Impending Changes to Age Groups

The current competition age groups for younger athletes are odd numbered and correspond to:

 

Under 13s, Under 15s and Under 17s

 

Under 11s are also catered for, but they sit outside the rules of competition.

 

Following extensive consultation, UK Athletics have agreed to move the competition age groups to even numbers. These will formally comprise of:

 

Under 14s, Under 16s and Under 18s

 

There will also be:

 

Under 10 and Under 12 age groups – although these age groups sit outside the formal UKA rules of competition, there will be competition opportunities for them.

 

These new age groups will come into effect on 1^st April 2026, when the new UKA Rule Book is published  (i.e. in just 9 months’ time). These new age groups be reflected in  the club’s training groups and these are being modified to reflect the changes.

 

Having consulted with the coaches, the decision has been made to move to the new training groups from 1^st August to allow effective transition time. We would ordinarily move young athletes up to the appropriate age group on 1^st September in any event. However, it is stressed, that that formal competitions will not start for the new even age groups until 1^st April 2026.

 

The following age groups will apply to Bury AC’s young members with effect from today, 1^st August, as a result of the changes and we will oversee the management of this process:

 

Under 10s: Athletes who are 9 or younger on 31^st August 2025

Under 12s: Athletes who are under 12 but older than 9 on 31^st August 2025

Under 14s: Athletes who are  under14 but older than 11 on 31^st August 2025

Under 16s: Athletes who are  under 16 but older than 13 on 31^st August 2025

Under 18s: Athletes who are  under 18 but older than 15 on 31^st August 2025

 

There is a lot of technical information about the new age groups that is available on the England Athletics website on this link https://www.englandathletics.org/about-us/age-group-changes/

 

The lead coaches for the younger age groups will be as follows:

 

Helen Vaughan will lead the under 10s

Fiona Healy will lead the under 12s and the majority of under 14s

Pete Bates will lead the junior sprint group (under 16s, under 18s and under 20s)

Geoff Little will lead the junior endurance group (some under 14s, and then under 16s and 18s)

John Conroy will lead the throws group (some under 14s, then under 16s upwards)

 

Please note that young athletes who have already moved up to a new age group – or moved into a specialised age group – will stay with that group.