AGE-GRADED TABLES

Age-graded tables are a series of "age factors" and "age standards" which can be used to compare performances at different ages in track and field, long distance running, and racewalking events.

Age-graded tables show how much a typical person's athletic performance improves during youth and declines during aging. The performances vary by event.

In this book, factors and standards are published for both sexes for each age from 8 to 100 for the common track and field, long distance running, and racewalking events.

The purpose of age-graded tables is twofold:

1. To correct a person's performance, no matter what his/her age, to what it would have been (or will be) in their prime years. By so doing, all kinds of interesting comparisons can be made. You can compare back to your best performances. You can compare your performances to other people of any age, such as open-class athletes, etc.
2. To provide each individual with a percentage value which enables them to judge their performance in any event without bias to age or sex. No matter how old one gets, this performance percentage will always be judged against the standard for one's age. As your performances decline with age, so do the world standards that the tables use to calculate your percentage, giving a true measure of your performance.

The standards correspond approximately to world-record marks for a person of that age and sex in that event.

Age-graded tables can be used to:

1. Keep track of your progress over the years.
2. Compare your own performance in a given event.
3. Compare your own performance in different events.
4. Compare your progress in the current year.
5. Set goals for the current year and future years.
6. Compare back to your best-ever performance.
7. Compare your performance to people of any age.
8. Estimate your performance in new events.
9. Compare performances of older and younger individuals in the same or different events.
10. Select the best performance in an event among all age groups.
11. Select the best overall performance in a meet or race.
12. Select outstanding athletes.
13. Give recognition to good performances in the younger and older age groups.
14. Enable athletes at the upper end of their age groups to compete on an equal level with those at the lower end of their age groups.
15. Make the competition more interesting and exciting.
16. Make awards more meaningful.
17. Establish medal standards.
18. Score multi-events (decathlon, pentathlon, etc.) using standard IAAF scoring tables.

The tables were researched and compiled by the World Association of Veteran Athletes (WAVA), the world governing body for masters (veterans) track and field, long distance running, and racewalking.

Example 1: A woman of 53 runs 10K in 45:18.

The 10K factor for women age 53 is .8545. We multiply 45:18 (or 2718 seconds) by .8545 = 38:43 as her age-graded time.

The 10K standard for women age 53 is 35:01. We divide 35:01 (2101 seconds) by 45:18 (2718 seconds) and get 77.3% as her age-graded performance.

Example 2: A man of 40 runs 100 meters in 12.07 seconds.

The 100m factor for men age 40 is .9542. We multiply 12.07 by .9542 = 11.52 as his agegraded time.

The 100m standard for men age 40 is 10.33. We divide 10.33 by 12.07 and get 85.6% as his age-graded performance.