Which children are in the U12 age group?

In the ACA National Competition Rules 2026-27, U12 means children aged 10 to 11 years old, and U10 means 8 to 9 years old. Both sit within the Entry Level program (ages 6 to 11). The next categories are U14 (12 to 13) and U16 (14 to 15), which race in national points races.

The Rules say the national age groups are based on age as of December 31. Alpine Ontario applies the same cut-off to its U12 program: athletes must be 10 or 11 years of age as of December 31 of the current season.

Alpine Canada's LTAD model describes the matching Learn to Train stage as boys 9 to 12 and girls 8 to 11.

Sources: ACA National Competition Rules 2026-27 (alpinecanada.org/official/resources/documents), ltad.alpinecanada.org/stages and alpineontario.ca/alpine-ontario-alpin-racing/u10-12-racing-program/.