Coach's Guide to Athletics Canada U16-U18 Track and Field 2026

Outdoors, U16 and U18 women and men compete in the high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump, shot put, discus, javelin and hammer.

Combined events differ by age group and sex:

• U16 women: pentathlon (80m hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump, 800m).
• U16 men: pentathlon (100m hurdles, long jump, shot put, high jump, 1000m).
• U18 women: heptathlon.
• U18 men: decathlon.

Sources: Athletics Canada Technical Rules, December 2025 (Rules 153 to 156a) and the Events and Technical Specifications for Athletics Manual.

Outdoor implement weights in the Athletics Canada Events and Technical Specifications manual:

Indoors, the weight throw is 5.44kg (U16 women), 7.26kg (U16 men and U18 women) and 9.08kg (U18 men); the indoor shot put matches the outdoor weights.

Source: https://athletics.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/26404-Sept-AC-7-Page-National-Specific-Events-Eng-v7.pdf

Outdoor heights in the Athletics Canada manual (metres; "-" means the event is not listed for that group):

By exception, the U16 girls and boys steeplechase barrier height is 0.762m and the course does not include a water jump.

Sources: Athletics Canada Events and Technical Specifications for Athletics Manual and Athletics Canada Technical Rules, December 2025 (Rule 157).

Short track (indoor) events in the Athletics Canada manual:

• U16 (women and men): 60m, 200m, 300m, 800m, 1200m, 2000m, 60m hurdles, 4x200m relay, medley relay (400m-200m-200m-800m), 1500m race walk, high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump, shot put, weight throw and pentathlon.
• U18 (women and men): 60m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m, 60m hurdles, 3000m race walk, the four jumps, shot put, weight throw and pentathlon.

Sources: Athletics Canada Events and Technical Specifications for Athletics Manual and Athletics Canada Technical Rules, December 2025 (Rules 163 to 164a).

The Athletics Canada Technical Rules (December 2025, Rule 158) set these national cross-country championship distances:

For comparison, U20 women and men run 7-8km and the senior women and men run 10km (plus or minus 250m).

The Events and Technical Specifications manual lists the same ranges for the cross-country event offering: 3-4km for U16 and 5-6km for U18.

Under the Athletics Canada Technical Rules (December 2025):

• National U18 Championships: Athletics Canada associates aged 17 and younger in the year of competition who have either achieved the automatic qualifying standards or advanced through the qualifier section.
• National U16 Championships: Athletics Canada associates aged 15 and younger in the year of competition who have either achieved the automatic qualifying standards or advanced through the qualifier section.
• Athletes under 14 in the year of competition cannot enter the U16 Championships or higher (see the question on competing up).
• An athlete whose entry is rejected for any reason may appeal to Athletics Canada, whose decision is final.
• The affiliation (club or sponsor, and Branch) of every athlete is shown in the results.
• At national championships, an electronic device such as a laptop is mandatory for ranking athletes in the throws and horizontal jumps, and fully automatic timing is used.

Athletes may compete a maximum of one age category up at Athletics Canada National Championships, with these conditions:

• Under 14: athletes under the age of 14 in the year of competition may not compete in the U16 National Championships or any higher category.
• U16 athletes may compete in the U18 National Championships. They may compete in the U20 National Championships only if all of the following apply: they are in the top year of the U16 age group; they have achieved an Athletics Canada World U20 Championships standard in U20 event conditions (distance, hurdle height, implement weight and so on); their Branch provides a letter of support; and their parent or legal guardian provides a letter of support.
• U18 athletes may compete in the U20 National Championships. They may compete in the Open Age National Championships only if they are in the top year of the U18 age group, have achieved a CAPP Talent Confirmation standard in open (senior) event conditions, and the Branch and parent or legal guardian both provide letters of support.

Requests and letters of support must be received before the published final entry date for the championship.

Source: Athletics Canada Technical Rules, December 2025.

Athletics Canada varies the World Athletics technical rules for U16 athletes in two ways:

• Starting blocks: in races up to and including 400m (including the first leg of the 4x200m, medley relay and 4x400m), a crouch start and starting blocks are compulsory, except for U16, where blocks are optional.
• Call room: an athlete who is not in the call room at the published time is excluded from that event and shown as DNS. A U16 athlete is not excluded from the rest of the competition for a first violation: they are shown as DNS for that event and may compete in later events if they report on time. A second violation excludes the athlete from all remaining events, including relays.

False starts are not treated differently: any athlete responsible for a false start is disqualified by the Starter, including U16 (except in combined events).

Source: Athletics Canada Technical Rules, December 2025 (variations to World Athletics Technical Rules 4.5 and 16).

The Athletics Canada National Safe Sport Policy (April 2025) requires every coach to:

• Membership: keep an active membership with their provincial or territorial Branch.
• Safe Sport Training: complete Safe Sport Training and refresh it at least every four years, plus any extra training required by relevant bodies.
• Criminal record check: complete a Criminal Record Check and renew it at least every three years.
• Coach training: complete, at a minimum, the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) Coach Initiation in Sport eLearning. Coaches are strongly encouraged to pursue further NCCP training and certification.
• Codes: consent to and follow the National Safe Sport Policy and its core policies (including the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport, the Athletics Code of Conduct, the Screening and Safe Sport Training Policy and the Travel Policy).

Policy: https://athletics.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/National-Safe-Sport-Policy-April-2025.pdf

Under the Athletics Canada National Safe Sport Policy (April 2025):

• Membership: all athletes must keep an active membership with their provincial or territorial Branch.
• Safe Sport Training: athletes in the U16, U18 and U20 age groups must complete Safe Sport Training every year.
• Clean Sport: athletes aged 14 and over must complete the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) "Clean Sport" online eLearning module every year.
• Codes: athletes are expected to consent to and follow the National Safe Sport Policy, the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport and the Athletics Code of Conduct.

Policy: https://athletics.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/National-Safe-Sport-Policy-April-2025.pdf

Only Canadian citizens or holders of a valid Canadian Permanent Resident Card can be declared Canadian champions and receive a medal, award or financial recognition. For relay teams, every team member must be a citizen or permanent resident.

Other athletes who meet the eligibility rules (for example, temporary residents who have lived in Canada for at least six months and are Athletics Canada associates) may compete, and the published results must annotate those who are not eligible for individual Canadian championship medals.

Source: Athletics Canada Technical Rules, December 2025, Rule 087.