Qualifying for the 2021 World Championship and Rolldown System – Spartan Germany

In this article:

The following outlines everything Elite and Age Group competitors need to know about earning a spot at all 5 Regional Championships, and the World Championship.

Categories Eligible for Qualification:

Elite (all ages, male and female) (For more info: What you need to know about running Elite)
Age Group (male and female) (For more info: What you need to know about running Age Group)

National/Regional Series

Any competitor may freely sign up for these events, no prior qualification is needed. The top 10 male and female Elite finishers (with roll down) and top 10 male and female finishers in each age group (with roll down) unlock entry into the Championship for their region. For example, US National Series competitors will qualify for the North American Championship, held in Lake Tahoe.

2021 National/Regional Series are:

North America

United States National Series
Canadian National Series

Europe

UK + Ireland Regional Series
France National Series
Spain National Series
Italy National Series
CEU Regional Series
DACH Regional Series

Latin America

Mexican National Series

APAC

Australian National Series
SEA Regional Series
East Asia Regional Series

Middle East & Africa

South African National Series

2021 Regional Championships

There are 4 2021 Regional Championship events:

North American Championship (To Be Announced)
European Championship (To Be Announced)
Latin American Championship (To Be Announced)
APAC Championship (To Be Announced)

Qualifying for Regional Championships

Elite athletes may qualify for a Regional Championship by finishing in the top 10 at any regular season event.
Age Group athletes may qualify for a Regional Championship by finishing in the top 10 of their Age Group category at any regular season event.

The period for qualification for any of the five Regional Championships is a rolling period (which may be more or less than 12 months), with the start and end dates determined by the window of time between the previous season’s championship and the next season’s championship.

The exact period of qualification is calculated by defining the start date as the first week-day following the previous season’s Regional Championship, and the last week-day before the first Elite heat of the next season’s Regional Championship. Local time in both locations governs the exact start and end times.

For example, the window of qualification for the 2021 European Championship is from the Monday after the 2019 European Championship in the Dolomites, Italy (0001 on Monday, 1st July 2019) to the day prior to the first Elite heat of the 2021 European Championship.

Determining Which Regional Championships Regular Season Events Qualify For

The geographical region where a regular season event is held determines which championship Elite and Age Group athletes qualify for.

For example, a regular season race held in Boston, Massachusetts in the United States would qualify Elite and Age Group athletes attending that event for the North American Championship, as Boston is located within North America.

Citizenship Rules for Regional Championships

To simply participate in a Regional Championship event, an Elite competitor does not need to be a citizen of a country within that region, so long as they have qualified at a regular season event within that region. This athlete is regarded as an “exhibition” competitor.

To be eligible for prize money, awards, and official podium recognition, an Elite athlete must be a citizen (whether by birth or naturalization) of a country that is deemed a part of the region where each championship is held.

For example, an Elite category athlete who is a citizen of Canada may qualify for the North American Championship by finishing in the top 10 at a regular season event held in the United States. This athlete is eligible for prize money, awards, and podium recognition as their country of citizenship (Canada) is regarded as being within North America.

All Elite athletes who finish within the top 10 at any championship must provide proof of citizenship upon request from the Head Official or Race Director.

In the case where a non-eligible athlete finishes in a podium position, they will not be eligible to receive prize money, overall awards, or be part of the final official podium.

Proof of citizenship must include documentation establishing the applicant is a lawful and officially recognized citizen of their nominated country. A passport is the usual means for this.

2021 National Championships

There are 3 2021 National Championship events:

New Zealand Championship(To Be Announced)
Australian Championship (To Be Announced)
Caribbean Championship (To Be Announced)

Qualifying for National Championships

These events are open to all racers. No prior qualification is needed.

Citizenship Rules for National Championships

To simply participate in a National Championship event, an Elite competitor does not need to be a citizen of a country within that region, so long as they have qualified at a regular season event within that region. This athlete is regarded as an “exhibition” competitor.

To be eligible for prize money, awards, and official podium recognition, an Elite athlete must be a citizen (whether by birth or naturalization) of a country that is deemed a part of where each championship is held.

Proof of citizenship must include documentation establishing the applicant is a lawful and officially recognized citizen of their nominated country. A passport is the usual means for this.

Qualifying for the 2021 World Championship

In total, there are 1140 total Elite spots and 4180 total Age Group spots at the World Championship:

Gender	Elite Qualifying Spots	Age Group Qualifying Spots (225 per category)
Male	570	2090
Female	570	2090

Competitors may qualify in three ways:

By ranking high enough in the final leaderboard of a National/Regional series. The table below shows the exact number of spots allocated per series. If a competitor does not register during a seven day rolldown period following the last race of each series, they may forfeit their spot and the next eligible competitor may be offered the spot.
By ranking high enough at a Regional or National Championship (eg. North American, European). See "Link 2021 Championships and Series" for the number of spots allocated to each Regional Championship.
Throughout 2021, Spartan reserves the right to designate select regular season events eligible for World Championship qualifying points, for both Elite and Age Group categories.

2021 Spartan World Championship

The following table provides an overview of the 2021 World Championship qualifying system and spots allocated:

2021 World Championship Qualifying (Rolldown System)

The 2021 rolldown system features major modifications to the 2019 Elite and Age Group roll down process for World Championship qualification. In 2021, there are two distinct qualification periods which will be used to determine qualifying spots for the World Championship:

Elite and Age Group leaderboards as they stand immediately after the final race of each National & Regional Series and each of the Regional Championships, and;
One additional global rolldown period which will occur during a designated period called “World Championship Rolldown Week”. During this period, all unclaimed spots are made available.

The Elite and Age Group leaderboards for all global National & Regional Series, and each of the Regional Championships, as they stand on the Monday immediately following their completion (pending any outstanding officiating decisions) will be used to determine which athletes earn qualifying spots at the World Championship.
Spartan World Championship Rolldown Week will begin Monday October 25th 2021 at 12pm EDT (New York, GMT-4). At this time, emails with a qualifying code for entry to the World Championship will be sent by Spartan HQ to qualifying Elite and Age Group athletes who have not yet claimed their spot. These qualified athletes will be able to then complete registration for the 2021 World Championship.
On Monday October 25th 2021 at 12pm EDT, all Elite and Age Group leaderboards as they stand on this date for all global National & Regional Series, and each of the 5 Championships, will be used to determine all remaining qualifying spots for the World Championship during “World Championship Rolldown Week”.
World Championship Rolldown Week will conclude on Sunday October 31st 2021 at 11:59pm EDT (New York, GMT-4).