XTERRA Youth Tour & World Championship Qualification
To view the Youth World Tour overview page, click here.
AGE GROUPS
XTERRA Youth Program is divided into 3 age divisions:
M/F 14-15 (“Youth A”)
M/F 16-17 (“Youth B”)
M/F 18-19 (“Junior”)
The age group is determined by the athlete's age as of December 31st of the year of the race.
RACE FORMATS AND OFFICIAL DISTANCES
To align with global triathlon standards, each age group in the Youth Tour will be assigned a recommended race distance.
M/F 14-15: Super Sprint Distance
Maximum distances: 400m swim, 8K bike, 2K run.
M/F 16-17 & M/F 18-19: Sprint Distance
Maximum distances: 750m swim, 15K bike, 5K run.
These distances align with World Triathlon recommendations, and are enforced by most federations. Athletes in the M/F18-19 (Junior) division may choose to participate in Full Distance Triathlons as they wish, but all championship races will be decided on the distances described above.
When allowed by governing federations and/or race directors, youth athletes may choose to compete in whatever distances are available to them. However in the interest of athlete safety and health XTERRA strongly recommends youth athletes participate in the distances described above.
Rule Updates for 2026 for Youth Athletes
In order to reinforce our Youth World Championships and keep consistency in our vision for youth development, please note that new rules will apply starting from January 1st, 2026 for youth divisions (under 20)
- World Tour Full Distance races will no longer offer World Championship qualifying slots for Youth and Junior athletes. Youth athletes will be able to qualify for their World Championship competing on their official race distance only (Sprint for M/F16-17 and M/F18-19, Supersprint for M/F14-15).
- An exception will apply only if an event is not offering the correct race distance format for the relevant Youth or Junior division. In that case slots will be allocated to the closest race distance offered by the event. In any case, qualifying slots will be issued to youth and junior athletes to compete at their official race distance at the World Championship.
- If it is their choice, and if allowed by governing federations and race directors, youth athletes will still be able to compete at any race format, but they will not be able to claim any slot or regional tour points.
- Youth and Junior athletes must compete over their official race distance at Regional and World Championships. No exception will apply except for youth athletes who have entered the race as a qualified and registered XTERRA Elite.
WORLD YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFICATION
Qualification to the XTERRA Youth World Championship is possible by the following means:
Slots
Slots to the XTERRA Youth World Championship will be awarded to youth athletes who compete and finish in top positions in any of the XTERRA Youth World Championship qualifying events, as described below.
Qualifying Sprint Distance races will offer slots to the top 5 male and female youth athletes in the 18-19 (Junior) and 16-17 (Youth B) divisions.
Qualifying Super Sprint Distance races will offer slots to the top 5 male and female youth athletes in the 14-15 (Youth A) division.
The invitations for these slots will be sent out by XTERRA once results from the qualifying races have been submitted and verified. There is no roll-down process for these slots.
Application
Athletes who do not have the opportunity to qualify directly by earning a slot may apply for a wild card entry to the XTERRA Youth World Championship. Reasons for not being able to qualify directly include:
There is no appropriate distance for the relevant age division at an XTERRA event in their respective country or area.
There are no XTERRA races available for the youth athlete within 500km.
The local XTERRA event has passed, but the athlete would like to compete in the upcoming Youth World Championship
Athletes looking to apply for a wild card entry to the XTERRA Youth World Championship can either do so using previous XTERRA triathlon results, or results from similar races that would provide evidence of their proficiency to compete in a cross-triathlon event.
For those who have raced an XTERRA triathlon: Please provide the names of the race or races and the results achieved. The distances of the races do not need to match that of the intended Youth World Championship category. These results are simply used to provide the technical team with evidence of cross-triathlon proficiency and experience.
For those who have never raced an XTERRA triathlon: Please provide any possible evidence that will support the case of the applicant's ability to participate in a cross-triathlon at a competitive level. This may include results and times from adjacent competitions such as other cross-triathlon events, MTB races, open water swimming races, duathlons, etc.
All applications will be reviewed by XTERRA, with the final decision being at the discretion of the technical team.
For athletes under the age of 18, applications need to be submitted by the athlete’s parents, club manager or Federal Youth representative, while athletes over the age of 18 may apply on their own accord.
Do youth athletes need a license to participate in the Youth World Championship?
Multi-sport athletes of all ages during the XTERRA World Championship weekend will be required to have a USA Triathlon license in order to race. If an athlete does not already have a USAT year-long membership, during the registration flow, athletes will be given the opportunity to purchase a youth-specific USAT membership. More information about USAT Memberships can be found at https://www.usatriathlon.org/membership.
Do XTERRA Full Distance qualifying races still offer a slot for the 15-19 division?
No, from 2026 and onwards, there will no longer be slots offered for Youth (under 20) athletes on Full Distance qualifying races. Youth athletes will be able to qualify for their World Championship competing on their official race distance only (Sprint for M/F16-17 and M/F18-19, Supersprint for M/F14-15). In the case where there is no appropriate Youth race at the event and Youth athletes are permitted to race in a longer distance than their official, youth slots may be issued, but will only apply for the relevant Youth Championship race.
Can Junior (18-19) athletes qualify for the XTERRA Full Distance World Championship?
No, from 2026 and onwards, no Junior athletes will be allowed to compete in the XTERRA Full Distance World Championship race, unless they meet the criteria to race as an Elite and comply with the Elite qualification rules.
What if there is no race available for my age?
Youth athletes may participate in any XTERRA triathlon race where the governing federation and/or race director allow. If a youth athlete completes an XTERRA triathlon event that is not the official distance for their division, they may use that result to apply for a Youth World Championship slot by emailing [email protected]. For example, if a 17 year old (Youth B) athlete participates in a Full Distance race and places 1st in their division, and there was no Sprint Distance race available, they may use that result to apply for a slot to the Youth World Championship.
