A U14 boy in Britain throws a 3 kg shot. A 13-year-old boy at an American USATF meet throws 4 kg. Both are correct, because the under 14 label belongs to two different systems that draw the line in different places. Britain rebuilt its junior age groups on 1 April 2026 and U14 became a standard competition category, which is why this question keeps coming up. Below are both tables, kilograms first. Every legal weight above and below this band is collected in how much a shot put weighs.
Under the age groups UK Athletics adopted on 1 April 2026, U14 boys put a 3.00 kg shot and U14 girls put a 2.72 kg shot. Legal diameter runs 85 mm to 110 mm for both. These match the World Athletics age group table, so any U14 athlete competing under those specifications is on the same implement.
USATF does not use U14 at all. It runs a 13-14 division, and your division is fixed by how old you are on 31 December. Boys throw 4 kg, which is 8.8 lb and a full kilogram heavier than the British U14 boy. Girls throw a 6 lb shot at 2.72 kg, identical to the UK U14 girls' weight. The federation-by-federation chart is in shot put weight by age.
The British competition year runs from 1 October to 30 September and the new groups map onto school years, so U14 sits roughly across school years 7 and 8. USATF sorts by calendar age, so its 13-14 division holds children who turn 13 or 14 during that year. The two groups overlap only partly, and the ball is not the same. The discus runs into the same labelling problem, described in the high school discus specs.
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Kilograms first. The UK rows use the age groups UK Athletics adopted on 1 April 2026, and the USATF rows use calendar age on 31 December.
| Age group | Boys (kg / lb) | Girls (kg / lb) | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| U12 | 2 to 2.72 kg / 4.4 to 6 lb | 2 to 2.72 kg / 4.4 to 6 lb | UK and World Athletics |
| U14 | 3.00 kg / 6.6 lb | 2.72 kg / 6.0 lb | UK and World Athletics |
| U16 | 4.00 kg / 8.8 lb | 3.00 kg / 6.6 lb | UK and World Athletics |
| U18 | 5.00 kg / 11.0 lb | 3.00 kg / 6.6 lb | UK and World Athletics |
| U20 | 6.00 kg / 13.2 lb | 4.00 kg / 8.8 lb | UK and World Athletics |
| Age 11-12 | 2.72 kg / 6 lb | 2.72 kg / 6 lb | USATF |
| Age 13-14 | 4.00 kg / 8.8 lb | 2.72 kg / 6 lb | USATF |
| Age 15-16 | 5.44 kg / 12 lb | 4.00 kg / 8.8 lb | USATF |
| Age 17-18 | 5.44 kg / 12 lb | 4.00 kg / 8.8 lb | USATF |
| US middle school | 4.00 kg / 8.8 lb | 2.72 kg / 6 lb | NFHS recommendation |
Common questions athletes and coaches ask about this topic.
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