Courtesy: USAT

USA Triathlon has announced that the 2005 USAT Youth National Championships for athletes ages 7-12 will take place Aug. 27 at the University of New Orleans Aquatic Center at the Kiefer UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, La.

Age groups will be broken into 7-8 year olds, 9-10 year olds, and 11-12 year olds. The competitor's age group is determined by his/her age on Dec. 31, 2005.

The race will feature a pool swim, completely closed bike course, and run around the arena grounds. The course for 7-8 and 9-10 year olds will consist of a 100m swim, 5k bike and 1k run. The course for 11-12 year olds will consist of a 200m swim, 10k bike and 2k run. Athletes 13-15 years old may also race in an "exhibition" category over the same course as the 11-12 year olds.

Youth ages 13-15 and Juniors (16-19 years old) will have their official national championships at the Baker's Healthy Start Foundation Triathlon on Aug. 7 in Bellingham, Wash.

These championships are ITU-style draft-legal events and take place in conjunction with the USA Triathlon Elite National Championships on the same course but at a shorter distance. This course was also used for the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for triathlon.

There are no qualifying requirements for any of this year's youth or junior national championships.

Registration information will be posted soon at www.usatriathlon.org.