USA Triathlon has announced the dates and locations of its 2012 National Championship schedule, providing multisport athletes from across the United States the opportunity to compete in a top-notch championship environment. 

Age Group and Sprint Nationals will return to Burlington, Vermont, in 2012. On the heels of an extremely successful 2011 USA Triathlon National Championship season, which included record fields and sold-out events, the 2012 events will again give athletes a chance to earn official national champion status.

“We are looking forward to bringing our members another great year of national championship racing in 2012,” said USA Triathlon National Events Director Jeff Dyrek. “Athletes will see some new venues on the list, as well as some return trips to fantastic locations from 2011. We look forward to crowning our 2012 national champions and securing our team members for Team USA for upcoming ITU World Championships.”

Cities selected to host 2012 USA Triathlon National Championships include: Burlington, Vermont; Tucson/Oro Valley, Arizona; Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Mercer Island, Washington; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Austin, Texas; Pelham, Alabama; and Gilford, New Hampshire.

Details on the 2012 Junior and Youth National Championship, Elite National Championship, Club National Championship and Aquabike National Championship will be announced in the near future.

Once again, the USA Triathlon Age Group and Sprint National Championships will be held in Burlington, Vt., next year as a two-day event with Age Group Nationals taking place on Aug. 18, 2012, and Sprint Nationals on Aug. 19, 2012. In 2011, nearly 2,500 of the nation’s top amateur triathletes participated in the sold-out Olympic-distance and sprint-distance events held on the shores of Lake Champlain. Registration will open Jan. 5, 2012, for Age Group and Sprint Nationals.

For the sixth consecutive year, Tuscaloosa, Ala., will welcome triathletes to its waterways and streets for the USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship on April 21, 2012. Talented collegiate triathletes will battle for national titles on a course similar to this year’s event, which saw nearly 1,600 athletes from more than 120 clubs competing for titles in the Olympic-distance, sprint-distance and team competition.

Next year in Tuscaloosa, a four-person, draft-legal mixed team relay will be contested on April 22, 2012. Registration will open Jan. 5, 2012, for Collegiate Nationals.

Tucson/Oro Valley, Ariz., is the third city to repeat as a host from 2011, welcoming age group duathletes and paraduathletes from across the country on April 28, 2012, for the USA Triathlon Duathlon National Championship. Registration will open Dec. 1 for Duathlon Nationals.

The 2012 USA Triathlon National Championship schedule gets under way Jan. 22 with the USA Triathlon Winter Triathlon National Championship in Gilford, N.H.

In addition to chasing national titles, athletes also will be competing for prized spots on Team USA at a number of USA Triathlon National Championships. Team USA is comprised of age group athletes that represent the U.S. at each ITU world championship event.

For more information, please click here.