Competition in Australia

Competition

The times and distances a pentathlete has to achieve in competition is dependent on their gender and age. Pentathletes compete in each discipline and are awarded a score, based on their results. The pentathlete’s final score is worked out by adding the individual discipline scores together.

A pentathlete’s age is calculated by subtracting their year of birth from the year of the competition; months and days are not taken into account. (Eg year of competition is 2003, year of birth is 1980, pentathlete’s age is 23.)

Age	Under 12	12, 13 - 14	15 - 16	17 - 18	Under 21	Open
Discipline
Fence	Fence all	Fence all	Fence all	Fence all	Fence all	Fence all
Swim	50m	100m	200m	200m	200m	200m
Ride	*	*	*	*	1.1m	1.2m
Shoot / Run	No shooting Run 1km to finish	Shoot 5 then run 1km Shoot 5 then run 1km to finish	Shoot 5 then run 1km Shoot 5 then run 1km to finish	Shoot 5 then run 1km Shoot 5 then run 1km Shoot 5 then run 1km to finish	Shoot 5 then run 1km Shoot 5 then run 1km Shoot 5 then run 1km to finish	Shoot 5 then run 1km Shoot 5 then run 1km Shoot 5 then run 1km to finish

* Note: In domestic competitions, pentathletes under 18 can jump any height with which they are comfortable

Fence

Pentathletes fence all other competitors. The competition is one minute one hit epee. A single hit within a minute, is a win. No single hit is a loss! There are no points for a loss. Double hits (where both competitors hit each other simultaneously) do not count as a single hit. If neither competitor has made a single hit after the minute, both competitors lose! To be awarded 1000 points, competitors need to win 70% of their bouts. If there are 21 competitors, there will be 20 bouts, with 14 hits required to gain the 1000 points. Every hit above or below that number will earn you more or less points. The number of points you gain for a win (or have deducted for a loss) depends on the number of competitors in the competition.

Swim

Various distances, depending on age. To achieve 1000 points pentathletes need to swim the following times:

Ride

Pentathletes jump a course of 12 obstacles, including one double and one triple, on a horse they have never ridden before. Pentathletes are given 20 minutes to get to know the horse and are allowed 5 practice jumps. For seniors, the height is 1.2m, for juniors the height is 1.1m and domestically, for youth, the height is 60 – 80 cm. At international Youth competitions, there is no ride. Only international Junior and Senior competitions have a ride component. To be able to compete in riding at international competitions, you have to prove your competency at domestic competitions. A clear round with no faults is worth 1200 points. Refusals, rails down etc, all incur pentathlon penalties.

Shoot / Run

The shoot / run (Combined Event) is very exciting to watch and the final result can change at any moment! The Combined Event is the last event and is based on the Winter Olympic sport of Biathlon. It is usually a handicap start (the person leading the competition goes first, the person in second place goes second etc). A pentathlete's placing over the line at the end of the Combined Event, determines their final position in the competition. A pentathlete's handicap is based on how many pentathlon points they are behind the competition leader.

The competition for Senior, Junior and Youth A (17 & 18 year olds) pentathletes consists of:

A handicap start
Run approximately 20m to the shooting line
Shoot 5 Targets down (time limit 1’10”)
Run 1000m
Shoot another 5 Targets down (time limit 1’10”)
Run 1000m
Shoot a final 5 Targets down (time limit 1’10”)
Run 1000m to the finish.

For boys and girls 16 years and under, the competition consists of:

A handicap start
Run approximately 20m to the shooting line
Shoot 5 Targets down (time limit 1’10”)
Run 1000m
Shoot a final 5 Targets down (time limit 1’10”)
Run 1000m to the finish.

2000 points are awarded if the pentathlete completes the whole circuit as described above, in 14 minutes. Each second faster or slower than the prescribed time is worth +/-4 points.

What Can I Expect to Achieve?

Starting out, pentathletes do NOT need to be scoring 1000 points in each discipline; but it is something to which all pentathletes aspire – averaging 1000 points per discipline. Initially aim to average 700 points per discipline (or 3500 points for all five events and 2800 for a four event competition without the riding. Remember, this is an endurance sport and pentathletes need to pace themselves through the events. There is no point going out and swimming 2 minutes flat for 200m and then having nothing left in the tank for the fence and run!

What Competitions Are Available in Australia?

This is a fantastic, exciting sport, with lots to learn and certainly no time to get bored! Modern Pentathlon Australia and the Victorian and NSW branches run several full pentathlon competitions throughout the year. Practice competitions and training camps are also available. The WA branch at this stage is running “mini pentathlon” competitions consisting of swim, run and fence. We hope to also run pentathlon shooting practice competitions as our membership grows.

Modern Pentathlon Australia hosts the Australian National Championships in either Victoria or NSW. Pentathletes in WA would be most welcome to come and watch or if you want to compete, you can do as many of the disciplines as you feel able to participate in. If you want to really get into pentathlon, it is certainly worth making the trip, with the purpose of gaining experience and seeing how it all actually works in practice. From experience, the sooner a pentathlete experiences this, the easier it actually is to train and understand what you need to do!