Getting started
Getting started
With six disciplines to choose from, and a variety of event formats, you are bound to find something in our large family of sports that appeals to you!
Our events offer different combinations of the disciplines of swimming, running, laser run (running and shooting combined), fencing and obstacle course racing (OCR). In some areas, horse riding may still be offered as a competitive variation in addition or, or in place of, OCR in domestic events.
Have a look through the table below to find the best event/s for you – we're confident there is a pentathlon format for everyone! You can access our National Events Calendar here, and details of the distances and scoring by age group here.
If you're serious about performance and not sure where to start, click here for guidance on the most appropriate training and competition pathway to follow, based on your sporting background.
Membership
To enter one of our events you will need to be a member of a State Association and of MPA.
You can join as a 'trialist athlete' for up to 3 months before committing to full membership. As a trialist member, you are not eligible to compete for any State or National Championship titles, but you may be able to compete in trialist category events held as part of the championships. Find out more about membership categories here.
State Associations
MPA has four Member Associations, each responsible for promoting and developing the sport in their region and for contributing to the achievement of MPA’s Strategic Plan. Our Member Associations are:
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If you live in Tasmania, South Australia, the ACT or the Northern Territory, we’d still love to have you as a member! You can join via any of the current Member Associations, and we will do our best to support you in connecting with like-minded people in your area.
Clubs, hubs and coaches
Through our Member Associations, MPA has links with clubs, hubs and specialist discipline coaches to help to get people involved with our sports, regardless of age, experience and sporting background.
Want to find a local club or coach to start training with? Contact your State Association or MPA as a starting point while we get our club finder and coach finder functionality set up!
If there are no MPA-affiliated clubs or hubs near you, consider joining a local club in one of the disciplines you want to pursue (e.g. obstacle, athletics or fencing) so that you can start work on your technique and fitness. You can use the following links to find out more about these individual sports:
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You can find out more about the best pathway into modern pentathlon in our Performance pages, here.
If your club or school wants more information about introducing our sports into their program or hosting an event, please contact our Pathways and Performance Manager, Kim, at pathways@modernpentathlon.org.au.
Events
Fancy testing yourself at one of our National Events in 2024-25? Check out our National Events Calendar, here.
Equipment
Each pentathlon discipline has its own equipment requirements - please refer to the attached document, which sets out the equipment required for training and competing in each discipline.
Note: in the fencing section, 'FIE' is a reference to the International Fencing Federation (Federation International d'Escrime) which regularly reviews and sets minimum safety standards for fencing gear. 'AFF' means the Australian Fencing Federation, which runs the Australian Fencing Circuit (AFC) competition. 'AUS MP' means any State or National modern pentathlon competition, and 'INT' means any international FIE competition.
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