Series Structure

The series consists of up to eight (8) independently-produced, owned and operated, short-course triathlons - referred to as “stages” - taking place between Memorial Day and Labor Day. All stages are located in the Northeast Region of USA Triathlon, which includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Although every state does not host a stage of the Series, efforts have been made to locate the highest quality events evenly dispersed across the region to maximize opportunities for participation.

Eligible Athletes

Male and Female athletes between the ages of 15 and 19 years old (as of December 31, 2008) are eligible to score points in the Series. Younger athletes may be allowed to participate, but not score points, at the sole discretion of the race promoter.

Points System

Points will be awarded to Eligible Athletes finishing in 1st through 20th place in the male and female, 15-19 year old divisions of each stage. Double points will be awarded at the season finale, Stage 8. To calculate Series standings, an athlete’s best four (4) results will be used. When calculating the final standings for the overall series championship, in the event of a tie between two or more athletes, each head-to-head match-up will be reviewed and the winner of the greater number of said match-ups will be recognized as the winner.

Awards

Series awards will be presented to the top five overall in the final standings at the season finale.

USAT Rules

Non-Drafting: Events will follow USA Triathlon age-group, non-drafting rules. Series participants will start together in the same wave, to be designated by the Event Director. Athletes who do not start in the designated series/junior wave are not eligible to earn series points or series awards for that stage.

Bike Set-up: The optimal bicycle set-up for junior athletes is a traditional “road” bicycle with drop-style handlebars, as opposed to a “tri” bike with aerobars. There are two main justifications for this philosophy. First, junior athletes need to develop sound bike handling skills before focusing on riding extended periods in the aero position. This “road” position, with hands on the brake hoods or in the drops with fingertips on the brake levers, is the safest riding position for young athletes. Second, junior athletes may also want to participate in draft-legal Junior Elite Cup triathlons (including Junior National Championships) or attend a USAT junior development camp. Both events require a road bike with drop bars to participate. Therefore, setting up a junior on a road bike FIRST is the safest and most cost-effective way to introduce a young athlete to the sport of triathlon.

Bike Checks: Athletes should make every effort to conform to the junior bike set-up described above, however, bikes that are “legal” according to USAT age-group competition rules will be allowed. This will allow consistency of enforcement at all series events by USAT certified officials.

Protests

Protests involving USAT competition rules infractions must be made to the USAT Official in accordance with USAT rules. Protests involving series rules must be made to the Series Director by email to director@nejuniortriathlon.com, no later than 24 hours after the completion of the stage, or 24 hours after the posting of updated series standings on this website, whichever is later. The decision of the Series Director shall be final.

Field Limits

Series events are independently owned and operated by eight different race organizers. Event Directors reserve the right to limit the number of participants in their event for safety and logistics reasons. Participation in previous stages of this series DOES NOT guaranty entry into subsequent stages. It is in the athlete’s best interest to register in advance for ALL races in which they plan to participate. We have selected only the highest-quality events for this series and many of them will sell out early. Please do not ask the Series Director to “pull strings” to get you into a series race…no exceptions will be made.

USAT Membership

All series races are sanctioned by USA Triathlon. In order to participate in a series race, you will need to purchase either (a) an Annual Membership in USA Triathlon (17 & Under = $5, 18-19 = $39) or (b) a One-Day License ($10) for each event in which you want to participate. Annual Memberships are highly recommended for the following reasons:

• a) Save time and money on race day - no extra lines to wait in and your license pays itself off after only two or three races.
  
• b) As an Annual Member you’ll earn both a National and Regional ranking in your ranking age division (15 & Under, 16-17, 18-19).
  
• c) Receive USAT’s bi-monthly news magazine and email bulletins throughout the year.

For a full list of benefits, visit www.usatriathlon.org.

You must present a valid USAT annual membership and photo identification at race check-in/registration. We strongly recommend that you print out a receipt or temporary license when joining online and bring this paperwork to the race, as it may take a few weeks to receive your membership card in the mail.

To join USAT, visit www.usatriathlon.org.

Stage Cancellation

If a stage of the series is cancelled due to weather or other circumstances, no points will be awarded for that stage. If the stage is rescheduled on the same weekend (e.g. Saturday race moved to Sunday), points will be awarded. A stage that is shortened to a duathlon (run/bike or run/bike/run) will award points, however a stage shortened to a run-only event will not award points. Cancellation or shortening of the stage is at the sole discretion of the Event Director.

Relays

There is no relay division in this series.