braga, 9 titles

Most Successful Athletes Men AthletesVictories16243392

Women AthletesVictories152342

See also European Champion Clubs Cup (athletics) European Champion Clubs Cup for Juniors

References

List of venues and winners European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country: Venues & Winners. European Athletics (2013). Retrieved on 2015-02-28. European Clubs Cross Country. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-02-28.

External links Official page at European Athletics 2015 Official website Video of 2014 event from European Athletics Spain at the ECCC Cross Country from Spanish Athletics Federation