Age Group changes: transition plan
In January 2024, following a consultation process involving all Home Country Athletics Federations (HCAFs), UK Athletics’ decision to approve changes to the current competition age groups was announced.
This means that the age groups in which young athletes compete will change from U13, U15, U17 and U20, as is currently the case, to U12, U14, U16, U18 and U20 from 1 April 2026.
The objectives of the age group changes are to:
- Simplify age group dates for all disciplines
- Support athletes in their long-term development
- Retain and recruit more young people in athletics
- Provide a clear, simplified pathway for all areas of the sport, from U10s - Seniors
- Provide better gradual progression for all athletics events
- And in creating an additional age group, better support age and stage appropriate competition formats & events
It’s important to point out that the age group changes alone are not viewed as the sole answer to the challenges we face as a sport in retaining and recruiting athletes and are part of a wider approach to arresting participation decline and increasing the number of young people engaged in track and field particularly.
Ahead of the implementation of the new age groups, the HCAFs have been undertaking further consultation with the sport as well as convening a task group and associated sub groups to ensure a smooth transition.
The key objective of phase one of the implementation process was to establish clear principles around the transition and to establish the key technical aspects of the change. This page outlines the technical information which will form the basis of rule changes ahead of 2026.
Age Group Changes Key Information and Principles
The new rules will be effective from 1 April 2026. Competition providers will have the flexibility to pilot the new age groups and technical rules in the indoor season of 2025-2026 should they wish to do so.
The age groups under UKA rules will be: U10, U12, U14, U16, U18, U20, Senior, Masters.
Records and rankings
Technical information
Download technical information (PDF 700kB)Off-track disciplines
The below table highlights MAXIMUM permitted distances for all athletes in differing disciplines. Further recommendations are listed for race distances for cross country, road and multi-terrain events.
| Age group | Age on day | All terrains: maximum distances | Cross Country: recommended distances | Road and Multi-terrain: recommended distances |
| Senior / Master (20+) | 20+ | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| U20 (18, 19) | 19 18 | 45km Marathon | 10km | Marathon |
| U18 (16, 17) | 17 16 | 25km 16km | 8km | 16km |
| U16 (14, 15) | 15 14 | 12km 8km | 5km | 8km |
| U14 (12, 13) | 13 12 | 6km 6km | 4km | 6km |
| U12 (10, 11) | 11 10 | 3km 3km | 3km | 3km |
Note: we are still awaiting sign off from the Mountain, Hill and Fell group; an update will be issued soon.
Para-athletics
A full overview and detail around the technical rule changes for para-athletics will be published in due course.
Transition arrangements
- For Track & Field, the Transition Year will be 1 April 2026 to 31 August 2026.
- For Cross Country and Indoors, the Transition Year will be 1 September 2026 to 31 March 2027.
- From 1 April 2027, only U16, U18 and U20 will be awarded National titles and medals (as well as U23 and Seniors).
Next Steps
Following the publication of this information, the HCAFs will be running a series of webinars, a survey and individual consultations for competition providers. There will also be a competition provider conference in December 2024.
To provide feedback on the information included in this document, please email trackandfieldproject@englandathletics.org.