USAT Youth and Junior Nationals

At RipRoar West Des Moines

This July, RipRoar, together with USA Triathlon and the Flatlands Cup, will host the 2024 USA Triathlon Youth and Junior National Championships at Raccoon River Park in West Des Moines.

We're excited to extend our mission of shaping the next generation of triathletes to also helping shape the evolution of this event. Our role in this new type of National Championships not only contributes to building on it’s legacy but also showcases the unique culture and tradition that the RipRoar community has built

We’re motivated to make this the best possible National Championships experience. Over the coming months as we work to bring this vision to reality we encourage you to share your vision with us as well.

USA Triathlon Youth & Junior Nationals will take place within Raccoon River Park in West Des Moines, which has a rich triathlon history dating back to 2008 when the Hy-Vee Triathlon served as the final U.S. Olympic qualifying race for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Raccoon River’s central location in West Des Moines provides a refuge from the city with stunning lake views, a beach swim, and a flat bike and swim course. It’s here that RipRoar athletes have raced since 2015, growing the sport in unprecedented ways.

THE COURSE

The Swim:
Athletes start their day on the beach of Raccoon River park. This public beach will be open only to RipRoar athletes who will swim within the normal roped in beach area. Seniors will complete two laps of the swim course with a brief run on shore, intermediate and juniors will each complete one lap. Most athletes will be able to touch in all divisions.   

The Bike:
This pancake flat bike course is very technical and will be great for developing bike handling skills on both 90 degree and 180 degree turns. Seniors will complete 3 laps, Intermediates 2 laps and Juniors 1 lap of the course before returning to the transition area. This course is perfect for spectators and will allow all loved ones to watch a large portion of the bike

The Run: 
The running portion of our event, sponsored by Certified Piedmontese Beef, will take place on the interior paved trails of Raccoon River Park. If the weather permits athletes will run on the east side of the lake around trails that are more tucked away from the elements. If this is not possible seniors will complete 2 laps while Intermediates and Juniors complete 1 lap of a flat and open course. 

Stay With Us | Official Host Hotels

We are excited to offer our families a great host hotel located in the heart of Des Moines just a quick 15 min. drive to Raccoon River Park. Hotel rooms are available for the nights of Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

We’d like to emphasize that the weekend of July 13 and 14 is exceptionally busy in our city. Not only are we hosting the Triathlon Youth and Junior Nationals, but there are also national events for baseball, hockey, volleyball, and basketball, alongside an Indy Car race and a music festival. Because of this, we highly advise you to book accommodations for your family as soon as possible to ensure availability. 

*Note: This offer is good through May 29th or while rooms last

age divisions

Using the Top 15 places for every age division from the 2023 USA Triathlon Youth and Junior Nationals held in Milwaukee, Wi will be seeded in place order to start their . Following them will be all other athletes lined up by last name, and finally first time triathletes will close out the wave. Athletes starting after the top 15 seeds will be lined up based on their assigned bib number. We assign bib numbers based on age and sex so that all athletes competing in the same division are grouped together. The order of athletes within these divisions is solely at the race director’s discretion and will not be lined up based on swimming ability. There will be 10-15 minutes in between each wave of ages to allow for athletes to reduce overlap and congestion on course.

The RipRoar finish line is unlike anything else, especially during the junior division event. Our belief is a straightforward one: triathlon is a hard sport, and we want to positively reinforce a child’s desire to do hard things. Therefore, we build a massive finish line chute, line it with red carpet, and strongly encourage all athletes and spectators to help make it something special. If we all do our part, we can get these kids addicted to the feeling of crossing difficult finish lines.

Triathlon represents a big challenge for our athletes and we give out big hardware. Every finisher, regardless of place will receive a super sweet finisher medal. In addition, we highlight the top five boys and top five girls from every age (6, 7, 8, etc). The award ceremony is held approximately 20 minutes following the final finisher crossing the line. During this time we invite all athletes to remove all their items from transition. Those looking to leave the venue are welcomed to do so.