Building upon the success of last season’s pilot program in Europe, Ironman brand owner World Triathlon Corp (WTC) has announced the global expansion of its Age Group Ranking (AGR) program for amateur triathletes.
In extension of last year’s model, the program will now include all IM and IM 70.3 races in 2013. Beginning with last month’s Ironman 70.3 Pucon triathlon and ending with the Ironman 70.3 Canberra event on 15 December 2013, all athletes will be automatically entered into the program and receive points based on their finish times.
“After receiving such positive feedback from the triathlete community on the pilot phase, it is a natural progression to further expand the Age Group Ranking program to include all Ironman and Ironman 70.3 events,” said Andrew Messick, Chief Executive Officer of World Triathlon Corporation.
“Our athletes from around the world have a competitive spirit and we are excited to offer them an opportunity to track their racing, while rewarding their accomplishments.”
The global program will offer age group athletes a way to earn points based on their race finishes and measure their race performances against their fellow competitors regionally, as well as from around the world, in one cumulative system.
Athletes that compete in any IM or IM 70.3 event in 2013 will earn Age Group Ranking (AGR) points. In each IM event, Age Group Champions will earn 5,000 points, while first place finishers of IM 70.3 events will earn 3,500 points toward their ranking. Points will then be calculated on a sliding scale based upon each subsequent athlete’s finish time, with a minimum of 1,000 points for an Ironman race and 700 points for an Ironman 70.3 race, as long as they complete the event.
Points and rankings will be updated weekly online at www.ironman.com/ranking, starting in early spring 2013.
Although athletes may compete in as many 2013 Ironman and Ironman 70.3 events as they choose, only their top three race performances will be calculated toward their AGR. At the end of the 2013 season, all athletes will receive a special certificate and acknowledgement from Ironman, recognizing their achievement. Competitors who finish in the top 10% globally in either Ironman, Ironman 70.3 or a combination of Ironman and Ironman 70.3 events, will be given the designation ‘Ironman All World’.
