British Triathlon has welcomed the release of the ITU Competition Rules, which have been announced this week and will come into effect on 10th March 2011. The ITU Qualification and Ranking Criteria have also been updated.
British Triathlon has been in the forefront of encouraging a holistic review of the rules to establish where there was need for amendment and has then contributed to the process at several levels.
The British Triathlon President, Sarah Springman, commented: “It has been very apparent that there was a need both to amend the rules and to achieve consistent application across the many different classes of competition that are promoted by ITU.
“It has been possible, in my capacity as ITU Vice President, to ensure that this has been a key item of the winter-season activity and that the British members of the ITU and ETU Committees have been able to contribute in their areas of expertise. In particular, Paul Groves and Jasmine Flatters have been central to the technical review, while Chris Kitchen (Multisport), Heather Williams (Elite) and Howard Vine (Age Group) have brought valuable expertise to the review in their specialist areas.
“British Triathlon looks forward to a more consistent regulation of competition post implementation of the rules over the coming season.”
The BTF particularly welcome the ITU revisions to rules for age group athletes. Following representation on behalf of British age group athletes, the ITU rules relating to compression socks and disc wheels have been amended and clarified. A resolution was presented and passed at the 2010 ITU Congress in Budapest, so it is now optional for age group athletes to place the surname on race kit. This has now been incorporated into the rules as well.
Inconsistency in the rules and their application at events held under ITU and ETU rules had led to varying level of experience for athletes, something British Triathlon has been campaigning to resolve.
All age group athletes are advised to read the elements of the rules relevant to their discipline in planning for, and prior to, any competition. A link to the ITU article on the revision of the rules can be found at the following link: http://www.triathlon.org/images/uploads/itusport_competition-rules_20110207.pdf
