Celebrating Age Group Athletes Across the Triathlon Community

2022 Age Group Announcement Final 2019 BC Champions List 2019 Cultus Lake Photo Album

Masters and Age Group Athletes

Whether it’s a gold medal pursuit or simply completing a triathlon, athletes of all ages strive to meet their goals with passion, hard work, and dedication. At Triathlon BC, we believe multisport is for everyone. Whatever stage of athlete you are, Triathlon BC is here to support your fitness endeavours. Check out our information on age appropriate development, Provincial Championships, World Qualifiers and stories from BC's triathlon community!

Masters Athetes - The Evolution of Training and Staying Fit

The benefits of regular physical activity are well documented; sustained long-term health, increased social connectedness, improved mental and physical well-being and better quality of life.

While triathlon is a fountain of youth for many, it’s important that the maturing triathlete doesn’t reapply the same training strategy year after year, decade after decade. With some adjustments to your annual plan, you can stay fit and fast well into your 60s and beyond.

We asked Victoria’s Lance Watson, LifeSport head coach, who has trained a number of Ironman, Olympic and age-group Champions over the past 30 years, to outline some of the age-associated changes to training Master athletes should consider.

Athletes in their 40s

Many athletes can replicate the threshold training they did in their mid-30s through their early 40s. The biggest change is recovery time. The good news for the long-term athlete is that muscle memory —muscle familiarity that comes from repeating a motion— does not disappear with age, so experienced athletes can be more efficient than their younger counterparts with fewer lifetime training miles. Athletes can attain previous fitness levels with less threshold work so long as they can perform consistent, strong aerobic efforts.

Recovery weeks should take place regularly, and they need to provide a really good recharge. Increased focus on body maintenance through massage and stretching can also prolong an athlete’s high performance window.

Athletes in their 50s

Athletes in their 50s need to carefully “pick their spots” in the season. They can train for high-level performance but cannot sustain the same levels of intensity or duration as younger athletes. You have to be clear on what your peak event is, and have a longer aerobic base phase followed by a shorter threshold-emphasis peaking phase.

Strength training also becomes more important after age 50. Lifting two or three times per week much of the year and doing a core strength and flexibility routine regularly is a good idea. There’s more need for recovery, and a minimum of two weeks out of every five should be dedicated recovery weeks.

Research out of Australia has shown that cycling performance declines less with age than swimming and running. (This is more pronounced at iron distance than at Olympic distance.) Good cycling fitness will help support a declining run split. If you can start the run feeling fresher, you are capable of running closer to your open run abilities.

Athletes in their 60s and Beyond

After 60, the injury risk and recovery required from frequent high-intensity training is not worth the benefit. A good guideline is one high-intensity swim, bike and run workout every two weeks coupled with frequent aerobic work emphasizing movement efficiency. Take two days off per week, and every second week should be a recovery week.

Along with aerobic conditioning, do resistance exercises that work the major muscle groups along with regular stretching. Yoga can help maintain strength, range of motion and stability.
Protecting the joints from inflammation, pain, stiffness and structural breakdown means a mature athlete has to respect the body’s pain signals. The healing process from injury at this age can be much longer.

Regardless of your age, the take-home message is: Use it or lose it!

ATHLETE FEATURES:

Triathlon BC celebrates every athlete, from the international elite athlete in search of Olympic glory to our local grass roots participant crossing the finish line.  We are reaching out to our community to gather interesting and inspiring stories to share and grow our network.  Check out some of our athlete features below:

Garth Fuller
Eleanor Paugh
Leigh Blaney
Joanne Montgomery
Evan Fagan
Carol Currie
Marie-Josee Cossette
Carolyn Hubbard
Suzanne Flannigan
Michael (Mikey) Ross
Mark Shorter
Bruce Regensberg

If you have stories that you would like share with Triathlon BC please contact us today

Age Group Team Canada

The Canadian Age-Group World Championship Teams consist of top performing age-group athletes and para-athletes who earn a spot at a qualification race to represent Canada on the world stage at the International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Championships. Team members have the unique opportunity to represent their country, participate in a unique team environment and celebrate their sport within the global multisport community. The age-group team is one hundred percent self-funded.

Para-triathletes compete in age-group competition according to their classification.  If they are not officially classified through the ITU process, para-triathletes can always race locally in a self-identified “Open Paratriathlon”.

The 2023 World Championship Events are:

2023 World Triathlon Grand Final, Pontevedra, Spain
Included Disciplines: Standard Distance Triathlon & Aquabike

2023 World Triathlon Sprint & Relay Championships, Hamburg, Germany
Included Disciplines: Sprint Distance & Team Relay

2023 World Triathlon Multisport Championships, Ibiza, Spain
Included Disciplines: Long Distance Triathlon, Duathlon, Aquathlon, Cross Triathlon

Athletes who go on to earn an automatic spot at a designated qualifying event must also meet Triathlon Canada’s eligibility criteria, listed below.

  1. Must be a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident of Canada.
  2. Must be a valid annual member of a Triathlon Provincial Sport Organization (i.e. Triathlon BC) PRIOR to the qualification event.
  3. Must submit an Expression Of Interest (EOI) PRIOR to the start of the qualification event.

Athletes vying for Age Group World Championship spots throughout the 2020 season will be qualifying for Age Group spots for the 2021 World Championship:

Note 1:  With limited age group qualifying spots available throughout Canada, particularly western Canada, expect events to fill early.  Early registration, where available, is recommended.

Note 2:  To be eligible to secure a World Championship spot, athletes must be members of their provincial triathlon association (i.e. Triathlon BC) PRIOR to competing in the qualifying event.

Note 3:  Age-groups are categorized according to gender and 5-year age brackets (i.e. 16-19, 20-24, 25-29, etc.).  Qualifying events host one spot, per gender, per age group.

Note 4:  Under Triathlon Canada’s Expression Of Interest policy, rolldowns are permitted

For more event details, age group definitions and eligibility requirements, please check out our press release HERE

BC Championship Events

Triathlon BC’s Provincial Championship events uphold values that include participation and inclusiveness, while offering athletes of every age an opportunity to test themselves against the best competitors from British Columbia and abroad, in their pursuit of a Champion’s title.

2022 Provincial Championship Events

Provincial Championship, BC’s marquee events, span the racing season, visiting Vancouver Island, the Kootenays and making routine stops throughout the Okanagan Valley.  Here is a list of the 2022 Provincial Championship Events:

 

Masters athletes are the leaders and role models in our triathlon community, inspiring us to stay engaged in a lifelong journey of health, fitness, and friendly competition. They continue to demonstrate that age is not a barrier to accomplishing the extraordinary.

Lance Watson (Lifesport Coach)

55+ BC Games - Victoria

Triathlon BC is excited to be included for as a sport for the 55+ BC Games this year in Victoria.   The Games will be taking place between September 13-17, 2022. 

The 55+ BC Games has 12 zones within the province:

 

About the Victoria Games:

Triathlon will have two disciplines in the games.  The disciplines in the games will be Sprint Triathlon and Sprint Relay.

Competition Details:

  • Sport Venue: Elk Lake
  • Rules: Technical Rules for 55+ Games* CLICK HERE
  • Sport Schedule: September 15th – Sprint Relay, September 17th – Sprint Triathlon

*Drafting will not be permitted at the 55+ BC Games.

Registration:

Registration for the 55+ BC Games is completed by Zone Sport Coordinators.  Athletes wishing to compete in the games will need to visit the BC 55+ Games Website, collect the necessary sport registration forms and send them to their Zone Sport Coordinators.

More information on how to register can be found HERE.

*The registration deadline is TBC. Please check with your Zone Sport Coordinator to confirm if you have a different registration deadline.

 

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!

If you wish to volunteer at the Triathlon Venue during the 55+ BC Games, please CLICK HERE

All volunteers will be required to read and acknowledge the 55+ BC Games Volunteer Single Event Code of Conduct and Waiver Form

Zone Sport Coordinators

Your local Zone Sport Coordinator is a source of information about your sport in the 55+ BC Games. Please feel free to contact them to find out about any events leading up to the Games.  A list of the Triathlon Zone Sport Coordinators is below:

Contact Name Email/phone
Zone 1 Andrew Reeve 250-590-4610
siliconwarrior@shaw.ca
Zone 2 Paul Jennings 250-923-6161
jennings-paul@hotmail.com
Zone 3 Dick Hopkins 604-796-9470
dandshopkins@shaw.ca
Zone 4 Diane Murphy 604.540.5570
dhmurphy@telus.net
Zone 5 Marilyn Benz 250-212-4981
m.benz@shaw.ca
Zone 6 Carol Currie 250-231-1671
revijy@gmail.com
Zone 7 Bob Ewashen 250.428.5088
beewashen@gmail.com
Zone 8 Peter Molnar 250-833-0325
pgmolnar5@gmail.com
Zone 9 Craig Sommerville 250-962-4665
amanda.craig@shaw.ca
Zone 10 Bill Whitty 250-632-2710
lil-bill@citywest.ca
Zone 11 Bob Currie 250-643-4672
tyhee88@gmail.com
Zone 12 Annette Reeder 250-793-4394
areeder@telus.net