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 designated Provincial qualifiers, progresses into regional events where the Canadian program can be centralized, and finally into National Championships where the best development athletes in the country compete head-to-head.
Scope – What is the scope of the National Development Series?
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 Series program has been developed to provide meaningful opportunities and better direct individuals to their appropriate level of racing.
An important part of this is recognizing that 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.
The National Development Series connects the provincial programs through to national and international racing.
- Provincial Qualifiers provide Series points and are the first step in qualifying for National Championships.
- Regional Championships are designed to drive deeper fields of athletes and more meaningful competitions. The use of Americas Cup events in Canada also provides an opportunity to start
generating World Ranking points as part of the Series. - Junior/U23 National Championships is the pinnacle of the National Development Series. Athletes must meet an eligibility criterion based on National Development Series points and rankings to compete. 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.
- International selection criteria now include NDS rankings as a factor (see below)
A Youth Series (Ages 11-15) has been designed to bring these athletes together and expose them to elite-style racing. Youth athletes will NOT receive a ranking for 2026. Designated youth events will be open to all athletes ages 11-15. Athletes will be selected through their PSO.
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 over 300th in the world
Click HERE for current World Rankings:
Eligibility and Registration to Regional Championship (NEW):
Triathlon Canada will pilot a new selection process for the National Development Series (NDS) Regional Championships at Magog and Toronto. While each event is delivered under a different governing framework and therefore requires slight procedural differences, Triathlon Canada will manage the overall selection process as consistently as possible.
This approach aligns with Triathlon Canada’s High Performance selection principles and is intended to help athletes prepare for international racing environments.
Key Timelines (Both Regional Championship Events)
- Registration closes: 45 days prior to race day
- Start lists finalized: 30 days prior to race day
To download the full document, including a list of events, eligibility, exceptions, points and rankings, please CLICK HERE.
