British Triathlon Federation – British Triathlon



Triathlon England Youth/Junior Points Tables Review 2016IntroductionThe current Regional Academy points system has existed in its current form for a number of years without significant amendment or update. The sport has developed in this time, and in addition, a number of errors in the original tables have been identified. Now entering our 5th Olympic cycle with it as a Talent Identification tool, it was felt an evolution of the model was required.PurposeThe purpose of this review was to generate a points system that:More accurately reflects the required profile of youth/junior athletes transitioning to U23/Senior level in the 2020/2024 Olympic cycles.Addresses the bias in the current system towards strong swimmers and weaker runners (especially on the men’s side).Removes the need for capping/uncapping of scores.MethodologyThe following section details the process by which the new tables were derived.The starting point for points allocation and ‘banding’ is the required swim/run profile of a world junior podium at age 19 (top year junior), which enables them to both perform as a top junior but more importantly have developed a profile that will enhance their transfer to U23/senior career. This target point is known, both from the performances of GB athletes through the programme in the last 4 cycles and from selected others from around the world.BenchmarkingBenchmark bands were defined in each discipline at 19yrs old as:GOLD* Triathlon World Lead190ptsGOLD+ World Junior Podium180ptsGOLD World Junior Top 15170ptsSILVER Gateway Top 15 160ptsBRONZE Super Series150ptsSimplicity and ease of understanding for athletes, parents and coaches was another key driver and based on the above knowledge, it was felt that the appropriate separation between each of the benchmark bands was:Swim – 15s over 400m (1.5s per point) or half of this for 200mRun – 30s over 3km (3s per point) or half of this for 1500mThis yielded the following benchmarks for 19-year-old Male athletes:GOLD*GOLD+GOLDSILVERBRONZESWIM (400m)4:004:154:304:455:00RUN (3km)7:518:218:519:219:51This yielded the following benchmarks for 19-year-old Female athletes:GOLD*GOLD+GOLDSILVERBRONZESWIM (400m)4:204:354:505:055:20RUN (3km)9:049:3410:0410:3411:04Development TrajectoryA reasonable annual performance trajectory was determined to be 2% per year for boys at all ages in both disciplines and for girls as 1% per year. In general boys do more physical development then girls through this period and the different % increments accounts for this. The result generates a points system that corresponds to known current and historical performance levels at 19 yrs old and the progression rates of real athletes, is mathematically straightforward and easily comprehensible for athletes, coaches and parents.Clearly this is not intended to say that all athletes will develop at the same rate of precisely 2% or 1% per year – it does not account for training history or stage of development. However, it does give an indication of the average trajectory, whilst accepting that each athlete will develop at a different rate.Regardless of the initial performance level and subsequent trajectory of an individual athlete, the key point of the above is the end goal (in Academy/ETS terms), of athletes developing to the level required to successfully transition to U23/senior level – the 19-year-old benchmarks – at the end of their time in the Academy system.Tables for the shorter distances (200m swim and 1500m run for athletes aged 13-15 years) were generated following a fairly similar process. Benchmarks for the 15-year-old boys were taken as 1% faster than the pace required as an 18-year-old (over double the distance) and for girls as 2%The reasoning here is that boys physical maturation generally comes a later and so their development through this period is at a faster trajectory then girls whose development is generally not as steep and so this will hopefully go some way to addressing the fact that a lot of girls ‘stall’ around ages 14-16Comparison of the previous system with this new proposal shows that the most significant differences are in male swim/run balance (the area identified as requiring most attention) and in women’s swim which currently does not have consistent progressions.Points and bandingAs with the previous system total points score is the sum of scores achieved in swimming and running. No Academy now takes in Bronze level athletes (under the old system) and a distinction is often made between low-silver and high-silver, so these have been separated into two categories GOLD+ 360ptsGOLD 340ptsSILVER 320ptsBRONZE 300ptsWith this system, the capping/uncapping of each discipline is not required. However, the more “unbalanced” you are, the more context dependent you are in terms of race performances i.e. a “balanced” 360pt athlete can “win” from a wider range of race scenarios than an “unbalanced” 360pt athlete, who would be more dependent on the race dynamics falling in their favour.It has also been agreed that we no longer refer to athletes as gold/silver etc as they develop through the age groups. Whilst athletes are working towards these levels at 19 (as an end point) it was agreed that athletes will all develop at different rates of progression. This will help with better setting parents/athletes expectations and preventing a fixed mind set approach e.g. an athlete falls off a supposed gold trajectory is no longer developing. Each Academy will instead ask for just a points score - the points score will reflect the level required for that Academy and whilst covertly might be linked to a banding it will not be overtly linked to one. This points system has been corroborated using all the current ETS athletes, along with historical performance levels of previous British juniors who have gone on to U23/senior success and known performances from non-British athletes. Throughout this process it has robustly reflected the performance level of the athletes involved and the required performance profile for progression to senior level. ................
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