The CTFL X NB Trials Information
The CTFL X NB Trials will be coming to Ottawa on July 13th as a part of the CTFL Weekend running from July 11th-13th, bringing athletes from Olympians, to the nations best high schooler's together for one of the premier track and field weekends in Canada.
What is "The Trials"
The Trials is another creation from the minds that brought the Canadian Track and Field League aimed to propel the sport forward in Canada. Taking inspiration from New Balance Nationals, the premier high school track series hosted by New Balance, The Trials takes many elements from the New Balance Nationals events and adds a hint of CTFL.
Designed for athletes between the grades of 9-12, athletes born in 2007-2010 will be able to compete in the first edition of The Trials. Athletes born in 2011 will be able to compete under the younger categories if they meet the standards, as listed below. The event will take place on July 13th at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility in Ottawa, Ontario as the finale to the CTFL weekend where numerous of Canada's best athletes will compete over the course of the weekend. Athletes that achieve the standards, as shown below, will be able to register for The Trials starting May 10th to June 22nd. Declaration opening on April 28th until May 9th, where athletes that meet standard may register serving as a reservation for the coveted New Balance Backpack. Registration can be completed via Trackie.ca as of May 10th.
Once an athlete is fully registered, the draft process commences whereby CTFL athletes will draft The Trials athletes onto their teams. Athletes who are drafted will represent that team on the day of The Trials. In addition, athletes who win the oldest grade category at The Trials will have the opportunity to compete as a CTFL athlete for their drafted team the following season. That athlete will be able to stay in the CTFL after their rookie season if they finish above the bottom five positions in their respective event.
What Athletes Receive
The aim of The Trials is for younger athletes to receive an opportunity to compete at a high level against the best in the nation for a chance at improving their marks, to attain standards, meet notable senior athletes and for a chance to sit on the podium. Included in the athlete registration athletes will also receive the following:
- The Trials New Balance Backpack
- A Team CTFL Singlet
- 4 CTFL Finals Tickets on July 11th
- Access to the New Balance Pre-Trials Party on July 12th
In addition, CTFL will have a team of videographers and photographers ready to capture all of the athletes throughout the meet. Athletes captured by the content team will be able to access their photos and videos from our team for free.
Standards
The following graphic represents The Trials standards for the 2025 season. If athletes have achieved the A standard by the time registration closes on June 22nd, they will have their spot automatically reserved at The CTFL X New Balance Trials. If athletes have yet to hit the A standard but have achieved the B standard they will be on standby as to whether or not there is enough space for them at The Trials. An email will be sent out for all athletes who achieved the B standard on June 24th to confirm if an athlete will be in The Trials.
Process to Declare and Register
Athletes will be able to declare their interest to compete in the trials on April 28th until May 9th. Athletes can declare for The Trials without achieving standard, as the declaration form is to inform organizers of your intention to compete. All athletes that declare for The Trials will receive email updates for registration which they will need to accomplish once it opens on May 10th. Athletes may register for The Trials starting May 10th.
Registration will open on May 10th through Trackie.ca, and will close on June 22nd. Athletes with A standard are encouraged to register as soon as registration opens whereas athletes with B standard are recommended to wait until 2 weeks prior to registration closing to register in case their marks improve. In the case an athlete improves their mark they had used to register originally, athletes will have the opportunity to submit a form to replace their previous mark with their new season's best from June 17th to June 22nd. An email will be sent out on June 17th to all registered athletes who have achieved a standard in order to have the ability to update their seed marks.
Athletes that achieved the A standard will automatically be drafted into a team and compete at The Trials, whereas athletes with only the B standard will be notified on June 24th whether or not they will be drafted onto one of the four teams to compete at The Trials.
Note - Trackie.ca will charge athletes a non-refundable processing fee at checkout. In the case that an athlete hits the B standard but does not make a team's roster, the Trackie.ca processing fee will not be refunded. Therefore we do encourage athletes to wait until closer to the deadline to register with the aim of achieving A standard.
The Trials & CTFL Finals Weekend
Every trials athletes will be invited to all CTFL Finals Weekend activities including the CTFL Finals on Friday July 11th. This will be an opportunity for the next generation of athletes to watch and interact with some of Canada's top athletes in addition to a few international athletes that will make the trip to Ottawa.
Trials Athletes will be able to collect their backpack, team singlet, bib and other items at the New Balance Pre-Trials Party on the Saturday, 12th of July. The evening event will enable athletes to meet team Canada and CTFL athletes alike, listen to athlete panels, try on spikes and much more. Finally on the 13th, athletes will compete at The CTFL X NB Trials with the meet aiming to be completed by 7:00pm.
