Do you have what it takes?

The Regional Talent Academies are the foundations of the triathlon talent pathway in England and GB. They are led in each case by a team of coaches who work with the regional committee and national staff to deliver a programme of support to the best young triathletes in their region. They provide the required support to allow triathletes to progress further up the talent pathway and become national and internationally recognised triathletes.

On Saturday 13^th September 2014, the Yorkshire Triathlon Academy will hold selection trials for the 2014-15 season.

The selection trials present a number of opportunities:

1. For existing Academy athletes:
   1. To achieve eligibility for selection to the England Talent Squad
   2. To retain their position on the Academy Squad
   3. To gain promotion from the Academy Potential Squad or Academy Start Squad to the Academy Squad
2. For new emerging talented athletes to gain selection onto the Academy
3. For Academy Coaches to identify athletes with future potential to gain selection onto the Yorkshire Triathlon Academy

Applications and invitations to attend the selection trials:

Athletes who will be aged 13-19 years of age in 2015 can submit an application form for the Academy. Applications will be considered and those athletes whose performance standards in swimming and running meet or exceed the minimum levels required will be invited to attend the selection trials.

If an athlete applies and is not invited to the selection trials they will receive a brief explanation and some guidance from the Academy Head Coach.

You can complete the application form online here.

The cut off date for submission of applications is Sunday 7^th September 2014.

Guidance on the performance standards required:

For athletes, parents and guardians who are new to the Triathlon England performance standards and the Yorkshire Triathlon Academy selection process, the following guidance might be helpful:

The minimum standards required for the Yorkshire Triathlon Academy are first of all determined by the Triathlon England Talent ID tables and then may be uplifted depending on the standards of the athletes currently on the Yorkshire Triathlon Academy.

The Triathlon England standards are derived from the English records for swimming and running by gender and by age. There are four levels, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Gold Plus. Points are awarded according to the swim and run times achieved by the athlete and the combined total determines the athlete’s performance level.

As the England Talent Programme has progressed over recent years the minimum standard required has risen in line with the calibre of the athletes coming forward for selection. Currently the base line for the Regional Talent Academies is the Silver standard. This year we expect that our current squad members will maintain or improve upon their current standing and if they do so, the minimum standard required for the Yorkshire Triathlon Academy will be in line with the mid-silver standard (see below).

Athletes that have been on the Academy for at least one year who meet or exceed the Gold standard will be eligible for selection to the England Talent Squad. The Regional Head Coach will nominate eligible athletes for the England Talent Squad selections on 20^th/21^st September 2014.

Mid-silver standards:

Selection trials timetable:

Date: Saturday 13^th September

Venue: John Chalres Centre for Sport, Leeds

Meet: 09:00 – 09:15 – Reception/café area

Introduction: 09:15 – 10:00 – Dennison suite

Swim: 10:00 – 11:30 – Swimming pool

Lunch: 11:30 – 12:30 – Café area

Run: 12:30 – 13:30 – Running track

Athlete interviews:13:30 – 16:00 – Dennison suite

13-16 years old: 200m swim/1500m run

17-19 years old: 400m swim/3000m run

If you have any questions about the selection trials, please contact Liam O’Neill (Regional Head Coach) yhacademy@triathlonengland.org