As foreshadowed in last months HP News the next tier below the National Senior and Under-23 squads are Regional Junior squads. These will be part of wider Regional Squads which also include the members of the National Senior and Under-23 Squads. From the start of next year the aim is for the Regional Squads to have regular organized training activities.

The squads have been selected on the basis of the following principles:

• age range for the Regional Junior Squads is 16-23;
• in this first year the named squads are very inclusive and therefore large
•  in future years a commitment to training will be included as a consideration in who remains in, or joins, the squads;
• athletes have been named in squads according to their home club. As many University age juniors are away from home for much of the year a mechanism will be put in place for these people to be engaged with the squad closest to their place of study. Thus, for example, an AOA member studying in Wellington, will be invited to join in with Central Squad activities.
•  seniors over 23 and outside the National Senior Squad, and runners from the SuperSeries  teams who run elite and are interested in coaching/trainings will be included in communications and be able to participate in training activities, but are not be named in formal regional squads.

For November 2015 – 31 October 2016 Regional Junior Squads are:

Over the coming weeks Regional Squad coordinators for each region will be appointed who will lead the organization of training activities in the rgeion and the communications with squad members.