UK Athletics will use the Euro Cross, Inter-Counties and new London International to pick its squad for the World Cross Country Champs in March

UK Athletics will use three events this winter to select its team for the World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade in March.

Athletes will be able to secure automatic qualification by running well at either the European Cross Country Championships in Brussels on December 10, the London International Cross Country at Parliament Hill in London on January 20 or the UK Inter-Counties at a venue yet to be confirmed on March 9.

Plans to turn the new event at Parliament Hill into the official and full trial have been modified following the news that the World Cross has been moved from Croatia in mid-February to Belgrade on March 30. Instead Parliament Hill will see senior winners guaranteed their ticket to Belgrade with the rest of the squad chosen from performances at the Euro Cross and Inter-Counties.

Athletes can gain automatic selection for the World Cross as follows:

Euro Cross the first two senior men and top two senior women in Brussels will be picked for Belgrade as long as they finish in the top 12. In addition, the leading under-23 athletes in Brussels will be selected for Belgrade but only if they make the podium at the December event.

Parliament Hill senior winners on January 20 will gain automatic selection for Belgrade.

Inter-Counties senior winners earn automatic selection for the World Cross. At this stage the team could be full but, if spaces still remain, athletes finishing in the top three at Inter-Counties could fill the final places in the squad.

For under-20 athletes, the top three at the Inter-Counties will be automatically selected for Belgrade with UKA saying they will pick at least four athletes for each of the junior races.

The news adds extra spice to the European Cross Country Championships as it is thought to be the first time that the December event has been used to pick a GB team for the World Cross.

UKAs strategy also ensures the Parliament Hill event will generate plenty of excitement. The cross-country fraternity is already full of anticipation for an event that promises to be a winter version of the Night of the 10,000m PBs, but in addition to a home countries international and other elements the meeting will now witness a spicy selection element with winners only earning a seat on the flight to Serbia.

READ MORE: Parliament Hill stages Night of 10,000m-style cross-country event

The traditional trial at the Inter-Counties and UK Cross Challenge final, meanwhile, will still result in a number of athletes being selected, including senior winners and most of the under-20 squad. The event could feature a new venue, too, with the familiar setting of Prestwold Hall near Loughborough not necessarily staging it in 2024.

Individual races aside, UKA will also pick a mixed relay team based off a variety of factors such as Euro Cross results, winter form and track performances from 2023 and the 2024 indoor season.

The team looks set to be bigger than the squad that travelled to Australia for the World Cross this year. On that occasion there were four athletes in the senior womens race and both under-20 events, a mixed relay team and just one senior man.

At Aarhus in 2019, however, six athletes were chosen in all four senior and junior races.

The 2024 team will be named shortly after the Inter-Counties on March 13.

A link to the full selection document is here with details of how athletes who want to do the mixed relay can express their interest.