For the safety of all competitors we recommend the following:

• Drink plenty of fluid before and during the event.
• Use caution at the start of the swim if you are not an experienced swimmer.  Even with wave starts at the larger events, it can still be very crowded.
• Bicycles must be in safe mechanical condition for the race and should be checked by a bike shop mechanic prior to the race.
• If you are over 35 years of age and/or have not done much regular exercise, it is strongly recommended that you have a medical check-up prior to the event.
• A proper training program for the event is also strongly recommended – to find our more visit our preparation section of the website.

Rules and Regulations: Events held in Britain are run under the British Triathlon competition rules.

• Any non-sportsman-like conduct constitutes grounds for immediate disqualification of you or your team.
• Competitors must strictly obey all directions and instructions by marshals, the Highway Authority and Police.
• Medical staff have the authority to remove a competitor from the race if judged to be physically incapable of continuing the race without risk of serious injury.
• If you withdraw from the race, please notify the timing team at the finish line, and hand in your timing chip to the staff.
• It is the responsibility of each competitor to understand the directions and to be familiar with the swim, cycle and run course.
• A top must be worn during the cycle leg and run leg of the event. Your given Race number should be visible at all times; If you are wearing a race belt; number at the back on the bike, number on the front on the run.
• It is the responsibility of Relay teams to transfer their timing chip device and race number in transition.
• Competitors not completing any discipline within the published cut off times will be withdrawn from the event and the Race Director has the right to stop a competitor at any time from completing the race if in his opinion the competitor’s overall time is likely to fall outside the published cut-off time. Please note that once the Race Director has determined that a competitor is unlikely to complete the race within the published cut off time(s) and the competitor has been informed that they have been withdrawn from the race, the Race Director reserves the right to withdraw event marshals and any traffic management from the course. Any competitor acting against the instructions of the Race Director and/or event marshals concerning withdrawal from the race will be regarded as contravening race Rules and subject to disqualification.

CHILDREN’S AGE GROUPS

• There are three different age groups for the children’s races
• These age categories relate to the children’s age as of 31st December of the year in which they are participating.
• If a child wishes to participate in a younger age category race, he/she may. as long as the office is notified in writing and it is understood that they forgo the right to a podium position.

Events held in Britain are run under the British Triathlon competition rules.

• No fins, paddles, snorkels or floatation devices are to be used. Regular swimming goggles are permitted.
• All competitors must wear the Castle Triathlon Series swimming cap during the swim leg. This will also help to ensure that you compete in your correct age group and scheduled wave start time.
• No individual paddlers or escorts are permitted. The course will be adequately patrolled by safety vessels.
• Water temperature assessed 24 hours before the event.
• Wetsuits thickness not to exceed 5mm.
• Competitors who warm up must be behind the starting line at least three minutes before the race start.
• If you get into difficulty in the swim you may call for assistance.
• If you are retrieved from the swim by water safety officials you will be listed as disqualified, however times can still be recorded if, at the discretion of the Medical Director, you are permitted (and willing) to complete the rest of the event.

Events held in Britain are run under the British Triathlon competition rules.

• The roads use on all the cycle routes of all the races will NOT be subject to any official closures although both the Police and Highway Authorities have been involved in the planning process for each race.
• All competitors will be required to wear United Kingdom/French STANDARDS APPROVED HELMET throughout the bike course.
• Helmet straps must be fastened at all times the bicycle is in motion i.e. being ridden or walked. In the event of a breakdown on the cycle course, the helmet must remain on and securely fastened.

• Advice of Drafting Penalties. Penalty box infractions:
• TIME: 5 minutes – Middle/Long Distance; 2 minutes – Standard Distance; 1 minute – Sprint/Short Distance
• Absolutely no drafting another bicycle or any other vehicle is allowed. A space of four bike lengths (10 metres) must be left between all riders at all times in Standard, Sprint and shorter distance races, and 5 bike lengths (12 metres) in Middle and Long Distance races.
• Competitors are individually responsible for following traffic laws as dictated by the Road Traffic Act and are solely responsible for the consequences of any infringements
• The competitors must follow the Highway Code at all times whilst on the cycle course.
• Competitors must obey the instructions of course marshal’s highway authority and road rules at all times.
• No MP3 Players, iPod’s, walkmans etc are permitted whilst competing.

Events held in Britain are run under the British Triathlon competition rules.

• No form of locomotion other than running or walking is allowed – no exceptions!
• No individual support vehicles or escort runners are allowed.
• Runners are expected to follow the directions of all course marshals and race officials.
• No MP3 Players, iPod’s, walkmans etc are permitted whilst competing.

Events held in Britain are run under the British Triathlon competition rules.

• Once the race starts, only competitors who are racing can enter the compound during transition. Remember to get all your swim gear out of the bike compound before the race commences, as you will be unable to return to the compound until your cycle leg.
• Make a mental note of your placement in the compound so you can easily find your correct position, e.g. Bike rack row number. No flags, signs or tape can be used to identify a competitor’s bike rack as it provides an unfair advantage over other competitors.
• Bikes must be placed in the correct bike rack after the bike sector of the race. Failure to do so will result in disqualification.
• Each competitor is ultimately responsible for his or her own gear.
• Helmets must be fastened prior to unracking your bike and must remain fastened until the bike has been racked following the cycle leg. Any breach of this rule may incur a time penalty.

PENALTIES

• Penalty box infractions:
  • TIME: 1 minute Long Distance; 30 seconds Middle Distance; 15 seconds Standard Distance; 10 seconds Sprint Plus and shorter distance.
• Blocking
• Illegal passing (Disqualification)
• Pulling back in the swim
• Early start or turn on the swim
• Stop / start penalty
• Cycle Course:
  • Report to the Penalty Box and advise the official/marshal that you are serving a stop/start penalty
• Run Course/Transition: Issued on the spot

DISQUALIFICATIONS

• If you are shown a RED CARD or fail to attend the Penalty Box a VIOLATION REPORT will be filled out and submitted to the Chief Technical Official
• The Chief Technical Official will assess the VIOLATION REPORT and issue the appropriate penalty.

For the safety of competitors and event officials the following cut-off times will apply to the 2021 Castle Castle Series events:

TRIATHLON RACES

Bastion (Full Iron Distance)

• Swim (at point of swim exit):
  2 hours 20 minutes (+10 minutes for transition 1)
• Cycle:
  9 hours and 45 minutes (allows average speed of 24km/h)
• Swim, transition 1, cycle and transition 2 (at T2 exit point):
  10 hours (from start of race)
• Overall cut-off (must have started last lap of run):
  14 hours 30 minutes (from start of race).

Gauntlet (Half Iron Distance)

Olympic (Standard Distance)

Sprint Plus

• Swim, transition 1, bike and transition 2 (at T2 exit point): Total of 3 hours
• Overall Cut-Off: 4 hours

Sprint

Super Sprint

• Swim, transition 1, bike and transition 2 (at T2 exit point): Total of 2 hours
• Overall Cut-Off: 3 hours

Starter

• Swim, transition 1, bike and transition 2 (at T2 exit point): Total of 2 hours
• Overall Cut-Off: 3 hours

Junior

• No Cut-Off times

MULTISPORT

Aquabike

• Sprint: 3 hours
• Standard: 3 hours 30 minutes
• Middle: 7 hours 30 minutes
• Long: 10 hours 45 minutes

Duathlon

• Sprint: 4 hours
• Standard: 4 hours 30 minutes
• Middle: 8 hours 15 minutes
• Long: 8 hours 45 minutes

Aquathlon

• Sprint: 4 hours
• Standard: 4 hours 30 minutes
• Middle: 8 hours 15 minutes
• Long: 8 hours 45 minutes

RUN

• 10K: 3 hours
• Half Marathon: 4 hours
• Marathon: 6 hours
• 50 Milers: 17

SWIM

• 1 mile: 1 hour
• 2.5K: 2 hours
• 1.9K: 1 hours 15 minutes
• 3.8K: 2 hours 5 minutes
• 5K: 3 hours 30 minutes
• 10K: 6 hours

CYCLE

• 90K: 9 hours
• 180K: 12 hours

Meeting the mandatory water quality standards of the Bathing Water Directive (76/160/EEC) is the minimum legal requirement. Mandatory standards are given for 10 parameters: total coliforms, faecal coliforms, salmonella, enteroviruses, pH, colour, mineral oils, surface active substances (detergents), phenols and transparency. The Directive also sets the minimum frequency at which bathing waters should be sampled.

Cases of non-compliance with the physico-chemical parameters are extremely rare so compliance in the UK each year is normally determined by the extent of pollution by total and faecal coliform bacteria.

To comply with these standards, bathing waters must not exceed values of 10,000 total coliforms per 100ml and 2000 faecal coliforms per 100ml in 95% of samples.

In 2010, 97.6 per cent of bathing waters in England complied with these microbiological standards, with 10 of the 413 waters failing to meet the minimum standards of the Directive.

The table below shows percentage compliance with the mandatory standards for total and faecal coliforms in England only and in the UK over the last decade.

The Bathing Water Directive also sets more stringent guideline microbiological standards that Member States must endeavour to observe.

To comply with the guideline standards, bathing waters must not exceed values of 500 total coliforms per 100ml and 100 faecal coliforms per 100ml in 80% of water quality samples, and 100 faecal streptococci per 100ml in 90% of samples taken.

In 2010, 72.6 per cent of all bathing waters in England met this tighter standard. This is the guideline standard that constitutes the water quality criterion of the international Blue Flag award scheme.