With the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games underway, today (Thursday 8 September) British Triathlon has unveiled the 2017 British Triathlon Age-Group Major Events Calendar, providing the chance for Britain’s top age-groupers to prepare for their own medal-winning success after an inspirational Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
In the week paratriathlon makes its debut on the Paralympic stage, today’s announcement, which has been released in unison with the 2017 Triathlon England – National Championships, details the key dates for age-group athletes on the 2017 calendar. This includes Triathlon England and British Triathlon Age-Group Championships as well as the Great Britain Age-Group Team qualification events taking place next season.
The 2017 British Triathlon Age-Group Championships are set, yet again, to bring together Britain’s top age-group performers in a number of exciting head-to-heads across the country. Having hosted multiple qualification and championship events, Strathclyde Park has been awarded the honour of staging the British Sprint Distance Triathlon Championships on 27 May. This will be followed by the British Middle Distance Triathlon Championships on 9 September at Rutland Water’s picturesque Vitruvian Triathlon.
More details are to follow on the British Duathlon Championships and British Standard Triathlon Championships, both of which will be confirmed in the near future.
The 2017 Triathlon England National Championship calendar kicks-off with the National Sprint Distance Triathlon Championships on 4 June 2017, hosted for the first time at Thorpe Park Sprint Triathlon. The following weekend (10-11 June) will see the National Aquathlon Championships return to the ITU World Triathlon Series in Leeds, before Ripon Triathlon hosts the National Standard Distance Triathlon Championships on 1 July. Two weeks later, on 23 July, The National Middle Distance Triathlon Championships will take place at Owler Tri in Ashford, Kent.
As Summer turns to Autumn, The National Duathlon Championships hit the spotlight, with Oulton Park Autumn Duathlon taking place on 1 October. Finally, the Triathlon Club Relay Championships, showcasing the nation’s top clubs, will take place within the Holme Pierrepont Triathlon Relays, with the date to be confirmed.
Duncan Hough, Director of Events, Rules and Technical at Triathlon England commented: “It’s great to welcome some new events to the calendar to host a number of 2017 Triathlon England – National Championships. Following on from a hugely successful year for the sport, we’re pleased to offer members the chance to race across a range of distances and locations throughout England.
“2017 will be a fantastic opportunity to showcase athletes of all ability; bringing together everyone from triathlon novices to those vying for National titles to enjoy the experience and achieve their own sporting goals.”
In 2016, the amount of Great Britain Age-Group Team entries to ITU World Championships and ETU European Championships grew by 15% from the previous year, showing the ever-growing popularity of representing your nation within triathlon. This is expected to continue in 2017, where another group of high-quality events for aspirant team members are on offer in order earn the right to wear the Great Britain Age-Group Team tri suit.
The calendar has qualification events for the following major championships:
2017 ITU Sprint and Standard Distance Triathlon World Championships
2018 ETU Sprint and Standard Distance Triathlon European Championships
2017 ITU Sprint and Standard Distance Duathlon World Championships
2018 ETU Sprint and Standard Distance Duathlon European Championships
Jon Ridgeon, British Triathlon’s Director for Major and National Events was delighted to launch the 2017 calendar, adding: “With two British Triathlon Age-Group Championships confirmed for 2017, we are already set for another exciting and competitive season within the sport.
It’s great we are able to return to events at the fantastic location of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games in Strathclyde and East-Midland’s Rutland Water to showcase the country’s top age-group talent and look forward to adding further events to the calendar later this year.
“The amount of interest expressed for hosting a major event was as strong as ever, and we firmly believe athletes will have a selection of vibrant, highly competitive events to choose from in 2017.”
Each of the events selected to the 2017 programme have demonstrated the highest quality event management and provided competitors with the opportunity to achieve their personal triathlon challenges in a safe and enjoyable environment. To find out more about the qualification process for the 2017 Great Britain Age-Group Teams, British Triathlon Age-Group Championships and Triathlon England – National Championships, please visit here on the British Triathlon website.