As announced by Athletics Canada in March 2026, starting in 2027, all events that are sanctioned by provincial sport organizations (including Athletics Ontario) will be subject to a new participant licensing system. Run Waterloo believes in the value that Athletics Ontario provides to our events and our sport in general, and so this is going to affect you.
What you need to know
- When signing up for a sanctioned race (like basically all of Run Waterloo’s calendar, plus most other events in Ontario that you are familiar with), you will be required to purchase a 1-Day Participant License to provide consistent insurance coverage for $5.
- AC Road & Trail Members through Athletics Ontario will then have that $5 offset as a discount during registration.
- These memberships are $15 plus tax per year (register and learn about the benefits here).
- Many of you have been AO members in the past, and so this is not a change for you. This announcement is for any participant who is not a regular AO member.
- There are some exceptions: several specific event types such as our 200m fun runs will not be subject to the 1-Day fee, and some Run Waterloo races such as Tails on Trails aren’t sanctioned by Athletics Ontario.
Our take
You don’t have to do too many events for this to pay off, but more than that, your memberships are investing in the sport in Ontario in a meaningful way. Run Waterloo is going to continue to run high quality sanctioned events.
There are dozens of provincial sport organizations (PSOs) in Ontario and we understand that most of them charge membership fees that are much higher than $15 per year. Follow this link to learn more about what PSOs do.
Why we are posting this now
We have delayed launching our 2027 calendar until we had enough information to launch this with confidence. We are opening our first 2027 event on Sunday, June 21, 2026 – the 50th Waterloo 10 KM Classic, and so the time was right to be very clear about what to expect. Expect lots of other 2027 events to follow 🙂
One other thing – when you buy the AO membership, it takes up to 24 hours for your membership to be recognized in the Race Roster system. We recommend subscribing now such as to be ready for any 2027 registrations you might want to make. There are no refunds for 1-Day Participant License fees; get the membership first to save.
