As the Home Country Athletics Federations (HCAFs) continue to work alongside stakeholders to implement the age-group changes which will come into effect in April 2026, Implementation Project Co-ordinator, Dean Hardman, provides an update on recent progress.

Since our last update was published in early July, we have continued to progress at a good pace, with further sub-group meetings taking place to progress work in each specific area. In particular, the competitions and off-track sub-groups met in late July.

As has always been the case, it’s crucial that we balance the need for speed and efficiency with thoroughness and being careful to ensure all aspects of the implementation are carefully considered. In striking this balance, we now expect to be in a position to publish our detailed draft plan towards the end of August, slightly later than first envisaged.

This plan will form the basis of our activity going forward and will also allow stakeholders from across the sport to offer feedback, continuing to shape what we do and how we do it. The document will contain detail on how the HCAFs intend to progress with the agreed changes, but we are also conscious that other organisations will have important decisions to make ahead of the changes coming into effect in April 2026.

As such, collaboration with competition providers and other stakeholders in the sport remains key, and we will continue to hold regular discussions with them about how they intend to proceed. I am pleased to say that we have already started to hold meetings with organisations on this, and I would encourage any others wishing to discuss the implementation of the new age groups to get in touch.

In terms of the next few weeks, we will meet as a task group in August to agree the implementation plan in draft, which once published will allow organisations to formalise their own plans, potentially to be agreed at AGMs in the autumn.

Go to our Age Group changes summary page

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