Here is some useful information about Championship Races…
Age Groups Senior athletes age wise is from 16 years of age at start of each year. So if you are 16 by the end of 31st December 2017 you are a Senior Athlete in 2017 but then there are different Rules as regards competing at Novice. So the easiest thing to do is say that you are a Senior Athlete when you are 19 Years of age, that covers all our Seniors and anyone under 19 is a Junior athlete so not many juveniles take part in senior events.
There are a number of different age group categories for seniors and typically competitions will be divided into these categories:-
Senior Aged 16 or older on the day of competition
O40 Aged 40 or older on the day of competition
O45 Aged 45 or older on the day of competition
O50 Aged 50 or older on the day of competition
Veteran Increasing in increments of 5 years
Note, the veteran categories referred to above are also commonly referred to as Masters. A Master athlete is an athlete that reaches 35 years of age and can compete at over 35 on their birthday.The O35 category only exists for women athletes.
After that there is an age group competition for every five years, over 40, over 45, over 50, over 55, over 60, over 65, over 70, over 75.
COMPETITIONS:
The official athletics year is split into a number of seasons: –
– Indoors track and field competition (December to April)
Road Championships season (February to April)
– Outdoors track and field competition (May to July).
– Cross-country competition (October to March)
The indoor and outdoor track and field seasons consist of:-
– National senior and masters combined events (i.e. pentathlon, heptathlon, decathlon)
– County, provincial and national senior individual events
It is important to note that in the Road and Cross Country Championship events we emphasise the team effort, there are team events in all these categories and being part of a team and a winning team can be a great incentive and there are many athletes who came into the Sport and won a County Novice team medal and they never looked back.
The cross-country season consists of county, provincial and national championships.
The cross-country races are sub-divided into the following categories:-
– Novice – Ladies 3K and Men 6K
– Intermediate – Ladies 4K and Men 8K
– Senior – Ladies 5k and Men 10K-
– Master Women 4K and Master Men 7K
The Road Championship season consists of County, Provincial and National Championships.
The Road Races are sub-divided into the following categories:-
– Novice- Ladies 3k and Men 6K
– Intermediate- Ladies 4K and Men 8K
– Senior- Ladies 5k and Men 10K
– Master Men and Women 6K for both
County Road Relays – Women and Men 800m, 1500m, 800m, 3000m
There are various categories of competition in our Sport and these categories cover both Road and Cross Country Championships. Here are the guidelines for competing at County level.
Eligibility – Novice Level.
An athlete can compete at County Novice level provided he/ she is 19 years of age on December 31st in year of competition. All Athletes except previous individual winner of this or any higher championship IN ANY COUNTY and the first three individual medallists at senior level are eligible. Also any athlete from outside the Country of Ireland, who has not competed at senior level in Ireland, for at least one year, is ineligible.
We also have a Novice B level and here eligibility is confined to Athletes who competed in the “A” Championships with the first eight men and the first five* ladies in those championships excluded as well as previous individual winners, both male & female. (* First five ladies excluded if entry level in the “A” Championships is over twenty athletes. If entry level is lower than twenty athletes, the exclusion limit will be lowered to the first three athletes).
Intermediate level Eligibility:
An athlete can compete at County Intermediate level provided he/ she is 20 years of age on December 31st in year of competition. All Athletes except previous individual winner of this or any higher championship IN ANY COUNTY and the first three individual medallists at senior level are eligible. Also any athlete from outside the Country of Ireland, who has not competed at senior level in Ireland, for at least one year, is ineligible.
Senior Level Eligibility
An athlete can compete at County Senior level provided he/ she is 20 years of age on December 31st in year of competition.
Junior Level Eligibility:
An athlete that is over 16 and Under 20 on the 31st of December in the Competition Year can compete as Junior.
a full fixtures list for your convenience can be found on
http://www.tipperaryathletics.com/fixtures/fixtures.html
http://www.athleticsireland.ie/competition/fixtures/