37th West Zone Junior Athletics Championship 2026 is going to start, and junior athletes get the chance to show their talent this season and make their PB and season best, which can help them for the next level of competition.
This West Zone Championship will be held from 27th to 29th September 2026 at Cujira, Bambolim, Tiswadi, North Goa. Goa is hosting this edition, and around 800 athletes from eight states and Union Territories are expected to take part, with Goa itself fielding a strong home contingent of around 150 athletes.
This is a big platform for young athletes from across the West Zone — states like Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh usually compete in this zone — to test themselves against top junior talent and gain valuable competitive experience before moving up to the national level.
Registration for this event is open on the official AFI website, and interested athletes should keep an eye on the countdown and complete their entry before it closes.
A few important points to know about how this works:
Unlike State or National meets where athletes register individually, participation in Zone Championships usually works differently — athletes first need to be selected through their own State Junior Championship, and then their state athletics association nominates them to represent the state at the Zone level.
- The age categories, as per AFI’s standard format for junior zone championships, are usually Under-20, Under-18, Under-16, and Under-14, for both boys and girls.
- Each athlete is generally allowed to compete in two individual events.
- Each state can usually send two entries per event, in each age group, with no reserve entries accepted.
- Age verification is compulsory athletes need to carry original certificates like a Board certificate showing date of birth or a school leaving certificate, since no other document is accepted as valid proof of age.
- For U-14 athletes, the Kids Javelin Throw is usually a mandatory event.
This meet is a great opportunity for junior athletes across the West Zone to compete at a high level, build their season, and set themselves up for future selection into bigger national-level junior championships.