The news of this new format began shortly after the triathlon races at the Olympic Games. Emma Snowsill was asked her opinion of the new format and she was supportive.
Until now, the title of "World Champion" went to the athlete that won a single race given the event title of "World Championship". Beginning in 2009, a world champion will be crowned by performing most consistently over seven events. There will be six World Championship events and a Grand Final. How the scoring works has not yet been released.
Currently, draft-legal triathlon is only available to athletes in the development pipeline or on track to World Cup and Olympic racing. There are no draft-legal age group races that I'm aware of, in any country.
Why?
The early arguments were that age group triathletes do not have the bike handling skills necessary for safe racing.
The age group athletes that participate in USA and UCI cycling events seem to manage reasonably well.
If a draft-legal triathlon race was available, would you like to participate? Voice your opinion on the community board here.