Age Group
How do I qualify and compete for the GB Age-Group Team?
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.
What are the qualifying criteria?
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.
I have registered my intent to qualify and received a confirmation email but I can’t find my name on the registered athletes list at the bottom of the registration page?
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
Where can I find insurance advise on training and competing abroad?
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.
Where can I find an overview of all the qualifiers for sprint and standard distance races?
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.
I can’t find the Championships I would like to qualify for on the event registration pages?
British Triathlon endeavours to publish Age-Group Championship registration pages as soon as possible. However, we do not publish event registration pages before essential event information has been published by World Triathlon and/or the European Triathlon Union (ETU). This is because information such as dates, location etc. may change during the planning process. Published events can be found on our championship registration page.
You can find information here about the British, English, Scotish and Welsh National Championships.
How good do I need to be to stand a chance of qualifying?
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.
What competitions can I qualify for?
Several International Age-Group Championships are held across the globe each year. You can attempt to qualify for both European Championships and World Championships.
There are sprint and standard distance triathlon and duathlon championships and middle and long distance triathlon and duathlon championships. In addition, there are aquathlon championships, aquabike championships and, cross and winter triathlon championships. Find out more on the championship registration pages.
I live abroad and cannot compete in any of the qualifying races. Can I still be selected?
We do not have an overseas selection policy for sprint and standard qualification. You must compete in one of the designated qualifying races or have prequalified to gain qualification. Results from another country's selection races will not be considered.
You can still be selected for long distance championships, winter and cross triathlon championships, and aquathlon championships. These events do not have specific qualification races and you can submit performances from races where you have achieved the qualifying performance from outside of the UK or have met the relevant experience criteria.
I live in Great Britain but I am not British. Can I still compete on a GB Age-Group team?
To be eligible to compete in the Great Britain Age-Group Team an athlete must be both: (i) A valid current member of a Home Nation Association on the date(s) of the Championship; (ii) A British Citizen holding a British passport or have been a legal resident in the United Kingdom for a minimum of one (1) year prior to the Championship. See section 24. inn the BTF competition rules.
