Entry to the event is by virtue of athletes being selected by County Team Managers to represent their County. County Championships are normally held in late January or early February and a preliminary County Team is then selected. One or two weeks later, County Teams may compete between other neighbouring Counties in an Inter-County match, after which the team to represent the County at the National Championship is finally selected.
Teams comprise a maximum of 12 athletes, of which only 8 are allowed to compete. The first 6 finishers in each team count towards the team competition – finishing positions are added up, and the team with the lowest score wins. If teams are tied, the team with the highest 6th finisher takes precedence.