The following provides an outline of our 2024 National Development Series. This program has been revised to better meet the needs of athletes on our development pathway. Getting information out as quick as possible has been prioritized to support competition planning. There may still be small revisions made to this program outline in the coming months.
1. Overview – What is the National Development Series?
The National Development Series is a pathway for development athletes to gain the skills and experience needed to progress from provincial draft-legal racing into successful continental racing. To achieve this, a program has been developed that begins with Provincial Championships, progresses into regional events where the Canadian program can be centralized, and finally into National Championships where the best development athletes in the country can compete head-to-head.
2. How is this a change from previous years?
The National Development Series is targeting athletes in the Junior and U23 categories (ages 16-23). The range of skills, experience, and performances across these two categories is very broad. The National Development Series program has been updated to provide more meaningful opportunities and better direct individuals to their appropriate level of racing. There are juniors at the bottom end of the spectrum who should be focusing on provincial draft-legal racing to build their skills, and U23 athletes at the top end of the spectrum who are beyond the scope of the National program and should be focusing on generating international points.
Provincial championships are now used as an opportunity to generate National Development Series points. The two regional championships offered are meant to drive deeper fields of athletes and more meaningful competitions. The use of PATCO (America’s Cup) events in Canada also provides an opportunity to generate international points as part of the Series.
Junior/U23 National Championships now includes an eligibility criteria based on National Development Series points and rankings. This is meant to elevate the prestige of our National Championship events and ensure our best development athletes in the country have an opportunity to race head-to-head where performances can be directly compared.
3. Targeted Athletes – Who Should be Racing this Series?
This Series is meant for Junior/U23 athletes that are preparing to move into continental racing or are inconsistently racing at the continental level. Determination of competition age will follow the World Triathlon (TRI) rules for Junior/U23, which is between the ages of 16 and 23 as of December 31st of the competition year.
The following athletes should be targeting the Series:
- Athletes who have achieved success in their provincial draft-legal competitions
- Athletes who do not currently have a World Ranking
- Athletes who are currently ranked under 300th in the world
- Click here for current World Rankings: https://triathlon.org/rankings/world_triathlon_rankings
For the full Triathlon Canada 2024 National Development Series Press Release, please click HERE.
