Age-group athletes are a diverse group of people. Some athletes start racing at age-group competitions when they are 16, others start when they are 60. Each athlete will have their own personal goals and motivation for attempting to qualify for the Great Britain Age-Group Team. Some athletes strive to stand on the podium in European or World Championships, for others the ultimate goal is to participate and experience the thrill of competing at international level.  

The times needed to qualify for a Great Britain Age-Group Team can vary depending on the competition, the course, the weather and the level of interest for that particular championships and therefore it is not possible to give a time that you will need to achieve to qualify.
 
For sprint and standard distance championship events the minimum requirement is that you must finish within 120% (European selection) or 115% (World selection) of the winner of your age-group either in a qualification race. For middle and long distances the same performance percentages apply for your nominated race. The exception to this is the ETU Middle distance event which has a qualifying percentage of 115% rather than 120%. This is due to there being no World Triathlon Middle distance event.

Events which are not sprint or standard triathlon or duathlon require athletes to .submit extra evidence which is specific to each event. Please check each event for the details for this.

To work out your percentage of the age-group winner's time convert both times into seconds and then divide your time in seconds by the age-group winner's time in seconds and multiply by 100.

To get an understanding of times required you could look up the previous years results and this would give you an idea of what to aim for for each age group.

You do not need to tell us if you will be in the next age group up during the championship event. By registering your intent to qualify, we know you are trying to qualify and can pick you out of the results supplied to us by the event organsier for the qualifying event.

The International Race Fee is in place to cover the costs and expenses incurred by the Age-Group Team Managers and team support staff who travel to events to give the necessary support to the Age-Group teams competing in international championships. The International Race Fee will be charged for all events where a Team manager and any support staff will be in attendance including events where the race entry fee is paid directly to the event organisers. This will be charged as a separate cost via the British Triathlon website in these cases, and will be explained within the payment email for the relevant championships.

As an Age-Group athlete, you will compete against other Age-Group athletes within your age-band category. The age-band category that you fall into depends on your age on December 31st in the year of competition. 

Example: If you are 45 on 29 December 2016 then for the whole of 2016 you will compete in the 45-49 age-group. 
 
International age-group competition starts at age 16 for sprint distances and 18 for standard distance and long distance. For international Age-Group Championships and age-group qualification all 16-19 year olds will be grouped as one under 20 age category.
 

To qualify for the Great Britain Age-Group Team you will need to:

1. Join your Home Nation association: Triathlon England, Triathlon Scotland or Welsh Triathlon here. If you are already a member, ensure that your membership is valid.  

2. Choose the Championship(s) you would like to qualify for by looking at our championship event registration pages here.  

3. For Sprint and Standard Distance Triathlon/Duathlons, you will need to enter a specified qualifying event(s) for the championship you would like to qualify for through the race organiser. An overview of qualifying events can be found within the Age-Group Major Events Calendar here. 

For middle and long distance triathlon/duathlon, cross and winter triathlon /aquathlon you will instead need to submit a best past performance from a race that you can nominate yourself that meets the standard set out on the relevant championship event registration page.

4. You will also need to register your intent to compete on a team with British Triathlon. Log into your membership page. On your personal welcome page click the “Age-Group” tab on the left hand side and then click “Qualify for the GB Age-Group Team.” Select the championship you would like to register for from the list and then follow the qualification and registration instructions detailed on the event page.

You must register before the deadline set on the specific championship registration page. It is very important to do this, otherwise you will not be able to use your result from qualifying events to qualify for your chosen championships.

5. If you are successful in qualifying, specific details about the event you have qualified for will be communicated via e-mail.

Each Championship can have slightly different qualifying criteria so for accurate qualifying criteria please visit the registration page for the specific Championships you want to qualify for.
  
To gain selection an athlete must finish within a performance percentage time of the winner of their Age- Group* (115% for World Championships, 120% for European Championships, the exception to this is the ETU Middle Distance triathlon which has a qualifying percentage of 115% when there is no World Triathlon Middle Distance triathlon during the same year). 
 
For Championships that have specific qualification races there will be automatic qualification places available from the qualifying events. For Championships that do not have a specific qualification race we will select the first or the best 20 athletes to submit performances that meet the qualifying criteria outlined for that event.

Any athlete who finishes outside of the automatic places and the performance percentage will not be eligible for qualification even if there are spaces available. If an athlete finishes outside of the automatic places but inside the performance percentage they will be entered into the roll down process . 

Registered athletes from each qualification race will gain automatic selection as outlined in the event qualification criteria. The order of selection is pre-qualified athletes, discretionary place applications, qualified athletes and roll down places. 

Check that you have registered your intent to qualify for the correct championships and ensure that you are looking for your name in the age category that you will be in within the year of competition. Very often you will have moved up an age group and your name will be in the next category up. If in doubt, please email the Age Group Coordnator agegroup@britishtriathlon.org

Take a look at our 'Racing abroad: What to consider' page on the Insurance Centre section of our website to find some some hints and tips to consider when planning your trip.

Racing Abroad: What to consider

You can find all qualifiers in the Age-Group Major Events calendar. A new calendar which shows the qualifiers which will be published towards the end of each year.