Bring USAT to Your School in 6 Easy Steps

Are you a teacher looking to offer a new activity at your school? A parent looking for an outlet for your creative and active student? US Academic Triathlon is a fun, challenging, and creative extracurricular activity for middle school students. Here are 5 easy steps to get started:

1. Attain the support and affiliation of a school or school district.

While independent teams have been known to compete, most find it easier to be aligned with a school or district in order to share resources. Teachers often become coaches to offer extracurricular activities to their students – but that doesn’t mean a coach has to be a teacher. Parents and volunteers at least 16 or older are welcome to coach! Reach out to your student’s teacher, the school’s activity director, or the principal’s office for information on starting a new extracurricular activity at your school.

Each team must be willing and able to host at least one meet during the season, should it be needed. To host a meet, you will need to borrow space – ideally a local school – with at least 7 rooms, one of which needs to be large enough for PARTY presentations and an audience. If teams can have a place to practice similar to meet locations it’s also a plus.

Check out our blog post on September 29 for tips on how to talk with your school or district about offering USAT.

2. Determine how to pay the registration fee of $225 per team.

Will the school or district pay the fee? Will the participation fee be passed on to the student? When broken down among a 5-student team, USAT is an investment of $11.25 per student per competition (excluding the opportunity to attend the State competition, which incurs a $50 registration fee per team).

3. Recruit at least 4, but ideally 6 students.

A full team has 5 students. Teams of 4 students can still be competitive, and teams of 6 allow for one alternate in case a team member unable to compete during the scheduled meet. Students must be in grades 5 through 8; the Challenger division is for grades 5 and 6 while the Cross Trainer division is for grades 7 and 8. Teams compete in the division of their oldest student. For example, a team made up of four 5^th graders and one 8^th grader will compete in the Cross Trainer division, which is more difficult.

4. Register with US Academic Triathlon.

Registration materials will be available Oct. 1. Registration is due by Nov. 4. Team fees are due by Dec. 2.

5. Practice with your team.

Use these samples or the practice materials and tips found on our blog to hold some practices.

6. Attend your first meet with your team!

If you have further questions about starting a team, view our FAQ or Coaching a Team pages, or call our office at 507-645-2560.

We’re excited to have you as part of USAT this year!