News

Age Group Changes - implementation plan update

As the Home Country Athletics Federations (HCAFs) continue to work alongside stakeholders to implement the age-group changes which will come into effect in April 2026, Implementation Project Co-ordinator, Dean Hardman, provides an update on recent progress.

Since the release of our transition plan update last month, we are continuing to gather valuable feedback from across the sport which will allow us to implement these changes in an informed, sustainable way.

Over the coming weeks and months, we will be inviting competition providers in particular to share their thoughts, feedback on the recent update and their future plans, as we build our knowledge of what the competition landscape will look like post-April 2026.
We have worked to provide a range of ways in which competition providers can get in touch and share this information, beginning with a short, written survey, which can be accessed and completed via the below link.

Complete the survey

The deadline for completing this survey is November 30.

We will also be hosting a webinar -- again, specifically for competition providers -- in which we will go over the plan update again, offer any necessary clarification and answer any questions which may remain.

This will take place between 7pm and 8:30pm on Wednesday, November 6, and you can register here.

Register now

Finally, in December, the wider 2024 Competition Conference will act as a further opportunity for competition providers to discuss and feedback on any aspect of the changes and share their plans for event delivery after April 2026.

In opening up these avenues of communication, we intend to build as full a picture as possible of what the competition calendar will look like in 2026 and onwards. This knowledge will then allow us to allocate support, and to distribute advice and guidance where necessary, ensuring that all age groups are well-catered for.

Go to our Age Group changes web page Read more detail on transition plan update