Today (Thursday 10 September 2015) British Triathlon has unveiled the 2016 British Triathlon Age-Group Major Events Calendar, providing the chance for Britain’s top age-groupers to prepare for their own medal-winning success in an Olympic and Paralympic year for the sport.
As the season finale approaches at the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Chicago, today’s announcement which has been released in unison with the 2016 Triathlon England – National Championships details the key dates on the 2016 calendar. This includes all Triathlon England and British Triathlon Age-Group Championships as well as the Great Britain Age-Group Team qualification events taking place next season.
The 2016 British Age-Group Championships will get started with an exciting new event delivered by British Triathlon, the Windsor Duathlon on 3 April 2016. The British Sprint Distance Triathlon Championships will take place at the Big Cow Sprint Triathlon on 15 May 2016 followed by the British Middle Distance Triathlon Championships on 22 May 2016 hosted at the Grafman. The British Standard Distance Triathlon Championships return to Tri Liverpool on 14 August 2016.
The Triathlon England – National Championships kick off with the National Duathlon Championships at Stockton Duathlon Festival on 24 April 2016. The National Standard Distance Triathlon Championships will take place at St Neots Triathlon on 8 May 2016, whilst the Columbia Threadneedle World Triathlon Leeds will host the National Aquathlon Championships on 11 June 2016. Leeds Castle Triathlon will host the National Sprint Distance Triathlon Championships on 25 June 2016, with the National Relay Championships taking place at the Triathlon Relays in late August (date TBC). The final Championship of the year, the National Middle Distance Triathlon Championships takes place at Vitruvian Triathlon on 10 September 2016.
Duncan Hough, Director of Events, Rules and Technical at Triathlon England added: “It’s great to see a mix of events chosen for the Triathlon England - National Championships. With new events alongside some perennial favourites, members have the opportunity to race no matter what their preference. It’s also great to see the Aquathlon Championships running alongside the Columbia Threadneedle World Triathlon Leeds, encouraging novices and experienced athletes alike to discover, enjoy and achieve in our sport.”
The level of interest in competing for the Great Britain Age-Group Team at ITU World Championships and ETU European Championships is as popular as ever and in 2016 there is another group of high-quality events for aspirant team members to race and earn the right to wear the Great Britain Age-Group Team Tri-Suit. Qualification events for the 2016 ITU Sprint Distance Triathlon and Duathlon Championships are also draft legal next season.
The calendar has qualification events for the following major championships:
- 2016 ITU Sprint and Standard Distance Triathlon World Championships
- 2017 ETU Sprint and Standard Distance Triathlon European Championships
- 2016 ITU Sprint and Standard Distance Duathlon World Championships
- 2017 ETU Sprint and Standard Distance Duathlon European Championships
Jon Ridgeon, British Triathlon’s Director for Major and National Events was delighted to get the 2016 calendar confirmed, commenting: “British Triathlon are really excited to see such a diverse set of event venues for the 2016 calendar. We were delighted with the strong interest expressed for hosting our major events in 2016 and believe that athletes have some really superb events to choose from. As the number of triathletes continues to grow, I have no doubt the 2016 events will be really vibrant and highly competitive.”
Each of the events selected to the 2016 programme comprise the leading age-group races from across the Home Nations. Each event has demonstrated the highest quality event management and provided competitors with the opportunity to achieve their personal triathlon challenges in a safe and enjoyable environment.
To find out more about the qualification process for the 2016 Great Britain Age-Group Teams, British Age-Group Championships and Triathlon England – National Championships, please visit the British Triathlon or Triathlon England website.
