Qualifying for AG National Championships?

'Easy' and 'hard' are relative terms.  Take it for what it is -- the standards are what they are, and if it makes you proud to be top 10%, then be proud.

I qualified in 2008.  It was my sole goal that year.  And at least here in Colorado, it was not easy.  Took a second place AG finish in my last race of the year.

Went to Portland, and got my Arse handed to me.  But it was an experience I will never forget and am still very proud to have accomplished.  No one can take that away from you. 

If you have the time and money, I would definitely recommend going.  Plus Vermont is a beautiful place and will make a nice vacation.  P.S.  remember that the jump to Oly is a good size jump from a sprint.  Start training now.   Congrats.

I definitely think where you do your races makes a huge difference in how hard or easy it is to qualify. In my area I qualify in just about every race I do, mainly because we have a low population density, we're anything but a fitness mecca, and I have all but memorized many of the courses of my regular races.  I'd probably be MOP at best in Colorado or San Diego or some place with a ton of triathletes.

AG Nationals is in 10 days so its a little late to start training now.  ;-)

Since I live in NH and can drive to VT, I set this as a goal for this year also.  For me, this was also somewhat hard.  3 years ago I was sitting on a couch and weighed 40 lbs more.  Last year was my first year doing Tri's.  And this year was my first year making the podium for my AG.  I fully expect to be MOP at Nationals, but I am still proud with accomplishing my goal and getting there.  I took a lot of work.  I hear that the experience at Nationals is fantastic and I am very excited to go. 

Last year I met the qualifying standard in each of my 3 sprints, but no email from USAT.  Whether or not it's easy is debateable.   In one race I was 1st out of 13, in another I was 2nd out of 20 and the third I was 3rd out of 38.  The one with 38 in my AG I felt was the biggest acccomplishment.  Is it easy to beat 35 out of 38 folks in your AG?

The interesting part is that the race I qualified for was an Oly distance.  So I would definitely finish BOP/MOP at the national level.

Regardless, if you placed top 10% in your AG, you're most likely a great athlete in at least one of the 3 disciplines or well balanced in all 3 and that's not easy when you look at the total population.

Congratulations on your accomplishment

Watch out.  Did the email have a lot of typos? Broken English? A Dear Sir/Madame? It may have been sent from Africa requesting that you send your bike and seemingly high race entry fee to a special account that guarantees you will triple your money as long as you finish...

More detail can be found on the USAT site, but in general, if you finish to 10% in your AG of a USAT event or top 33% of your AG of special qualifier, you qualify for Nationals.  You can email them to confirm if you are not sure.

• Qualifying Option One:  For Half Iron distance.

   

   

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  Athletes that finish in the top 33% of their age group at any of the Official Qualifying Events will automatically be qualified to enter the Halfmax Championship. Events that occur on or after July 1, 2010will qualify you for the current year or the following year, but not both!

   

  • If you qualify on or after July 1, 2010, you can choose to race in either the 2011 or 2012 Championship.

  • Qualifier status is determined by rounding to the nearest whole "racer". For example, if there are 23 people in your age group, the top 33% of that group is 7.59 people, so the top eight people will qualify.

  • You will compete in your age group as of December 31, 2011.

  • You will receive an official invitation (by e-mail) if you provided your e-mail address to the qualifying event when you qualified at an Official Qualifying Event. You do not have to wait for the invitation to register for the Championship.

  • You cannot qualify for the Halfmax Championship by finishing in the top 33% at other half iron-distance events (for example, any 70.3 event). Athletes that race in a non-qualifying event will have the option of qualifying by time standards only. You can only qualify by time standards at non-qualifying events!

  • To see a complete list of 2011 TriSports.com Halfmax Championship Qualifying Races, visit the Qualifying Races page!

  Super Qualifiers: The 2010 & 2011 Halfmax Championships and Redman Triathlon will serve as our three Super Qualifying events. Athletes that finish in the top 45% of their age group at these events will qualify to enter either the 2010 or 2011 Halfmax Championship.

• Qualifying Option Two:

   

   

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  You can qualify by established time standards at any USAT Sanctioned half iron-distance or full iron-distance event in the nation. You must qualify by the time standards at all events outside the qualifying event network.

   

  • If you qualify on or after July 1, 2010, you can choose to race in EITHER the current year or the following year championship. You must choose one, it does not qualify you for both years.

  • Qualifier status is determined by rounding down to the nearest whole minute. For example, if you are a 27 year-old male (required qualifying time: 5:05), and your finish time is 5:05:15, you qualify.

  • You will compete in your age group as of December 31, 2011.

  Exception: If an event outside of the qualifying network must cancel or shorten the swim, bike, or run portion of the course, the Top 25% will qualify. Errors in course distance or measurements do not apply. Only course cancellations and critical adjustments will be considered for the Top 25% exception rule.

• Time Standards:

   

   

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  2011 Half-Iron Distance Qualifying Times

  Age Group	Male Division	Female Division
  18 - 24	5:15	5:40
  25 - 29	5:05	5:40
  30 - 34	5:05	5:40
  35 - 39	5:10	5:45
  40 - 44	5:25	5:45
  45 - 49	5:35	6:10
  50 - 54	5:45	6:20
  55 - 59	6:00	6:30
  60 - 64	6:45	6:55
  65+	Any Half Finish in 2010	Any Half Finish in 2010
  Athena & Clydesdale 39 & Under	5:40	6:40
  Athena & Clydesdale 40 & Over	5:50	6:50

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  2011 Full-Iron Distance Qualifying Times

  Age Group	Male Division	Female Division
  18 - 24	11:35	12:30
  25 - 29	11:45	12:50
  30 - 34	11:45	12:50
  35 - 39	11:45	12:50
  40 - 44	12:00	13:10
  45 - 49	12:15	13:20
  50 - 54	12:30	13:30
  55 - 59	13:00	14:00
  60 - 64	13:30	14:30
  65+	Any Full Finish in 2010	Any Full Finish in 2010
  Athena & Clydesdale 39 & Under	12:30	14:30
  Athena & Clydesdale 40 & Over	12:35	14:35

   

• Qualifying Option Three:

   

   

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  If you were a member of the 2010 Team USA for the World Championship, you are automatically qualified ONLY for the 2011 Halfmax Championship, but not for the 2012 Championship.

   

• Qualifying Guidelines

   

  Be sure to follow the listed guidelines below for qualification:

  • Athletes can only qualify at USA Triathlon Sanctioned Events!

  • Athletes can re-qualify for the 2012 Championships at the 2011 Halfmax Championship. The Top 45% will qualify at the 2011 Championship because of the Super Qualifier status at that event.

  • Athletes that do not finish in the top 33% of their age group/weight class division at an Official Qualifying event can still qualify by the established time standards at that event.

  • Proof of qualification will be required for entry and before distribution of the Team USA World Championship slots.

  • Any qualifying event or qualifying time earned after July 1, 2010 will qualify the participant for their choice of either the 2011 or 2012 Halfmax Championship event.

  • Any qualifying event or qualifying time earned after October 7, 2011 will qualify the participant for 2012 championship event.

  • Athletes will qualify in their designated age group at the time of the event. Athletes racing in the Championship will participate in their current age group on the day of the Championship. For Example: It is possible to qualify in the 24-29 age group, then participate in the championship in the 30-34 age group.

FYI:  red (sometimes with italics) is sarcasm around here.  Pink is for a different site...

I never paid that much attention to the actual standards, but M40-44 being 15 minutes SLOWER than M25-29 in a HIM strikes me as not in line with the actual results of the races that I've done.