Age Groups
The age groups for athletics competitions can be confusing and coaches and club officials are often asked how they work, so we hope this summary explains them. Please note, these are the new age groups from April 2026.
Competition Age Groups:
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U10: (School Years 3 & 4)
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U12: (School Years 5 & 6)
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U14: (School Years 7 & 8)
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U16: (School Years 9 & 10)
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U18: (School Years 11 & 12)
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U20: (Athletes aged 18 & 19 on Dec 31)
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Senior T&F athletes are those aged 20 or over on 31 December in the calendar year of competition - those younger are U20
Although aligned to School Years with a cut-off date of 31 August, the UKA age category is determined by the athlete's date of birth, therefore an athlete who is in a different school year group to their peers will compete according to their date of birth and not their School Year group.
2026/27
The current athletics ‘competition year’ runs from 1st April 2026 to 30th September 2026.
Within this, the summer competition year runs 1st April 2026 to 30th September 2026 and the winter competition year runs 1st October 2026 to 31st March 2027.
Juniors (i.e. U10 - U20 athletes) move into their new age groups on the 1st of October every year.
Primary school-aged athletes will be encouraged to compete in U10 and U12 age groups in competitions that utilise multi-event based run, jump, and throw formats (Quad Kids).
The competition year will run from 1 October to 30 September and so athletes will compete in the same age group from October through to September in cross country, road, and track and field.
From 1st April 2026, athletes will compete across the school year (in England) from October-September in the same age group through cross country, road and then track and field competition.
You can use this calculator to work out what age group your athlete will be in for the 2026 Track & Field Season and beyond.
Find out more: https://www.englandathletics.org/about-us/age-group-changes/