Team events and ages
Team events have their own age rules. Masters four-person teams race in total-age groups from 120 years and three-person teams (Taplin, beach relay, 3 × 1 km run relay) from 110 years, while a masters double ski's category is set by the younger paddler (§3.8.2). Junior teams combine U15 to U19, nipper teams pair two age groups, and one nipper may be moved up to complete an older team (§3.6.2).
Masters: total-age teams
- Four-person teams: 120–139, 140–169, 170–199, 200–229 and 230+ years in total (§3.8.2a). A 30, 40, 50 and 60-year-old (180) race 170–199.
- Three-person teams — Taplin, beach relay and 3 × 1 km beach run relay: 110–129, 130–149, 150–169 and 170+ years (§3.8.2b).
- Double ski: the younger paddler's age sets the five-year band, from 30–34 to 75+ (§3.8.2c).
Ages are taken at 30 September before the season: someone who turns 40 during the season counts as 39 (§3.8.2, note 3). A master races one team age category per discipline, and may drop to the next-youngest category only when there are too few starters (note 2). Masters teams must come from a single club (note 5).
Juniors: combined teams
Junior team events are raced as combined junior teams: U15 to U19 competitors can make up one team (§3.6.2d). At the SA championships the beach relay, board relay, board rescue, double ski, tube rescue, ski relay and Taplin are all combined-junior events (§11.4.1). Only juniors may enter junior team events (§2.11.3a).
Nippers: paired age groups and moving up
Nipper team events pair U9 & U10, U11 & U12, and U13 & U14 (§3.6.4). A nipper may be moved up to fill a team in an older age group, never a younger one, under strict conditions (§3.6.2b):
- only one younger nipper per team, and only one nipper moved up for that event;
- only after every competitor in the older age group has been used in that event;
- only on a written application to the Chief Referee.
Changing a team
Team members can be swapped between rounds but never during a race, and nobody may race the same event in two different teams (§2.11.3, §2.12). Substitutions close two hours before the first event of the day (06h00 at the SA championships), except on medical grounds with a certificate (§2.12).
Common questions
How do masters relay age groups work?
Add up the team's ages at 30 September. Four-person teams race 120–139, 140–169, 170–199, 200–229 or 230+; three-person teams race 110–129, 130–149, 150–169 or 170+ (LSA Competition Manual §3.8.2).
Which age group does a masters double ski race in?
The age group of the younger of the two paddlers (§3.8.2c).
Can a nipper race in an older age group?
Only in team events: one nipper may be moved up to complete an older team, on written application to the Chief Referee, once all the older nippers have been used (§3.6.2b). Never down.
Can juniors of different ages race in the same team?
Yes. Junior team events are combined, so U15, U17 and U19 competitors can race together (§3.6.2d, §11.4.1).
Can a team member be replaced during a competition?
Between rounds, yes, with a qualified member of the same club; never during a race, and not after they have raced for another team in that event (§2.12).
Sources
Updated 30 September 2026. Spotted something wrong? Email hello@flagline.co.za.