New athletics age groups explained

One of my most popular evergreen blogposts explains UK Athletics age groups to families who are new to the sport. There are some differences between athletics age groups and other sports your kids might play, like football and rugby.

The main difference are that athletics age groups span two years rather than one and under really does mean under. So in football ‘under 14s’ includes those who have just turned 14 ie kids in year 9 at school. But in athletics, under 14 means 12 or 13.

Some big changes are being introduced on 1st April 2026. Those basic rules will apply, but the ages groups will change from the current age groups of U13, U15, U17 and U20 to U14, U16, U18 and U20.

From 1st April:

• U10: school years 3 and 4
• U12: years 5 and 6
• U14: years 7 and 8
• U16: years 9 and 10
• U18: years 11 and 12
• U20: year 13+

The cut-off date for an age category is 31st August every year, as it is now, to align with the school years.

The new competition season begins in the autumn, so a child currently in year 8 (aged 12 to 13) will start the year as an under 14, then become an under 16 in the autumn season, when they move into year 9.

For under 20s, the cut-off date is 31st December in the calendar year of competition, as it is now. This means that young people who turn 20 between 1st September and 31st December will have less time as under 20s and move into the senior category earlier than the younger students in their old school year – just as it is now.

All licensed competition providers must adopt the new age groups from 1st April.

One of the reasons for this change is that the upper year of an age group – the year when most children and young people could expect to be performing at their best – aligned with exam years. So upper under 17s were doing their GCSEs and those in the second year of under 20s were doing their A Levels. This meant that athletics often took a back seat as they prioritised their studies. The age group changes will mean athletes competing at the top of their age group in non-exam years, therefore relieving some of that pressure.

Hopefully the change will be smooth for competition organisers and clubs. Young athletes and parents should notice very little difference, but as they progress through the age groups it’s hoped they are more likely to stay in the sport.