News

Watch our webinars on age group change proposals

As we continue to converse with stakeholders on the implementation of changes to age groups, England Athletics – alongside the other Home Country Athletics Federations (HCAFs) – is pleased to release the recordings of three webinars which took place earlier this week addressing topics on which we have received feedback since the changes were announced.

Each webinar focused on a different stakeholder group, and they can all be viewed below:

Athletes and parents (hosted on March 25)

Coaches (hosted on March 26)

Club officers/competition providers/officials (hosted on March 27)

The webinars were the latest in a series of steps designed to ensure that the changes – which will come into effect on April 1, 2026 – are implemented in a way that will work for all within our sport, and help to address the concerns that brought about their introduction.

James Williams, Chief Executive at Welsh Athletics, who chaired all three webinars, said:

“It was fantastic to see such a strong turn-out at all three webinars, and we are very pleased with the level of engagement from people from across very different areas of the sport. We were able to provide some detail around how the changes will affect age group progression and technical events and also answer and note some questions that will be important to further consider as we move forward.

“We designed each webinar to allow us to specifically focus on the questions that we had been asked by each group in relation to these changes and we received useful feedback across a range of areas, including technical event progressions, implement weights and the need for ongoing dialogue with schools associations and competition providers.”

Dean Hardman, who is co-ordinating the project on behalf of the Home Country Athletics Federations, added:

“We are fully committed to ensuring that the implementation of these changes is both understood by, and works for, everyone within the sport, and we can only do that by conducting regular, genuine two-way discussion, something which we will continue to do over the coming weeks and months.

“In light of the webinars and the questions that we have received, we are updating our FAQs document – which you can read below – and we will continue to do so, in order for keep everyone within athletics informed as the process continues.

“We also outlined the next steps, including the formation of sub groups to consider specific areas and challenges. Further details on how to get involved will be published shortly.”

What are the age group changes? Read our FAQs here – this document will be updated regularly.

The age group changes are one element of a comprehensive overview of how our sport tackles the issue of retention and growth within track and field. As part of this work, our Regional Councils are hosting a series of forums at which members and the wider community will be invited to have their say. Full details of the forums are available here.