Long Course Traithlon
(3000m swim, 120km Bike, 30km Run)
AquaBike
(3000m swim, 120km Bike)
This is the race that the triathlon purist will be drawn to. A distance somewhere between 70.3 and IM these qualifying spots are going to be in high demand. There are 10 qualifying races for the long course, 7 for the aquabike. All the aquabike qualifying races will be on the same day as the Long course event so you will need to decide either one or the other.
The qualifying process is based on a points system taking your 3 best results into account. You can compete in more than 3 races but can only use points for 3 races. The top 25 positions for each A/G will get points starting at 25 points for 1st place working down to 1 point for 25th place. The Husky Long distance Australia champ will be double points with 1 st place getting 50 point 2nd 48 points and so on down to 25 place getting 2. The top 5 place getters at the Husky Australian Championship race are eligible for automatic selection. Another very important point is you must be a TA member prior to the events or you will not receive any points for the race.
Now we know how the qualification process works and what is the best way to try and qualify for the Long Course triathlon. If you're a top A/G the obvious choice will be to head to Husky to try and chase double points of automatic qualification. If you're not though and you might be closer to the 20th spot you might be better to try and head to a smaller event as generally the Australia champs will be a stronger field. Something like Victor Harbour in SA might have a smaller field and only being 2 weeks after Husky generally won't have the stronger guys doing both races. Although the points are double at Husky your position and point might be greater at a smaller event. Also I recommend if you are a potentially lower based athlete really target 3 of the smaller races rather than trying to chase them all and being too tired to ever really have your best results.
Why not get the Aquabike a crack? At Thrive Endurance we are recommending to most of our athletes to do an early Aquabike and get points as a plan B. As the Aquabike events are on the same day as the Long Course qualifying races early in the season most people will be trying for the Long Course and the fields in the Aquabike might be smaller. Although you might hope to qualify for the long course, getting some early Aquabike points will be good in case an injury pops up or you don't get the results you hope for in the Long Course. The Aquabike is also a great training day for a lead into your A race. Also with Husky Australia champs having double points and 5 automatic qualifying spots I think its an absolute must to try and fit into the calendar if you can.
Our take away from all this is target your race carefully and try and get early point in an Aquabike so if it all doesn't go to plan you can still be part off the Townsville Multisport event and get to wear the green and gold and race for your country. Also if you can get to Husky and race the Aquabike and you could secure your automatic spot and only need to do 1 race for your plan B. If your thinking about entering husky we have a 20% discount code Thrive20 which actually works for any elite energy events not just Husky
All the qualifying events are listed below
18/02/2023 LC/AB Tweed Enduro QLD
26/02/2023 LC/AB Big Husky Long Distance NSW Aust. Champs See less
12/03/2023 LC/AB Victor Harbour 100 SA
26/03/2022 LC/AB 70.3 Geelong VIC
14/05/2023 LC Moreton Bay QLD
22/10/2023 LC Maitland Triathlon NSW
26/11/2023 LC Hervey Bay 100 QLD
26/11/1023 LC/AB Challenge Canberra NSW
3/12/2023 LC/AB 70.3 Western Australia WA
TBC LC/AB 70.3 Tasmania
LC (long course triathlon) AB (Aquabike)