From Monday 21 January 2019, the 2019 British Triathlon Competition Rules have come into effect. These can be downloaded as a PDF, along with a summary of the changes from 2018.

Why have we made changes?

Each year, the ITU (International Triathlon Union) review the rules of the sport as it continues to grow in popularity, and to keep up with the latest developments. British Triathlon reviews and adopts the necessary changes to maintain consistency with the ITU, but also ensures that the Competition Rules are suitable for domestic events.

Howard Vine, British Triathlon Technical Committee Chair, said: “The new rules continue to support the development of triathlon and multisport in Britain, ensuring safe and fair competition for all taking part”

“As in previous years we have continued to follow the lead from the ITU and have adopted their updates where appropriate.”

Competition Rules 2019 Summary of Changes 2019

So what's changed?

The majority of changes these year are clarifications to existing Competition Rules and are intended to aid understanding. The ITU have announced that these latest rule changes will be in place for the next two years, so unless there is a requirement to do so, British Triathlon will not be updating the Competition Rules again until 2021. A number of small changes have also been made, which can be found in the summary of changes document above.

Who does this affect?

Put simply, anyone who takes part in a permitted event. All Home Nation permitted events adhere to the British Triathlon Competition Rules and they are therefore an essential read for any newcomers to the sport who are taking up the triathlon challenge for the first time. It is also advisable that Event Organisers have a clear understanding of these rules and any links on event websites are updated.

Regular participants are also advised to download and review the rules to ensure they are up to date with any changes. Age-Group competitors taking part in ITU and ETU Championship Events should familiarise themselves with the updated ITU Competition Rules which can be downloaded here.