National governing body USA Triathlon (USAT) has revealed its 2018 National Championships calendar, with the majority of dates and locations confirmed for a ‘robust schedule of events’. Highlighting the calendar is the first-ever Multisport National Championships Festival in Miami, Florida, which will feature five national championships over two days.
A slate of newly-announced events join the USA Triathlon Duathlon (7-8 April in Greenville, South Carolina), Collegiate Club and High School (27-28 April in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.), Youth & Junior (4-5 August in West Chester, Ohio) and Age Group Olympic and Sprint (11-12 August in Cleveland, Ohio) National Championships, the dates and locations of which were all announced earlier this year.
Returning to their 2017 host cities are the Winter Triathlon National Championships in St Paul, Minnesota (27 January); the Clydesdale & Athena National Championships in Grand Rapids, Michigan (10 June); and the Ultra-Distance National Championships in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (22 September).
The 2018 Aquabike and Long Course Triathlon National Championships return to their 2017 host city of Miami, but will now be part of the inaugural USA Triathlon Multisport National Championships Festival. This action-packed weekend of racing, held in conjunction with the Miami Man Triathlon from 10-11 November, will bring together five USA Triathlon National Championship events:
- Aquathlon, Long Course Triathlon;
- Long Course Duathlon;
- Long Course Aquabike; and
- The first-ever International-Distance Aquabike Nationals (0.6-mile swim, 22-mile bike).
USAT adds that the festival format gives athletes the opportunity to compete in and spectate multiple national championships over the same weekend.
Off-road triathletes will head to a new city to compete for national titles in 2018, as the XTERRA Cameron Park Triathlon in Waco, Texas, will host the Off-Road National Championships on 9 June.
Also new for 2018, USA Triathlon has upgraded the events known in previous years as Draft-Legal World Qualifiers to National Championships. The 2018 Draft-Legal Duathlon National Championships will take place on 7 April as part of the Duathlon National Championships in Greenville, South Carolina; and the date and location of the Draft-Legal Triathlon National Championships will be announced soon.
At several National Championships in the 2018 season, age-group athletes will be racing not only for national titles, but also for spots on Team USA. For the first time, Ultra-Distance Nationals will serve as a Team USA qualifying event, giving top finishers the opportunity to represent Team USA at the ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships in 2019.
Registration is already open for the USA Triathlon Duathlon, High School, Youth & Junior and Age Group Olympic-Distance and Sprint National Championships. Registration for all other races will open over the coming months.
Dates and locations for the USA Triathlon Elite, Paratriathlon, Women’s Collegiate Triathlon and first-ever Draft-Legal Triathlon National Championships will be announced in the coming months.
www.usatriathlon.org/nationalchampionships
www.usatriathlon.org/teamusa
