Courtesy: USAT

Approximately 900 athletes have registered for the 2005 USA Triathlon Age Group National Championship on Aug. 13 in Kansas City, Mo., and the number continues to grow.

Registrations will cap at 1,400 and USA Triathlon officials recommend that interested athletes sign up soon. At 830-plus, this year's registration has already exceeded last year's total entries for the national championship race.

The top 10 finishers in each age group will qualify for the International Triathlon Union (ITU) Triathlon World Championships on Oct. 8-9 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

USA Triathlon has also announced open registration for 18-19 year olds at the USAT National Age Group Championships. The ITU recently announced that it will have an 18-19 age group category for the world championships in Honolulu. In order to build a U.S. team quickly, USAT has decided that 18-19 year olds will not have to qualify to race at Kansas City. The top 10 finishers will qualify for Honolulu.

"This is going to be an exciting event. The USA Triathlon staff is working hard with race director Mark Livesay to make sure it is a high-quality racing experience," said Jeff Dyrek, USAT's owned events director. "I think people are going to be surprised and pleased at everything Kansas City has to offer."

The state of California has provided the most entries with 118. That is followed by Texas (58), Florida (52), Colorado (50), New York (47) and Illinois (44).

Especially impressive is the large number of women - 43 percent - who have signed up for the national championships. The USA Triathlon Women's Commission will be holding a Women's Breakfast on Aug. 12 at 8 a.m.

The race will take place in and around the Smithville Reservoir, north of Kansas City. The closed bike course will have rolling hills and plenty of scenery. The run is primarily flat with some slight hills.

The 2005 event sponsors include: Big Dog Sportswear, Hammer Gel, Avis Rent a Car and Brightroom.

For more information about the USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships or to register, go to www.usatriathlon.org/Events/Champs_AG_national.ht m.