Age Group Rules

Age Group Rules This page last updated: Saturday April 29 2006

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Age Groupings

What Age Group am I in?

This question is asked many, many times, and unfortunately, the answer is not a simple one. In fact, it is possible for one person to score points in two different age groups in the same event depending on a couple of different factors. So, after much research, many long and robust discussions at Striders Committee Meetings, we hope that this article will explain and define age groups for the forseeable future.... that is, until someone else wants to join the committee and argue a different approach!

Striders Age Groupings

SEX: All age groups are split into Men and Women - at least there is little argument about that split.

OPEN: All runners regardless of age are in this category. This means whoever takes out the Open category will naturally also win their Age category as everyone is also in an Age Group.

PRE VETS: The Committee has introduced the Pre Veteran's category which encompasses all men under 40 and women under 35. The reason for this category is to ensure all Striders are competing in both an Age Group and the Open categories.

VETERANS: Women become Veterans when they turn 35, men when they turn 40. The World Masters Athletics association attempted to align the Men's and Women's age for Veterans last year, but the vote was narrowly lost. So, until the WMA lines up the ages Striders will abide by the 35/40 ruling.

MASTERS: Both men and women become Masters runners as they turn 50.

SENIORS: When men and women turn 60 they become Senior runners.

SUPER SENIORS: The top of the range Age Group is the Super Seniors. Men and Women qualify for Super Seniors when they turn 70.

but my birthday is....

Every year there are Striders moving from one age group to the next. This is where the difficulty arises. So, the following rules applies when working out what age group you are in when you run a particular race or series:

Single events: This is fairly straight forward. Your age on race day defines your age group.

Best performance during the year: Again, your age on race day defines your age group.

Club Championships: Same as Single events, age on race day.

10k and Super Series: The tricky one. As these events are run from February to November each year, an arbitary date has been selected to categorise all runners for both Series. Your age on that date defines your category. That date is 30th June. Why that date? It places everyone within 6 months of their birthday for that Series. Any other date would bias late in the year or early in the year birthdays.

Age & Gender Adjusted: There is always an exception, isn't there? The Age and Gender adjusted competition for the Super Series is based on a table of points produced by the World Masters Athletics Association and modified by Striders to reflect odd distances and off road races. These tables list points for each year of age, so your points are calculated for your age on the day of the race.

No birthdate on file: Some members are a little reticent to divulge their birthdate, so they are assumed to be in the Open category and score points as a 20 year old for the Age and Gender Adjusted points score.

Questions? Comments? Birthdays? Please email The Handicapper