Trials for the 2023-2024 North West Academy squad will take place on Saturday 16th September 2023 at Salt Ayre, Lancaster.

The trials for both new and current North West athletes for 2023 will follow the below process:

Stage 1. Complete the online application form, which can be found here: https://www.britishtriathlon.org/gb-teams/talent/english-talent/regional-talent-academies  

The closing deadline will be Sunday 10th September 2023.

Stage 2. Successful athletes will then be invited to attend trials on 16th September which will consist of a swim trial and run trial covering the below distances:

• Selection trials format

  Swim: 25m pool

  Age (on the day)	Distance
  13-15	200m
  16-19	400m

  Run: 400m track

  Age (on the day)	Distance
  13-15	1,500m
  16-19	3,000m

*Athlete age for academy trial distance is taken as age on 1st September 2023, accounting for athletes turning 14 between Sept-Dec 2023.  

This year, there will also be a short bike handling observation session at the end of the day (please see further information below under standards).  This will not form part of the decision to take forward to stage 3 but will help coaches understand athlete's current cycling ability.  Road bikes can be borrowed on the day if needed.

Stage 3.  Following on from Stage 2, all succesful athletes will then be invited to attend a full training day on 8th October.  

Athletes will then be offered a place as either a full Academy member or the opportunity to attend training days as a Guest throughout the academy year (see below).

Standards

• To be considered for a trial in the North West, athletes should be looking to achieve around the region of 300 points.  Athletes should be aiming to achieve a score of around 320 points to be conisdered for a full place in the North West Academy. 
• To work out your points score please use the Regional Academy Points Calculator which is located at the bottom of the Talent Identification pags.  Times calculated are based on those of triathlete's single discipline performances.
• Selection to the Academy is based on information provided and seen through the selection process, however accredited performances for swimming on ASA Swimming Results, running on Power Of Ten, alongside triathlon performances in 2023, will also be considered when making the final selections.
• Swimming, running and the requisite performance behaviours play a big part in Academy selections and are the priority at this stage of the Pathway.  Athletes who do not have any cycling or triathlon experience are very much encouraged to apply and if selected into an Academy will be expected to have a real focus on developing their riding.

Guest athletes

• Athletes who may be new to the sport or who may need a little more time to develop in a particular discipline may be offered the opportunity to attend academy training days as a guest rather than a full academy member at the discretion of the Academy Lead.

Attitude

Athletes who have a desire to perform at an elite level often show particular characteristics.  These include but are not limited to perseverance, dedication and an openness to coaching. As such athlete on the North West Regional Academy will:

• Help create a positive environment where they are open to furthering their own learning and development which will encourage their own potential and that of other academy athletes to thrive.
• Demonstrate commitment and the willingness to train to the standard required to become a world class triathlete.
• Maintain in regular contact with the Regional Lead coach to ensure development continues away from training days.
• Have an understanding of the Athlete Development Framework (ADF) and where their strengths and weaknesses lie in relation to this.

Attendance

In order to fully benefit from the academy, athletes are expected to both physically and mentally attend activities both during and outside of academy training days and camps.

Face to face activity is held monthly, with remote support available where needed to help complement the athlete's daily training environment.  It is important to remember that athletes who accept a place on the academy and do not attend are effectively preventing another athlete from benefitting from the services the academy provides.

We do appreciate that at this age athletes will have many commitments to swimming and running clubs as well as school and we are very willing to take these into account and discuss suitable attendance across the activities the academy provides.  

A provisional schedule will be made available and shared at Stage 2.

All information can be found in the Academy Handbook or for any further questions please get in touch with:

Katie Hewison; NW Regional Academy Lead

northwestacademy@britishtriathlon.org

Thank you to our Regional Academy Sponsors