If you want to participate in international aquabike championships – at the moment those are Standard and Long Distance World Championships and European Championships – you have to register for the race through your national multisport federation. The process is a little different in each country and some countries require to qualify for international championships. We´ll give you the most important info of how to qualify and how to register on this page. For details please check out the website of your national triathlon & multisport federation.
If you want to qualify or register for Aquabike World Championships or European Championships you can find all currently scheduled national and international championship races as well as the qualifiers (for those countries which require a qualification) at our Aquabike Championship Calendar.
Requirements
Before you can qualify or register for World or European Championships, you need to be a member of your national triathlon & multisport federation. So you need to get a licence. If your country requires to qualify for those events (more about that below) and the qualification races are the year before the main event, you will need a licence for the year of the qualification race as well as for the year of the actual event.
At World or European Championships you have to compete in the official trisuit of your national federation. As an age group athlete in most countries you´ll have to buy it from your national federation. If you´re aiming to make it on the podium, be aware that you also have to wear official clothing from your national federation at the award ceremony. You can go there in your tri suit or you might buy an extra clothing or at least a T-shirt from your federation.
What is also important to consider is that many countries have different registration deadlines. There is an international deadline for registration for each international championship event which is usually about six or seven weeks before the event. However, many countries have their own registration deadlines set a bit earlier to have time to check and forward the registrations to World Triathlon (or in case of the European Championships to Triathlon Europe).
How to qualify & register in your country
The qualification and registration process is different in every country. Here you´ll find links to information pages and to registration forms of the top 20 aquabike countries (according to the current Aquabike.World Country Ranking) if available.
United States
In the United States there are five ways to qualify for any multisport world championships. For aquabike championships however, usually only three of them are relevant:
1. If you are in the top 5 in your agegroup in a world championships you are automatically qualified again for the next one.
2. Qualification races – for aquabike these are usually the standard distance and long course national championships for the respecitve world´s. The top 18 per AG rolling down to athletes who place in the Top 30 and finish within 5% of 18th place.
3. “If slots are still available, any athlete who finished in the top 20 of their respective age group in the annual year end (12/31) USA Triathlon National Rankings from the previous year after already qualified Team USA athletes have been removed is eligible to claim a spot on Team USA. The highest ranked athletes will have first priority to accept a Team USA spot, followed by 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc., (rolling down through the top 20 athletes who have not already been offered a spot).” To be ranked in the USAT aquabike ranking you must complete at least two USAT sanctioned aquabike races between January 1st and December 31st.
Find the full information about the Qualification for Team USA here.
Great Britain
In Great Britain each year there are three qualification races for the standard distance world championships of the following year. Athletes must register their intent to qualify for all Championships by 5pm on the Friday before the qualifying race.
There are no qualification races for long distance World´s or European chamionships. For those you have to provide a race result from either an aquabike race or the swim+bike part of a triathlon which needs to meet several criteria – most importantly you finishing time must be within 115% of the winner of your age group (120% for the European´s). You can find all details for each event at the British Triathlon website.
Australia
For Team Australia you can qualify for the 20 slots per age group for aquabike world championships if you finish within the top five of your age group in the national championships or in the top three of your age group in one of the national selection events. The remaining slots are allocated by the points acquired in the national slection events and national championships. If there are still slots available you can apply to be selected for Team Australia by email. Click here to find all the details on how to qualify for world championships for Australia.
Spain
For aquabike athletes from Spain there are usually 20 slots per agegroup available for world and European championships. For the international long and middle distance championships you can qualify through the Spanish national championships over the corresponding distance. The remaining slots are allocated by time of registration (first come first serve).
Canada
To be selected for the Age Group Team Canada you have to participate in one of the qualifying events. Prior to the event you have to submit an “Expressoin of Interest”. The application for the EOI will open three weeks before the race and close the day before. There is quite a bunch of selection criteria about the priority of submissions. However, given the numbers which are to expect for aquabike world championships and the available slots, you should have a slot secured as soon as you finish one of the qualification races.
Germany
There´s no qualification process for German aquabike athletes for international aquabike championships. You can find a list of all international age group championhsips with a link to the registration at the DTU event calendar.
France
If you are from France you don´t have to do any qualification races to participate in international aquabike championships.
You can find all information and the link to the registration form for international championships in the Club France section of the FFTRI website.
New Zealand
If you are from New Zealand you have to participate in qualification races to qualify for standard or long distance world championships. You have to finish within 20% of the gendered age group winners time and within the number of allocated slots – which is usually higher as the number of participants in most age groups. So if you are within the 20% threshold, you will be qualified. And there is a pretty nice extra incentive in New Zealand. The overall winner male and female in any of the qualification races will receive flight and accomodation subsidies, sponsored by New Zealands Triathlon and Aquabike Legend Garth Barfoot.
Belgium
Unfortunately we do not have any information about the qualification and registration process in Belgium. There is probably no need to qualify. About registration please check the Belgian Triathlon Website or contact your national federation at contact@triathlon.be.
Poland
Unfortunately we do not have any information about the qualification and registration process in Poland. There is probably no need to qualify. About registration please check the Polski Zwiazek Triathlonu website or contact your national federation at team.poland@triathlon.pl.
Austria
For Austrian aquabike athletes there is no qualificatoin required for international championships. You can simply register through a registration form for any international age group championship race in the age group section of the Triathlon Austria website.
Ireland
There is no qualification process for international aquabike championships in Ireland. To register, you have to login at Triathlon Ireland. Then go to Age Group Selection Application to apply for any international championship races.
Denmark
No qualification for international aquabike championships required in Denmark. At the Triatlon Denmark website you can find a list of all international age group championhsips with a link to the registration.
Brazil
Aquabike athletes in Brazil can qualify for world championships either through the national aquabike championships, or through the “Ranking Brasileiro de Aquabike”. However, since we have no knowledge about other aquabike races than the national championships in Brazil, and we also couldn´t find any other information about this ranking, we cannot say, how or where you can get points for this ranking.
South Africa
Unfortunately we do not have any information about the qualification and registration process in South Africa. There is probably no need to qualify. About registration please check the Triathlon South Africa Website or contact your national federation at office@triathlonsa.co.za.
Netherlands
No qualification required. To register for international aquabike championships you have to login to your NTB account at https://mijn.triathlonbond.nl/login to use the NTB-inschrijfsysteem.
Switzerland
There´s no qualification process for athletes who want to compete in international aquabike championships. You can just fill out the Swiss Triathlon registration form to register for international age group championships.
Slovakia
Slovak Triathlon usually posts an article in the news section of their website about how to register for international championships. In the most recent events you had to email to Petr Králik at kralik@triathlon.sk if you are intersted to participate. However, for future event better check Slovak Triathlon´s website for more information.
Portugal
The Federação de Triatlo de Portugal provides a page with information about all international age group championships, including a link to the registration form. There is no qualification required for aquabike athletes.
Italy
There´s also no qualification process for aquabike athletes in Italy. On the FITRI website you can find an information page about the registration process and a link to download the registration form which you have to fill out and then send to dgarratoni@fitri.it