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2023 Commonwealth Youth Games selection policies

England Athletics and Commonwealth Games England are pleased to announce the criteria for selection for the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad & Tobago.

The Games take place from 4 – 11 August and past participants have included Jessica Ennis-Hill, Jazmin Sawyers, Dina Asher-Smith, Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and Lawrence Clarke.

England Athletics intends to nominate the maximum number of athletes, based on the number of team places made available by Commonwealth Games England, with the aim of securing the maximum number of top four placings.

The policies detail the criteria England Athletics will use to nominate athletes to Commonwealth Games England for ratification.

Scott Grace, Team Leader for Athletics for the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games said:

“For many young athletes the Commonwealth Youth Games provide a first international experience and hopefully the first steppingstone towards senior success.

"I hope that all those selected will grasp this amazing opportunity to represent England, our sport and most importantly themselves with both pride and passion.

“In the past, the Commonwealth Youth Games has provided a great learning experience for several of our current senior England stars including Jazmin Sawyers, Dina Asher-Smith and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey. I wish every athlete the greatest of success with their upcoming season.”

Frankie Carter-Kelly, Chef de Mission for Commonwealth Games England, said:

“We are delighted with the commitment from England Athletics to the Commonwealth Youth Games. We have seen some outstanding young athletes compete at previous Youth Games and go on to achieve great success at Commonwealth and Olympic Games and I can’t wait to see them perform in Trinidad & Tobago.”

Selection

Selection for the Commonwealth Youth Games is open to athletes 16 – 17 years of age (athletes born in 2006 or 2007) who are eligible to compete for England to be considered for selection.

The final team will be nominated in a single selection meeting to be held on Monday 19 June 2023. Only then will the team be announced, subject to ratification by Commonwealth Games England

Para athletes

England Athletics and Team England are also pleased to announce the inclusion of para athletes for the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad & Tobago. This will be the first time para athletics events will take place at a Commonwealth Youth Games and provides an exciting opportunity for developing athletes to progress on to representing senior teams at major international championships in the future.

Para athletes can gain selection for the Commonwealth Youth Games through direct invitation from the Commonwealth Games Federation and through nomination from England Athletics. England Athletics will accept all direct invitations and will nominate additional para-athletes who have a realistic medal winning potential where there is capacity within the team size quota allocated by Commonwealth Games England (CGE).

Para selection for the Commonwealth Youth Games is open to athletes born in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, who are eligible to compete for England to be considered for selection.

The deadline for Team England to nominate para athletes is 24 April.

Events included in the Games

Please note that the Commonwealth Games Federation and Local Organising Committee (LOC) have selected a reduced competition schedule and not all events will be catered for at the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games. 

The following events have been scheduled for the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games:

Athletics events:

  • Age group: Men and Women: 16 and 17 years of age (athletes born in 2006 and 2007)
  • Track: 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m, 100m Hurdles (Women’s only), 110m Hurdles (men’s only), 400m Hurdles
  • Jumps: High jump, Long jump.
  • Throws: Shot Put, Discus, Javelin
  • Relays: Mixed 4x100m, 4x400m

Para athletics:

  • Age Group: Men and Women: 14 – 18 years of age (born in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009)
  • Track: 100m T38 (Eligible Sport Classes: T35/36/37/38)
  • Jumps: Long Jump T38 (Eligible Sport Classes: T35/36/37/38)
  • Throws: Discus F42-44/F61-64 (Eligible Sport Classes: F42/43/44/F61/62/63/64 (Raza points)

England Athletics recognises the frustration that athletes, coaches and other organisations will have with the exclusion of certain events from the athletics programme at the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games.

We would like to see full programmes of events included.

In correspondence with Commonwealth Games England, the body responsible for taking the team and the one affiliated to the Commonwealth Games Federation, we have received the following, indicating the Federations reasoning behind such decisions. Frankie Carter-Kelly, Commonwealth Games England Chef de Mission, said:

"Ahead of every Games, the Commonwealth Games Federation and the Local Organising Committee decide on the sports and specific events included on the programme. They will have analysed the number of entries from different Sports and indeed disciplines/events within a Sport at previous Youth Games before finalising the programme. The Commonwealth Games Federation will have also been in contact with the various global governing bodies (in this case, World Athletics) to seek feedback on the proposed competition programme. It is incredibly exciting to see the addition of para sport for the first time ever at a Youth Games and we can’t wait to see the track and field team in action next summer."

As stated, England Athletics and Commonwealth Games England would like to see a full set of events included in the Commonwealth Youth Games, and the Commonwealth Games at all times, but the Commonwealth Games Federation works to criteria of which states that each event must have certain representation from member organisations. We will continue to work to influence the decision makers through the channels we have, as well as trying to influence event development across the Commonwealth through Commonwealth Federations. We would also encourage any event organisations or individuals to support other federations in their event development work to spread participation as well.

England Athletics U18 Opportunity

Where possible England Athletics will seek to provide an alternative U18 International opportunity for the events not included in the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games programme, through events such as the Manchester International.

If possible, we will seek to add events such as Triple Jump, Pole Vault and Hammer to the competition offer.

Webinars for athletes, parents and coaches

England Athletics will organise a series of webinars for any interested parties to explain the Commonwealth Youth Games Selection Policies and provide further information about the Games. Please check the England Athletics website for further information.

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