4. Rights and obligations of participants (art. 14-22)

Art. 14 Age Requirements

Participants must be at least [10] years of age to take part in the Sierre-Zinal Adult Race courses.

“Tourist” category: from [10] years of age.

“Runner” category: from [18] years of age.

No maximum age is set for these courses.

The Chandolin-Zinal Junior Race is open to children aged from [10] to [17] years. Only children under [12] years of age may be accompanied throughout the course in the Chandolin-Zinal Junior Race.

The Children’s Race is open to children aged [4] to [9] years.

Age shall be determined based on the calendar year in progress.

Art. 15 Equipment and Physical Condition

There is no apparel requirement for the Sierre-Zinal Race. However, since part of the trail is 2000 meters above sea level, participants are advised to adapt their clothing to weather conditions and risks.

Participants in the Sierre-Zinal Race undertake to show up at the above-mentioned event in excellent health and adequately trained, while being fully aware of the length and specificity of the event. The Sierre-Zinal Race is indeed long and arduous.

Participants in the "Tourist” category, may find a flashlight or a headlamp useful as the race begins at night. They can hand in their lamps to relatives as soon as it gets light. The Organizers do not provide for the deposit and return of lamps.

Art. 16 Loss Property or Theft

Sierre-Zinal Organizers decline all responsibility for the loss or theft of participants’ personal items, equipment or material, whether on the Sierre-Zinal Race course, during the transport of personal belongings, or at the start and finish.

Any lost item found by the Organizers will be brought to Zinal. The owner should contact the Organizers and, after establishing their ownership, come and collect their property. Items which remain unclaimed after 2 weeks from the date of loss will be disposed of by Sierre- Zinal Organizers.

Art. 17 Respect for the Environment

By registering for the Sierre-Zinal Race, participants undertake to respect the environment and the natural areas they go through. In particular:

• It is strictly forbidden to leave waste (gel tubes, paper, organic waste, plastic packaging...) on the course. Trash should be disposed of in the bins that are available at each aid station.
• All participants must keep their waste and packaging until they can dispose of it in the bins provided at the aid stations or until they can hand it over to relatives along the course.
• It is imperative to follow marked trails. Running off trail is prohibited except during the last descent (see Art. 18 Obligation to Stay on Course). Running off trail causes damaging erosion of the site.

Any violation of one or more of the above obligations may, depending on the seriousness of the violation, result in disqualification (see Art. 45 Disqualification).

Art. 18 Obligation to Stay on Course

For safety reasons, fair play and environmental concerns (see also Art. 17 Respect for the Environment), participants are expected to stay on the courses marked out by the Organizers (see Art. 7 Adult course and Art. 8 Junior and children's courses). Running off course shall result in disqualification (see Art. 45 Disqualification). The courses are marked with yellow Z's, pennants and fixed black signs with the Sierre-Zinal logo.

On the last descent to Zinal, runners have the possibility of taking shortcuts between two points on the route.

Art. 19 Poles and Bandits

Sticks are prohibited on all the courses of the Sierre-Zinal Race. Violators will be disqualified.

It is forbidden to wear headphones on any part of the Sierre-Zinal Race course, under penalty of disqualification (cf. Art. 45 Disqualification).

Athletes are prohibited to run with a friend, relative or other runners who are not registered for the Sierre-Zinal Race. Running with a dog or animal is prohibited. Violators will be disqualified (see Art. 45 Disqualification).

Art. 20 Aid Stations

Participants in the Sierre-Zinal Race may take advantage of refreshments along the entire route, even outside the refreshment zones, as long as the environment is respected (see Art. 17 Respect for the environment).

The Organizers will set up official aid stations along the course at:

• Beauregard, km [4] ; 
• Ponchette, km [7.5] ;
• Chandolin, km [12] ;
• Tignousa, km [16] ;
• Hotel Weisshorn, km [20] ;
• Nava (only water point), km [24] ;
• Barneuza, km [27].

Due to the logistical constraints associated with supplying the Beauregard and Ponchette aid stations, the quantity of water available at these locations is limited. Participants are therefore requested to use the water reasonably and to refrain from any excessive consumption.

Persons accompanying Juniors (see Art. 14 Age Requirements) do not have access to the aid stations set up by the Organizers.

The said participants, as well as their feeders or relatives, undertake not to leave any waste or trash behind, on pain of being disqualified (see Art. 45 Disqualification).

Participants consume all products provided by the organisers at the refreshment stations (water or other drinks, gels, food, etc.) at their own risk. The organisers cannot be held responsible for food poisoning, positive anti-doping tests or any other illness or infection linked to these refreshments. 

The Organizer reserves the right to disqualify any runner receiving any form of assistance outside the official refreshment zones (cf. Art. 45 Disqualification).

Art. 21 Cut-off Times

During the race, participants must comply with the following cut-off times, failing which they shall be declared out of the race (cf. Art. 46 Disqualification or withdrawal) :

• Chandolin: [10:40:59] for the “Tourist” category, [14:10:59] for the “Runner” category;
• Tignousa: [12:00:59] for the “Tourist” category, [14:40:59] for the “Runner” category;
• Hotel Weisshorn: [13:30:59] for the “Tourist” category, [15:20:59] for the “Runner” category.

The Organizer reserves the right to modify the above-mentioned cut-off times.

The final arrival time at Zinal for the “Tourist” and “Runner” categories is set at [17:30:59]. After this time, participants who have not yet finished shall be declared out of the race (cf. Art. 47 Out of the race or withdrawal).

Art. 22 Rescue, Evacuation and Airlift

In the event of injury, accident or any other circumstance rendering it impossible for a participant to continue the Sierre-Zinal Race, the participant agrees to be evacuated or rescued by land and, where no land evacuation is possible, by helicopter. Airlift evacuation is mandatory in particular on the entire summit section of the junior and adult courses of the Sierre-Zinal Race.

The choice of the evacuation method shall lie at the sole discretion of the Organizer, who shall take into account the circumstances and the participant’s medical condition.

All costs relating to evacuation, airlift, rescue operations and any subsequent hospitalization shall be borne in full by the rescued participant and his or her legal or contractual representative (coach, agent, team manager, etc.), who shall be jointly and severally liable.

By registering for the Sierre-Zinal Race, all participants, their representatives and teams expressly accept this clause.

Participants and their representatives acknowledge that the aforementioned costs may amount to several tens of thousands of Swiss francs and expressly accept such risk.

Under no circumstances shall the Organizer be held liable for the payment of such costs. No recourse shall be possible against the Organizer.