Eligibility to compete in GBR team in EMA and WMA competitions
- All athletes joining the BMAF must declare if they have dual nationality or have previously competed for another country in an international masters athletics competition.
- Any athlete with dual nationality or is a “foreign” athlete (i.e. with non-UK passport) who is a permanent resident (3 years) of the UK or one of the crown territories, may declare their wish to compete in a GBR team in the EMA or WMA competitions. If they also declare that they have not previously represented any other country in masters athletics and there is satisfactory evidence of British nationality or permanent residence in the UK, this will be accepted by the International Entries Coordinator.
- If the athlete has previously represented another country and wish to change allegiance to GBR, they must follow the process defined by World Masters Athletics
Validation of Nationality/Age
- The nationality and age of masters athletes will be checked for new members when they first join the BMAF as an area club or Open competitor. They will be done for existing members for whom the validation has not been logged in OpenTrack, either when they set a British record or enter as a GBR athlete in an EMA or WMA championships or if any doubt on their age is raised.
- The checks will consist of the following:1) a copy of their passport details, supported by their marriage certificate or equivalent official document for change of name)
2) a copy of their birth certificate (or equivalent official document) if not born in the UK or Crown Territories. If they do not have a passport and were born in the UK or Crown Territories, then the birth certificate will suffice. - If the athlete who was born abroad cannot provide proof of their date of birth via a birth certificate or equivalent, they will still be eligible to compete in the age category indicated by their passport or as otherwise decided by the BMAF, and set British records for this age category. Any European or World record-beating performances may however not be ratified by EMA/WMA, depending on their judgement of the evidence provided.
Impact of Nationality on Awards of Medals in BMAF Championships
- Only British citizens or those who have proven the eligibility to be considered as British in accordance with rules given above will be able to set British masters athletics records
- Non-British competitors will win medals In the British Masters Open Track & Field Championships if they finish in the first three for their event. The first three British competitors in each event will also win medals, even if there are better performing foreign competitors
- BMAF individual and team medals in the BMAF road, trail and cross-country championships will be awarded without regard to the nationality of the competitors.
Technical Details of Validation
- By reference to the passport or birth certificate provided, the basic information on Section B of the athlete’s personal detail can be stored/validated: date of birth, full name, country of birth, nationality, type and number (last four digits only) of the document used for validation
- If the athlete has dual nationality or they are a permanent resident in a different country, the one they will affiliate to for the purpose of international competitions is treated as their “nationality” in OpenTrack and their other nationality is stored in the data item “nationality2”. If the passport details used for the validation related to Nationality2, this will be logged in the Nationality notes as well as listing the dual nationalities and/or country of permanent residence.
- If the athlete supplies both a copy of their passport details and the birth certificate, the number (last four digits) of the birth certificate is stored in the data item “document2 number”
- An ID card can be used for validation temporarily, pending production of the passport details.