USA Triathlon

Calling All Youth & Junior Triathletes!

USA Triathlon is headed back to West Chester, Ohio for its tenth year! The 2022 Zone3 Youth & Junior Nationals will take place on July 30-31, 2022 at Voice of America Park. Youth athletes of all experience levels are invited to participate in this fun and iconic event.

West Chester first hosted rising youth and junior triathlon stars in 2012 and is a prime location for the National event, with more than 20 of the 38 active High Performance Teams within a day's drive of the venue. There are nearly 1000 athletes ages 7-19 that compete annually. The two-day event is contained within Voice of America Park and supported through a strong partnership with the Butler County Visitors Bureau and other community organizations. Click here to read more on this continued partnership in West Chester, Ohio. 

Pre-Race Briefing 

For important race information and insight on the course, watch the recorded pre-race webinar, hosted by Zone3 Youth & Junior Nationals Race Director Cody Crowther. Plus, Tokyo 2020 Olympic Mixed Relay silver medalist Kevin McDowell has a special message for you! 

Draft-Legal Race Briefing 

Junior Draft-Legal racers, watch the pre-race webinar for the draft-legal races here. Learn everything you need to know about draft-legal competition and equipment rules for the individual and mixed-relay draft-legal races. 

COVID-19 Impacts

With the recent increase in positive cases of COVID-19, the BA.5 variant is now the most dominant strain of COVID-19 in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  

Anybody who has experienced a recent exposure, or has a positive test for COVID-19 10-14 days before the Zone3 Youth & Junior Nationals, or is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 should not attend Zone3 Youth & Junior Nationals or other USA Triathlon National Championship events.

COVID-19 symptoms include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.

If you cannot attend Zone3 Youth & Junior Nationals or another USA Triathlon National Championship event due to COVID-19, please contact service@usatriathlon.org.

2022 Schedule of Events

July 30

• Youth Age Groups 13-18: 300m swim, 10k bike, 2.5k run
• Junior Draft-Legal 16-17 and 18-19: 750m swim, 20k bike, 5k run
  • New for 2022, Junior Draft-Legal races are split 16-17 and 18-19!
• Youth Draft-Legal (13-15): 375m swim, 10k bike, 2.5k run

July 31

• Intellectual Impairment (new for 2022!), PC Open, and Non-Binary waves (Ages 7-18): 200m swim, 10k bike, 2k run
• Youth Age Groups 11-12: 200m swim, 10k bike, 2k run
• Youth Age Groups 7-10: 100m swim 5k bike, 1k run
• Mixed Relay: 250m swim, 5k bike, 1.2k run

Click here to view the full event schedule.

American Development Model (ADM) Adjustments

Continuing in 2022 are the changes that were made in 2021 to align with the American Development Model (ADM), a concerted effort between the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee and its sport National Governing Bodies to apply long-term athlete development principles in a way that resonates with the culture of sport in the United States.  The ADM aims to create early positive experiences for youth athletes across all sports by promoting sustained sport participation. Emphasis is placed on developmentally appropriate activities, including foundational skill development, coordination and motor control.

The major adjustments to Youth & Junior Nationals include:

• The word “Championships” will be removed from the overall event name (Youth & Junior Nationals) in an effort to emphasize participation and personal goal setting over competition for younger age groups.
• The youth age group race is now open to athletes up to age 18 (previously limited to ages 7-15).
• National Champion titles will only be awarded to athletes ages 13-18. Athletes aged 7-12 will still receive placement awards, five places deep. In the PC Open division, the top male and female finishers overall will earn national champion titles.
• The Youth and Junior Elite and Mixed Relay races will remain in the same format as previous years.
• All athletes will record their goal times for their races as part of the registration process. A “goal time board” will also be available at the venue for athletes to write down their goals and finishing times. As part of the ADM, this process encourages athletes to focus on advancing their personal bests versus placement relative to other athletes.
• The High School National Championships, historically held in conjunction with the Collegiate Club National Championships, will be removed from USA Triathlon's championship schedule. High school-aged athletes will be encouraged to participate in either the youth age group or junior elite races at Youth and Junior Nationals.
• There are slight adjustments to the schedule to accommodate the older athlete. Click here to view the current event schedule.