I had some questions for the ST’ers out there who have gone through a similar Age-Up process as I will be going through this year. So I am currently 28, turning 29 in late November. I figured out based on slot allocation in previous years at IM FL that I will be competing in the 25-29 age group, but competing for Kona Slots in the 30-34 age group. This is because next year, I will race most races as a 30 year old, even though my birthday is after the 2013 Kona Qualifying Races begin. In '07, I was 24 and competed in Clearwater in the 18-24 because the WTC deemed my birthday fell into the following year’s qualification window even though I turned 25 later that year. Has anyone else had experience with this? Granted, historically the 30-34 AG gets 6 slots while the 25-29’ers get 2, so it might not be a bad thing.
I’m thinking the first piece of advice will be the first thing I told myself: HTFU. Might not be an issue, but who knows?
You race all year as the age you are on December 31 of the coming year. Since you are about to turn 29,
that means you will be racing in all of 2012 as a 30 year old - the age you will be on 12/31/12.
No, although I haven’t been in that situation, from what I’ve seen on the results/qualifier lists I’m pretty sure that you qualify in your current age group. Even though for races late in the year like IMFL and IMAZ this means you could qualify in the younger age group and then race Kona in the older age group. …it only helps guys on the older side of the age group lists.
At IMFl (2011) you will compete as 25-29 and will be in that age group for Kona slots as well. You always race and qualify in your current age group for that year, not your future one.
If you qualify, you will race Kona in the 30-34AG in October 2012.
It looks like you were correct. This year, I raced in the 25-29 AG, and would have gotten a slot from the 25-29AG. However, next year, that 25-29 AG slot would allow me to race in the 30-34. This sucks, considering I was 5th in the 25-29 AG, and I would have been 5th in the 30-34AG as well. Problem here, is the 25-29 AG had 3 slots, and the 30-34 AG had 5.