This guide provides an overview of all available team competition scoring models, including short explanations and practical numeric examples to help you understand how each model works in practice.


The models are grouped by competition type (place-based, dual and triple meets, championship formats, point-table systems, and cross-country/road competitions).


For full technical definitions, edge cases, and complete rules, please refer to the attached PDF file below.


Place-based team competitions


Dual and Triple Meets/Meetings


Special championship models


Point-table-based team competitions


Cross Country & Road team competitions



Place-based team competitions


In place-based models, points depend on finishing position (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.). 


Simple example (general)


Event result:

1st place → Athlete A (Team Red) 

2nd place → Athlete B (Team Blue)

3rd place → Athlete C (Team Red)

4th place → Athlete D (Team Green)


If the scoring is 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1:

  • Team Red scores 8 + 6 = 14 points
  • Team Blue scores 7 points
  • Team Green scores 5 points


The number of scoring athletes depends on the selected model.



12-point scoring model


How it works:

  • Individual scoring: 12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
  • Relay scoring: 12-10-8-6-4-2
  • Each team can score with:
    • Maximum 2 athletes per gender in each individual event
    • 1 male relay and 1 female relay per relay event


Example:


Men’s 100m - Team Red has three athletes:

  • 2nd place → 11 points
  • 5th place → 8 points
  • 9th place → 4 points (ignored, only two athletes may score)


Team Red scores 11 + 8 = 19 points from this event.



10-point scoring models (two variants)


There are two main variants.


Variant A

  • Scoring: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
  • Any number of athletes per team may score
  • Multiple relay teams from one team can score


Example:


Women’s Long Jump results for Team Blue:

  • 1st place → 10 points
  • 4th place → 7 points
  • 7th place → 4 points


Team Blue scores 10 + 7 + 4 = 21 points from this event.


Variant B: extended scoring


Similar to above, but athletes outside the top 10 may still receive 1 point.



8-point and 6-point scoring models (two scoring athletes)


How it works:

  • Scoring: 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 or 6-5-4-3-2-1
  • Each team may enter any number of athletes and relay teams
  • Only the best 2 athletes per team score in each individual event
  • Best 2 relay teams per team may score in each relay event


Example (8-point model):


Men’s 400 m - Team Green has three athletes:

  • 1st place → 8 points
  • 3rd place → 6 points
  • 6th place → 3 points (ignored, only two athletes may score)


Team Green scores 8 + 6 = 14 points.



6-point and 3-point scoring models


How it works:

  • Scoring: 6-5-4-3-2-1 or 3-2-1
  • Any number of athletes per team may score
  • Multiple relay teams from one team can score


Example (6-point model):


Women’s Shot Put results for Team Red:

  • 1st place → 6 points
  • 4th place → 3 points
  • 7th place → 0 points


Team Red scores 6 + 3 = 9 points from this event.



Dual and Triple Meets/Meetings


These team competitions are usually used in head-to-head matches.



Dual Meet/Meeting (2 teams)


There are two common versions, depending on how many athletes can score:

  • Two scoring athletes per team
    • Individual scoring: 5-3-2-1
    • Relay scoring: 5-2
  • Three scoring athletes per team
    • Individual scoring: 7-5-4-3-2-1
    • Relay scoring: 5-2
  • The best relay team from each team scores (in both models)
  • Each team may enter any number of athletes and relay teams


Example (two scoring athletes per team):


Men’s 800m results:

  • 1st place (Team Green) → 5 points
  • 2nd place (Team Green) → 3 points
  • 3rd place (Team Red) → 2 points
  • 4th place (Team Green) → 1 point (ignored, only two athletes may score)
  • 5th place (Team Red) → 0 points


Team Green scores 5 + 3 = 8 points, while Team Red scores 2 + 0 = 2 points from this event.



Triple Meet/Meeting (3 teams)


How it works:

  • Individual scoring: 6-5-4-3-2-1
  • Relay scoring: 6-4-2
  • Only the best 2 athletes per team score in each individual event
  • The best relay team from each team scores (in both models)
  • Each team may enter any number of athletes and relay teams


Example:


Women’s 1500m results:

  • 1st place (Team Green) → 6 points
  • 2nd place (Team Green) → 5 points
  • 3rd place (Team Red) → 4 points
  • 4th place (Team Green) → 0 points (ignored, only two athletes may score)
  • 5th place (Team Red) → 3 points
  • 6th place (Team Blue) → 2 points
  • 7th place (Team Blue) → 1 point


Team Green scores 6 + 5 = 11 points, Team Red scores 4 + 3 = 7 points, while Team Blue scores 2 + 1 = 3 points from this event.



Special championship models


European Athletics National Team Championships


How it works:

  • Exactly one male and one female athlete per event per team
  • Exactly one male and one female relay per relay event per team
  • Points depend on the number of teams (e.g. 8 teams → 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1)



Jamaican Scoring


How it works:

  • Individual scoring: 9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
  • Combined events scoring: 12-10-8-6-5-4-3-2
  • Relay scoring: 12-10-8-6-5-4-3-2
  • Any number of athletes per team may score
  • Multiple relay teams from one team can score


Example:


Women’s 400m results for Team Green:

  • 1st place → 9 points
  • 4th place → 5 points
  • 7th place → 2 points


Team Green scores 9 + 5 + 2 = 16 points from this event.



MoC Scoring


How it works:

  • Individual scoring: 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1
  • Combined events scoring: 15-12-9-7-5-4-3-2
  • Relay scoring: 20-16-12-10-8-6-4-2
  • Any number of athletes per team may score
  • Multiple relay teams from one team can score


Example:


Men’s Decathlon results for Team Blue:

  • 1st place → 15 points
  • 2nd place → 12 points
  • 5th place → 5 points


Team Blue scores 15 + 12 + 5 = 32 points from this event.



NCAA (US college models)


How it works:

  • US NCAA Alternate Rules (4 or fewer teams)
    • Individual scoring: 5-3-1 (2 teams), 5-3-2-1 (3 teams), 5-3-2-1 (4 teams)
    • Relay scoring: 5-0 (2 teams), 5-3-0 (3 teams), 5-3-2-0 (4 teams)
    • Any number of athletes per team may score
    • The best relay team from each team scores
  • US NCAA Regular Rules (4 or fewer teams)
    • Individual scoring: 5-3-2-1 (2 teams), 7-5-4-3-2-1 (3 teams), 9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 (4 teams)
    • Relay scoring: 5-3 (2 teams), 7-5-4 (3 teams), 9-7-6-5 (4 teams)
    • Only the best 2 athletes per team score in each individual event
    • The best relay team from each team scores
  • US NCAA Regular Rules (5 or fewer teams)
    • Individual scoring: 10-8-6-4-2-1
    • Relay scoring: 10-8-6-4-2
    • Any number of athletes per team may score
    • The best relay team from each team scores
  • US NCAA Regular Rules (6 or more teams and 6 scoring)
    • Individual scoring: 10-8-6-4-2-1
    • Relay scoring: 10-8-6-4-2-1
    • Any number of athletes per team may score
    • The best relay team from each team scores
  • US NCAA Regular Rules (6 or more teams and 8 scoring)
    • Individual scoring: 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1
    • Relay scoring: 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1
    • Any number of athletes per team may score
    • The best relay team from each team scores



NFHS (US high school models)


How it works:

  • US NFHS Rules (6 teams or less)
    • Individual scoring: 5-3-1 (2 teams), 5-3-2-1 (3 teams), 6-4-3-2-1 (4 teams), 8-6-4-2-1 (5 teams), 10-8-6-4-2-1 (6 teams)
    • Relay scoring: 5-0 (2 teams), 5-3 (3 teams), 6-4-2 (4 teams), 8-6-4-2 (5 teams), 10-8-6-4-2 (6 teams)
    • Any number of athletes per team may score
    • Any number of relays per team may score
  • US NFHS Rules (7 teams or more and 6 scoring)
    • Individual scoring: 10-8-6-4-2-1
    • Relay scoring: 10-8-6-4-2-1
    • Any number of athletes per team may score
    • Any number of relays per team may score
  • US NFHS Rules (7 teams or more and 7 scoring)
    • Individual scoring: 10-8-6-4-3-2-1
    • Relay scoring: 10-8-6-4-3-2-1
    • Any number of athletes per team may score
    • Any number of relays per team may score
  • US NFHS Rules (7 teams or more and 8 scoring)
    • Individual scoring: 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1
    • Relay scoring: 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1
    • Any number of athletes per team may score
    • Any number of relays per team may score



Point-table-based team competitions


Instead of places, performance results (time, distance, height, points) are converted to points using tables. There are four model variants that depend on the number of scoring athletes.


Variants:

  • Best 1 athlete per team counts in each individual event
  • Best X athletes per team count in each individual event
  • All athletes count
  • Best Y results across all events count


Important:

  • Wind-assisted results can still count
  • Ranking is based on total points, not places


Example (World Athletics table; all athletes count):

Men’s 200m (Senior) results for Team Red:

  • 1st place, result: 20.42 → 1155 points
  • 4th place, result: 20.55 → 1135 points
  • 7th place, result: 21.13 → 1049 points


Team Red scores 1155 + 1135 + 1049 = 3339 points from this event.


Check the Using points scoring tables for team competitions user guide for more information.



Cross Country & Road team competitions


Placing-based models


How it works:

  • Athletes score based on finishing position
  • Each team must finish with at least Y athletes
  • Only the first X finishers per team count
  • Lower total score = better team result


Example (3 scoring athletes per team):


Men’s 5km results:

  • 1st place → Team Red
  • 2nd place → Team Blue
  • 3rd place → Team Red
  • 4th place → Team Green
  • 5th place → Team Red
  • 6th place → Team Blue
  • 7th place → Team Blue
  • 8th place → Team Green


Team results:

  • 1st place → Team Red (1 + 3 + 5 = 9 points)
  • 2nd place → Team Blue (2 + 6 + 7 = 15 points)
  • Team Green has only two finishers → no team result



Time-based model


How it works:

  • Team score = sum of times of the first X runners
  • Teams with fewer than X finishers receive no team result
  • Fastest total time wins


Example (3 scoring athletes per team):

Women’s 10km results:

  • 1st place, result: 35:49 → Team Green
  • 2nd place, result: 36:14 → Team Blue
  • 3rd place, result: 37:22 → Team Red
  • 4th place, result: 37:41 → Team Red
  • 5th place, result: 40:01 → Team Blue
  • 6th place, result: 41:13 → Team Red
  • 7th place, result: 45:42 → Team Blue
  • 8th place, result: 50:13 → Team Green

Team results:
  • 1st place → Team Red (37:22 + 37:41 + 41:13 = 1:56:16)
  • 2nd place → Team Blue (36:14 + 40:01 + 45:42 = 2:01:57)
  • Team Green has only two finishers → no team result