NOVEMBER 7-8, 2015
CLERMONT, FL
Age Group Draft Legal Duathlon
The USA Triathlon Draft-Legal Sprint Duathlon Qualifier for the 2016 ITU Draft-Legal Sprint Duathlon World Championship will be held in Clermont, Florida on November 8, 2015 at Lake Louisa State Park. This race will qualify athletes for the 2016 International Triathlon Union (ITU) Draft-Legal Sprint Course Duathlon World Championship. Currently there are two bids being considered by ITU for the Duathlon World Standard and Sprint Distance World Championships in 2016 – Spain and the United States (Oklahoma City, OK). If the race ends up in Spain, there will be a sprint draft legal sprint worlds event only. If OKC wins the bid, there would be both a draft legal and non-draft race at the event.
How to qualify for the draft-legal Sprint Duathlon Worlds if Spain wins the bid to host this event:
Draft-Legal Qualifier — Clermont, FL, Nov. 8, 2015
This event will be the first opportunity athletes will have to confirm their spot on Team USA for the draft-legal Sprint Duathlon Worlds in 2016. Ten (10) spots per age group will be available at this event. All athletes must finish within 30 percent of the age group winner’s time in order to earn the right to the spot. There will not be any roll downs at this event; only those in the top 10 and within 30 percent of the age group winner’s time will be considered for Team USA. Should you qualify for a spot on Team USA, athletes will be tracked and notified by USA Triathlon within two weeks of the event that they have earned the spot. No pass downs will be offered. A down payment of $50 for those who have earned a spot will be required by a soon to be determined date.
USA Triathlon Duathlon National Championships — Saint Paul, MN, June 6, 2015
USA Triathlon will reserve 8 spots in each age group at this event. The spots will be awarded after the draft-legal qualifying race slots have been allocated and confirmed (likely end of 2015). Athletes must also be within 30 percent of the age group winner’s time in order to meet qualification. After the commitment of 8 positions is met, slots will pass down at this race according to the following: for as many athletes who finish in the age group within 30 percent of the age group winner’s time OR capacity of 18 spots in the age group is met, whichever happens first. Note: USA Triathlon is restricted to a capacity limit of 18 athletes per age group for all ITU World Championship events.
How to qualify for the non-draft Sprint Duathlon Worlds if the U.S. wins the bid to host the event:
In this case, all Team USA slots would be allocated at the USA Triathlon Duathlon National Championships in Saint Paul. As the host nation, USA Triathlon receives 25 slots per age group for the team. Slots would be passed down through 30th place. In that case, there would NOT be a time cut-off for this event. Instead, USA Triathlon would allow for the full allotment of slots to be allocated for the team. The caveat here is that athletes would have to choose between the draft-legal sprint race and the non-draft sprint race, since these will take place within 48 hours of each other (ITU has a rule which restricts participation in two world championship events within a 48 hour period).
Note: All defending Duathlon Worlds podium finishers will have a chance to take their spot for Team USA ahead of the qualification of this event. That means that the full capacity of slots may be less than 25 per age group. Also, USA Triathlon would maintain two slots for those ranked in the top 20 in their respective age groups in the 2015 rankings. These slots would be priority three and allocated after the qualifying spots were secured and roll down spots exhausted.
How to qualify for the draft-legal Sprint Duathlon Worlds if the U.S. wins the bid to host this event:
Draft-Legal Qualifier — Clermont, FL, Nov. 8, 2015
This event will be the first opportunity athletes will have to confirm their spot on the worlds team in 2016. 8 spots will be available at this event. All athletes must finish within 30 percent of the winner’s time in order to earn the right to the spot. There will not be any roll downs at this event; only those in the top 8 and within 30 percent of the age group winner’s time will be considered for Team USA. Should you qualify for a spot on Team USA, athletes will be tracked and notified by USA Triathlon within two weeks of the event that they have earned the spot. No pass downs will be offered. A down payment of $50 for those who have earned a spot will be required by a soon to be determined date.
USA Triathlon Duathlon National Championships — Saint Paul, MN, June 6, 2015
If the U.S. is the host, USA Triathlon will reserve 17 spots in each age group at this event. The spots will be awarded after the draft legal qualifying race slots have been allocated and confirmed (likely end of 2015). Athletes must also be within 30 percent of the age group winner’s time in order to meet qualification. After the commitment of 17 positions are met, slots will pass down at this race according to the following for as many athletes who finish in the age group within 30 percent of the age group winner’s time OR capacity of 25 spots in the age group is met, whichever happens first.
In the draft-legal qualifying race, athletes will compete in the age group according to age as of Dec. 31, 2016. This is different from most races; if you age-up in 2016, you will compete in that age group regardless of your age on Dec. 31, 2015. This race will not award national championship titles.
How to qualify for the non-drafting Standard Duathlon Worlds:
All of the standard slots will be allocated at the USA Triathlon Duathlon National Championships in Saint Paul on June 6, 2015, regardless of the host nation. The ITU World Championships at the standard/Olympic-distance will NOT be draft-legal.
It’s time to get revved up to compete in this new style of racing for age-groupers! If you ask our youth elites, junior elites and senior elites their thoughts on this discipline, they will tell you just how exciting this format can be. USA Triathlon will be establishing free webinars to help lessen the intimidation and questions associated with competing in a draft-legal event. These educational webinars will offer you the insights, advice and knowledge important for you to more accurately assess your interest in competing in the draft legal events (triathlon and duathlon). Additionally, ITU has created a set of rules that will be important for people to learn and abide by as part of the preparation for the qualifier and upon qualification, worlds. Such things as bike specs and racing requirements are covered here.
Team USA Age-Up Rule
At the USA Triathlon Draft-Legal Sprint Duathlon World Championship Qualifier held in Clermont, Florida, athletes will race in their appropriate age groups based on their age as of Dec. 31, 2015. Awards will be issued based on those results. For Team USA qualifying purposes, all athletes will be “aged up” to meet their age as of December 31, 2016. A separate set of results will be issued accounting for those athletes who aged up and Team USA slots will be awarded based on these results. So, each athlete’s finish time will be compared to those athletes in the older age group. For example, if John Doe is going to be 49 years old by Dec. 31, 2015, he will age-up up into the 50-54 age group for the 2016 World Championships since he will be 50 years old by Dec. 31, 2016. Thus, for Team USA qualifying purposes, his time at the qualification event will be compared to the men currently in the 50-54 age group. We will post the age-up results at the awards ceremony. After the age up rule is applied, you must have placed within the top 10 in your age group and within 30% of the aged up age group winner’s time.
Who can qualify for Team USA?
All athletes eligible to represent the United States must be a U.S. citizen or be a U.S. national – someone who has resided in the U.S. for three consecutive years at the time of qualification and has not competed for their country of citizenship in the prior year.
Team USA eligible athletes must not have competed for their country of citizenship in the prior year. Athletes who choose to be recognized as nationals who have competed for their country of citizenship in the last year may get dispensation by obtaining a letter from the National Federation of their home country allowing competition as a USA athlete.
