The New Season awaits …!
Its offically Spring …. so lets hope the sun shines a little more, and the warm air starts to warm our lakes and rivers back up! If you haven’t started to think about this years racing here is a little reminder to get you motivated! Our Race organizers are waiting for YOUR entries! The National Trophy Calendar and the World Cup Series are for 2026, at the moment we will have 4 Trophy races here in the UK, including a National Championships and we have 1 WQF World Cup Race which will be European Middle Distance Championships!
‘The Brigg Bomber’ will be hosting the European Middle Distance Championships, and will also be a World Cup Series Race. The Brigg Sprint will be our National Championships.
So get these dates in your diary’s and entries in, then have a reason kick start your training right now, having a goal does wonders for your motivation!
BQA National Trophy Events for 2026
RACE 1 – 7th June – Brigg Bomber Quad – EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS 1500km river swim/40km road bike/8km river kayak/10km road run. A superb race to start the season, extremely well organized by our Top Quadrathlon Club ‘Lincsquad’ a fast flat and safe course, its the European Championships so certainly not to be missed, Lincsquad will certainly pull out all the stops to make this a brilliant day! Entries OPEN Brigg-Bomber
The Keyo Brigg Bomber Sprint is running along side the Bomber and consists of a 750m river swim, 18k bike, 4k kayak & 5k run. This Sprint distance is not a European WQF Race, but will carry qualifying points for BQA trophy series (slightly less points than the Bomber) Entries OPEN Brigg-Bomber-Sprint
RACE 2 – 21st June – Dearne Valley Sprint Quad QuadKidz – 800km lake swim/4.4km lake kayak/5km trail run.
As most of you will know there was a bike incident last year on the cycle leg of the bike course. This has been looked into in great detail, and their have been big discussions to try and find a solution with the ‘Trans Pennine Bike Trail committee, and the Manvers Team have also looked carefully at a road course, but the logistics are impossible within the area of Manvers Lake. The Team are really sorry about loosing the bike leg and they have not taken this decision lightly, they have looked at many other options to accommodate the bike leg, but sadly there are no other options.
In the past this event has been a great motivator for many people and youngsters alike who use the Centre, it has always been the aim to deliver an event where people from all walks of life can participate, athletes enjoy their training towards it and feel a great sense of achievement afterwards. So Instead of cancelling the event completely it is now going to run in a new format – Swim 800m, Run 5K and Kayak 4k.
The BQA would like to thank Mark and his Team for continuing put this event on for everyone. We hope you all understand, it will still be part of the BQA Trophy Series but it will not be a WQA Cup Race.
The Link to the Event Page Manvers-swim-run-kayak
RACE 3 – 6th September – Brigg Sprint NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS – 750km river swim/18km road bike/4km river kayak/5km road run. This is a great sprint event organized by the dedicated Lincsquad Team. The course is flat, fast and ideal for both experienced quadrathletes and those wanting to race the shorter distance. Its our National Championships, so great racing is guaranteed! Entries OPEN Keyo-Brigg-Sprint
RACE 4 – 3rd October – Awesome Foursome Quad – 800km sea swim/30km road bike/10km canal kayak/10km mixed terrain run. This is one of our longest running established Quadrathlons, in beautiful Cornwall in the surfing town of Bude. It never ceases to amaze me, I have raced it in all weathers …. it is always a brilliant exciting and challenging race and a great end the race season! Swimming in the sea, there’s plenty of hills on the bike, a historic canal for the kayak and amazing coastal views on the run! It’s one of those addictive races that keeps drawing you back. The race is on a Saturday so plenty of time for sun, sand and surf too!
Running Alongside ‘The Sprint’
“A little smaller but just as Awesome” This shorter-course quadrathlon will be run at the same time as the full Awesome Foursome but will be roughly half the distance. It will start with the main event and be based at the Canal Wharf but will follow similar routes for the swim, cycle, and run as the Shoreline Triathlon. The swim will be one lap of the Bay, the cycle ride will only go as far as the Widemouth Manor before returning to Bude on the A39, (eliminating the severe cycling hills around Millook). The Kayaking will be one lap of the canal and the Run will only go as far as Rodds Bridge before returning to Bude via Lynstone Road. Entries OPEN Awesome Foursome Quadrathlon
All links to these races are on our ‘events’ page. I hope I have tempted you …. keep you eye on the events page as some race organizers offer Early Bird race discounts!
You must be a BQA member to race for the ‘GB TEAM’ at the World Championships or in a World Cup race, and also to qualify for all BQA prizes in the National Trophy Series. We do need your memberships to help fund our sport. Money goes towards various areas within the organization, one being our website, where we keep you updated with the latest news and events. Our biggest annual outlay is insurance, which we use to cover the races on the British Quad Calendar, without this insurance many of our races wouldn’t take place. We also affiliate to the World Quadrathlon Association ‘WQF’ so our athletes can race at World Cup Races the World and European Championships. The future of British Quadrathlon is in our hands, so please support the BQA and you will be helping to keep our small sport alive!
Membership
BQA 2026 Trophy Series
7th June – Brigg Bomber EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS plus Brigg Bomber Sprint Race
21st June – Dearne Valley Sprint & QuadKidz
6th Sept – Keyo Brigg Sprint NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
3rd Oct – Bude Awesome Foursome Quad plus Mini Awesome Foursome Sprint
Races supported by BQA (not Trophy Races)
? May – Montgomery Canal Triathlon (Charity Event)
21st June – Norfolk SuperHeroes Quad Norfolksuperheros
5th July – Deva Divas Quad Deva Divas Quad
It was also great to see people attempting the sport that probably are unlikely to ever have entered the extreme Standard…the Sprint is a real plus and m
The Quadrathlon: BQA NATIONAL TROPHY RACE The race consists of a 750m opening water swim in the river Ancholme followed by a 4km Kayak, 18km road cycle and finishing with a 5km road run. Subject to weather the swim may get changed to a 400m pool swim depending on the river temperature and condition, so please train and be prepared for both. A fantastic way to start your Quadrathlon journey or take your skills to the next level.
The Triathlon: The Race consists of a 400m pool swim (16 lengths) in the Ancholme Leisure Centre’s 25m pool followed by a 18km road cycle and finishing with a 5km road run. The course is flat, fast and ideal for both experienced triathletes and newcomers to the sport. Lincsquad are also pleased to provide limited spaces for Standard and TriStar Teams were each team member will complete one leg: see website page for more details. 
The Duathlon: race consists of a 2.5km run, 18km bike and 5k run. Great for beginners and a serious challenge for those looking to push their limits. The course is flat, fast and ideal for both experienced and novice athletes alike. 
The Aquathon: Well Dive In Our Fifth Event Just Surfaced! This race consists of a 400m swim followed by a 5km run. Call it splash and dash if you want to! One seriously refreshing combination, whether you glide like a dolphin or splash like an enthusiastic Labrador, this event’s for you! And don’t worry—wetsuits aren’t required and high-fives always welcome. 
The BQA are pleased to see that Bude Quad will be also adding a sprint course quad to your usual Awesome Foursome course.
The race makes the very most of Bude’s geography and features. The open water swim takes place within the shelter of Bude’s breakwater. The cycle ride includes some amazing coastal hills (including the 1 in 3 climb at Millook). The kayak leg takes place on the tranquil Bude canal. And the final run follows the canal towpath onto the coastal path and back to Bude. The fastest athletes will take around 3 hours to complete the course with most finished within 4 hours.
NEW for 2025: The Sprint
Don’t Cry because its over, Smile because it Happened!
…. Sue 
WQF preserves the memory of Václav Marek. The National Trophy award – which is given every year to the most successful country – will be named Václav Marek National Trophy from 2025.
Special thanks to Mark Benton, David Jones and the Manvers Team for organising this great quad event, you are a wonderful ‘Team’ of people thank you for your enthusiasm and for inspiring so many to take to the water and embrace the challenge, you have put so many smiles on peoples faces at Manvers. As always the BQA are extremely grateful to everyone involved, we are a small sport, and its good to see so many competitors without a doubt it’s such a fabulous feel good event, enjoyed by everyone, from seasoned athletes to first timers and looking at the photos looks like you had a great day!
The Race this year was part of the BQA Trophy Series, but for the first time ever it was part of the World Quadrathlon Cup, so competitors were given BQA points plus WQF points, this is great to see so many British athletes with World Cup points. The GB team are now in 2nd place in the World Cup Trophy now “The Vaclav Merek National Trophy” this is given to country with the most the points at the end of the year. So huge well done to everyone who has raced so far this year! 
Onto the 30k bike stage and the course was just excellent. For me personally, I’d checked out the bike course on the previous Friday, so it was full gas all the way, tuck in, shrug the shoulders narrow and get aero, every second counts. The loop out of Waddingham and through Snitterby was just excellent fun. 49:24 later and I’m rolling back into the sports center, thinking now about the kayak leg.
So here we go, the day’s getting done now, just the run to go, 5k’s for the sprint and 9.8k’s for the middle distance event.
