All CAT Point Series Triathlons are USA Triathlon sanctioned. The CAT Point Series Duathlons may or may not be sanctioned by USAT.
To be eligible for series awards, participants must be a CAT member in good standing and enter a minimum of 3 events as an individual in any category. Awards will be given to the highest scoring competitor in each category. Anyone racing in at least 3 events and not receiving an award will receive a qualifier award.
Participants who compete in more than 3 events will use their top 3 scores for computing points.
Participants must compete in the same category for the entire year (i.e. Age Group, Elite, Clydesdale or Athena). Participants who compete in Masters or Military categories at races will be scored in their Age Group for the CAT point series events.
Age Group Classification: All participants age will be set at what age they are on 12/31/2008. This is to keep in line with USAT's ranking procedure. For series scoring purposes, they will be considered that age for the entire year regardless of when their birthday is.
EXAMPLE: Speed Racer enters the Breezy Point Triathlon on June 4th and is 39 years old on June 4th. Speed's birthday is on September 10th and he will turn 40. Speed will race in the 40-44 age group for all events including the Breezy Point Triathlon. This policy coincides with the USAT age group rule.
Series Wetsuit Rule: USAT rules state that competitors may wear wetsuits if the water temperature is 78 degrees or lower. USAT rules also state that if the water temperature is between 79 and 83 degrees, competitors may wear wetsuits but will not be eligible for awards. If the water temperature is 84 degrees or above, participants may not wear wetsuits. For CAT Point Series scoring purposes, this will also be the case for computing point series points. In other words, if the water temperature is between 79-83 degrees and you elect to wear a wetsuit, you will officially receive "0" points for that race. The race will count towards the minimum of 3 races required for awards.
Event weights for 2008 will be roughly based on criteria established by USA Triathlon for the purpose of administering their national rankings system. All CAT Point Series events will be weighted based on distance and size of the event as well as multiplier if it has championship status (i.e. Collegiate, Best of US, etc). The event weight index will be used to calculate scores for all participants (see scoring below).
| Event Distance | Distance Factor | Depth of Field Factor (300+ finishers in 2008) |
Depth of Field Factor (500+ finishers in 2008) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sprint | International | Half Ironman | Championship/ Qualifier Status |
| 0.90 | 0.91 | 0.92 | +0.01 |
| 0.91 | 0.92 | 0.93 | +0.01 |
| 0.92 | 0.93 | 0.94 | +0.01 |
Based on the above formula the event weights for the 2008 CAT Point Series Races will be as follows:
| CAT Triathlon Point Series Races | |
|---|---|
| Event | Event Weight |
| Smithfield Sprint | 0.90 |
| Breezy Point | 0.92 |
| Power Sprint | 0.91 |
| Yorktown | 0.91 |
| I Love the Tavern | 0.90 |
| Patriot Half | 0.93 |
| Patriot International | 0.91 |
| Patriot Sprint | 0.90 |
| Sandman | 0.92 |
| Richmond Sprint | 0.91 |
| CAT Duathlon Point Series Races | |
|---|---|
| Event | Event Weight |
| Virginia | 0.92 |
| 3Sports | 0.90 |
| 3Sports Long Course | 0.93 |
| Luter Family YMCA | 0.90 |
| Cape Henry | 0.91 |
*Weights may be changed based on participation levels at each event and declaration of championship or qualifier status. Additional races may be added once regional race schedules are available.
The following is an example of how a CAT Point Series Race will be scored: