USAT Age Group Nationals qual question

I'm guessing you mean on "your" USAT membership page (just happened to look at mine yesterday...).  The % is the "way" you qualified---if you look at the qualification standards it might make more sense.

For example 10% refers to the qual standard of "top 10 percent or top finisher (whichever is greater) in each age group"

33% would be " top 33% or top five (whichever is greater) athletes in each age group at the USAT Age Group, Sprint and Long Course Triathlon National Championships in the current and/or previous year automatically qualify."

There are other ways to qualify but hope this answers the percentage question....

Well, looky there!  Hadn't been to the site in months...got my little "you qualified" (**coff...marketing...coff, coff**) message there, too.  Knew I'd qualified already, but kinda fun to see it "in print" as it were.

Thanks for mentioning that! 

Same here!  I didn't realize I had qualified; shows how WTC has more of the press.  I kind of knew about the USAT AG championships, but never looked into how you qualified.

Looks like Aug 18 fits in with other races, though it is three weeks before 70.3 World Championship...

Yeah it's fun to see the "you qualified." 

Nikon--I see you list NH---you should race!!  I made the trip up last year (made a family trip out of it since my parents are still in CT).  It was a very well run race on a great course-with some pretty talented folks!!

No it doesn't have the press of WTC but at least last year it sold out so early they had to add spots.  There was definitely some talent and despite some complaining about getting to VT there were sure lots of folks from ALL over the country---I was racked with a bunch of folks from CO, CA, etc....

Ahhh got it!!  Are you doing Patriot HIM in Williamsburg perhaps????

That's odd. This thread inspired me to check, and I found the same message in my USAT account, stating that I qualified on the 10% criterion, and stating which race (Boulder 70.3).

But I didn't actually make the top 10% in my AG in that race. I was 19th of 173 finishers in M40-44. Even with rounding up, that doesn't reach the 10% criterion. So I'm not sure how they calculate this.

Perhaps there were some clydes that got rolled into your AG.  I think I read somewhere that they do that.

They seem to be pretty liberal with the rounding.

From the USAT site on qualification:

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• A non-championship USAT sanctioned event in one of the specified qualifying distances (as explained above) will qualify the top 10 percent or top finisher (whichever is greater) in each age group.

** Note: If there are 25 athletes in an age group and an athlete places 3rd or higher, they have qualified for the 2011 Age Group Nationals. If an athlete places 4th out of 25 they have not qualified.

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So in their example, 3rd out of 25 is top 12%, where 2nd out of 25 would be top 8%.  So they round down to keep the numbers up.

But I was 15/125, which is also 12%.  However 13/125 is still 10.8%, so if they stuck with rounding to greater than 10%, I shouldn't have made the cut off.

I wonder also if they take out people who already qualified at another race.

?

You are looking at the rounding the wrong way.  10% of 25 people is 2.5 people, so they round to 3.  4th doesn't Qualify.

With 125 people, 10% is 12.5 people, so 13th would Quail, but not 14th.

I don't know about adding clydesdales, etc.

There is another piece that says that if you are top 3 and there are more than 25 in your AG then you qualify (so 3/25 is not top 10% but it qualifies you under the rule because you are 3rd out of 25). 3rd out of 24 would not qualify though...I think! :-)

OK, so for my case, 15 out of 125, top 10% would be 12.5 people, rounding up then to top 13.

I was 15, but still qualified under the 10% rule...

There are also special qualifiers.  They take the top 5 or 33% if I'm not mistaken.  Don't know if this is your case.  Just wanted to add to the confusion.  

I qualified...but I have a question for the rest of you.  Can you pick which distance to compete at in Burlington, VT...Sprint or Olympic?

Just curious

I don't believe you need to qualify for the sprint.  You can just register.  

Yes, the 33% thing is for special events and regional championship races.  Pocono was not one of those, plus it said it was the 10% rule that I qualified for.

I won't ask any more questions, just a curiosity.

Would also like to know how fast this sells out; I saw that registration opens next week, 1/12/12.