The Region is pleased to announce its events for the 2007 USAT Mid-Atlantic Junior Development Series.  This year’s Series will consist of six short-course triathlons held in the Mid-Atlantic Region. 
There will be 2 age categories for each race.  Athletes with the ages of 16 and 17 and athletes with the ages of 18 and 19 (as of December 31, 2007) are eligible to participate in the Junior Development Series. An overall award will be given to each male and female in these 2 categories in all six races.
The purpose of the series is to encourage participation in the sport of triathlon by junior athletes at the age-appropriate distance and in high quality events. 
The series is also intended to facilitate USAT talent identification and recruitment within the Mid-Atlantic Region as part of USAT’s national athlete development program. 
Regional Junior Development Races
Age categories as of 12/31/07:     Ages 16-17 --  Ages 18-19 

	RACES	DATE	LOCATION	DISTANCES	RACE WEB SITE
RACE #1	Philly Sprint Tri	6/23/2007	Philadelphia, PA	S -.9k	www.PhillyTri.com
				B -24k
				R - 5K
RACE #2	Avalon Sprint	7/1/2007	Avalon, NJ	S - 1/4mi	www.Lin-Mark.com
				B - 12mi
				R - 5K
RACE #3				S - 750m
	Robious Landing Sprint	7/1/2007	Midlothian, VA	B - 18mi	www.RichmondMultisport.com
				R - 5K
RACE #4				S - 375m
	J.F. Hurley F1 Sprint	7/21/2007	Salisbury, NC	R - 1.35mi
				B - 20k	www.setupevents.com
				R - 1.35mi
				S - 375m
RACE #5	Steelman Sprint			S - 750yds
	Mid-Atlantic Regional	8/12/2007	Quakertown, PA	B - 12.8mi	www.Lin-Mark.com
	Sprint Championships			R - 5k
RACE #6				S - .5mi
	Lums Pond Sprint	8/19/2007	Bear, DE	B - 19.5mi	www.Piranha-Sports.com
				R - 5k

 Overall 2007 Season Scoring and Awards
All athletes participating in the 2007 USAT-MA Junior Development Series will earn a series ranking based on their best three of four results.  Standings will be posted on the USAT-MA website at www.usat-ma.org   
Points will be awarded to Eligible Athletes finishing in 1^st through 20^th place in the male and female, 13-15 and 16-19 year old divisions of each race. 
The overall male and female 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place series champions will be recognized with awards at USAT Mid-Atlantic region’s annual meeting to be held in the winter of 2008.
Registration 
Athletes must register for each race according to each race’s existing fees and requirements. 
No additional registration is required to be ranked in the series standings. 
Series events are independently owned and operated by the different race organizers.  Event race directors often limit the number of participants in their events for safety and logistics reasons.  Participation in any one race in this series DOES NOT guaranty entry into subsequent races.  It is in the athlete's best interest to register in advance for ALL races in which they plan to participate.  We have selected only the highest-quality events for this series and many of them will sell out early … so please do not ask someone to “pull strings" to get you into a series race ....  no exceptions will be made. 
USAT Rules
Athletes will compete according to standard USAT age group, non-drafting rules. 
Series participants will start according to the race director’s existing plans for wave starts, bike racking, etc. 
Athlete Bicycles
USAT considers the optimal bicycle set-up for junior athletes to be a traditional "road" bicycle with drop-style handlebars - as opposed to a "tri" bike with aero bars.  There are two main justifications for this philosophy.  First, junior athletes need to develop sound bike handling skills before focusing on riding extended periods in the aero position.  The "road" position, with hands on the brake hoods or in the drops with fingertips on the brake levers, is the safest riding position for young athletes. 
Second, junior athletes may also want to participate in ITU-style junior triathlons (including Junior National Championships) or attend a junior development camp.  Both events require a road bike with drop bars to participate.  Therefore, we believe that setting a junior triathlete up on a road bike FIRST is the safest and most cost-effective way to introduce a young athlete to the sport of triathlon. 
Athletes should make every effort to conform to the junior bike set-up described above; however, all bikes that are "legal" according to USAT age-group competition rules will be allowed.  This will allow consistency of enforcement at all series events by USAT certified officials.   
USAT Membership 
All series races are sanctioned by USA Triathlon.  In order to participate in a series race, athletes will need to purchase either an Annual Membership in USA Triathlon or a One-Day License for each event in which the athlete participates.  Complete information on Annual Membership can be found at www.usatriathlon.org 
For more information
Please visit www.usat-ma.org or contact Todd Wiley – Regional Athlete Development Coordinator
TWiley@usat-ma.org