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Thread: Age groups

  1. #11
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    Quote from the article: 'Most other forms of athletics (xc/international mountain running/track/road) use u9, u11, u13, u15, u17 categories, and use a reference date of midnight at the END of the year of the race. The age categories, in everything except what we call them, are identical'
    For XC (and possibly the other forms mentioned) this is incorrect. Intercounties XC, Northerns, etc do use these age groups, but based on age on 1st September in the year prior to the race. So someone born on my birthday, 27th of September, is in one age group for XC and another for the FRA series.
    More broadly, as a junior myself until last year, I believe that abolishing the u18 category (would be u19 under the new rules) would be unwise. The last 2 years I have raced in the u18 category and thought the mixture of some races being juniors only (e.g. Coiners) and some the u18s racing with the seniors (e.g. West Nab) provided a good introduction into senior fell running. Turnout may have been low, but the alternative seems to be a direct jump from the under 16 (to be u17) age group to the seniors. Personally I have enjoyed senior races as much, if not more than junior races, but I am not sure this would be a view shared by all juniors. Has there been (or is there planned) any consultation of those most affected by the changes - the runners themselves?
    On another note, I have always thought the age groups being based on the start/end of the year to be slightly odd. I know one of the arguments for this is that it 'evens the playing field' for those born out side of Sep/Oct/Nov/Dec, but this results in the situation in which I find myself currently - in school year 13 but unable to take part in the junior series. Would it not make more sense next year to align the age groups fully with the XC schools age groups, introducing an u19 age category next year but for schools years 12 and 13, rather than on the basis of age at the end of the year?
    Last edited by Arkman; 06-05-2016 at 09:17 PM.

  2. #12
    Master Witton Park's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arkman View Post
    Would it not make more sense next year to align the age groups fully with the XC schools age groups, introducing an u19 age category next year but for schools years 12 and 13, rather than on the basis of age at the end of the year?
    RULE 141 S 1 UKA SUPPLEMENT - ADDITIONAL UKA AGE GROUPS
    (PREVIOUSLY UKA RULE 7 & 107, 207, 307, 308, 410, 507, 508, 610 & 612)
    The Competition Year for Road Running Events shall be from 1st September each year to the following 31st August. The Competition Year for all other disciplines shall be from 1st October each year to the following 30th September. The operative date for determining membership of age groups for all athletes under the age of 17 shall be for Track and Field and Race Walking, the 31st August at the end of the Competition Year, and for all other disciplines, the 31st August prior to the commencement of the Competition Year.


    The rules do actually make the age groups clear and the age groups are by School year and the age groups for fell are defined in the rules as the same as those for Cross Country.
    Now the application and adherence to that is a different matter.

    and I still don't know what is being proposed.
    Richard Taylor
    "William Tell could take an apple off your head. Taylor could take out a processed pea."
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  3. #13
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    The proposal is to change the names of the age groups to bring them into line with the UKA age groups. For example the u16 age group would become the u17 age group, but with the same runners in it as it would have had were it to continue to be named u16.
    So this year, runners in the u16 cat are those born between 01/01/2000 and 31/12/2001. Next year, runners in the newly named u17 cat will be born between 01/01/2001 to 31/12/2002 - the same as if it were to continue to be named u16.
    The same applies for the other age groups - u10 will become u11, u12 will become u13, etc.

    This is all fine, if a little pointless.
    However, it also states in the article, that 'Most other forms of athletics (xc/international mountain running/track/road) use u9, u11, u13, u15, u17 categories and use a reference date of midnight at the END of the year of the race.'
    This is incorrect - as you pointed out Witton, the reference date is, for track, the 31st August at the end of the Competition Year and for all other disciplines, the 31st August prior to the commencement of the Competition Year. The proposals contradict the current UKA rules, but as far as I am aware the FRA age groups always have done - certainly they have the last 2 years and this year.

    Of much more concern, is that whilst the article lists u9, u11, u13, u15 and u17 categories for next year, instead of an u19 category to replace the u18s, it is stated that 'The under 18 and under 23 categories are under review for 2017'. For reasons I have already stated, I believe not having an u19 category would be a bad decision.

  4. #14
    Great to hear from someone who this actually affects and a great post. I dont wont to debate Rule 10 as too am sick of this and we all know it isnt about determining age groups. What I am struggling to get my head round and I did maths A level (albeit not very successfully and a very long time ago) is that at the moment any runner who is say in the u14 age cat must by definition be either 12 or 13 and thus limited to a max distance of 5km. Is that right. So then they will carry on under possible changes to form the U15 age cat by new defined definition. Which does unfortunately mean some runners will spend 2 years in the bottom age bracket of the group and will by default experience more lower placings in races and possible disillusionment. So any runner in U15 must be be definition either 13 or 14. (not as previoulsy suggested 12 as they would surely be in u13) So we will have runners who are subject to different max distances in the same age group (and I'm talking specifically about champs races which require consitent groupng and not individual races where the RO stipulates age on day). As it stands FRA max distance for a child who is 13 is 5km and for a child who is 14 is 7km. So if we are going to create new age groups do we not also need to define max distances for said age groups.
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