ONLINE entries are being accepted for the annual Crystal Palace triathlon, organised by Crystal Palace Triathletes (CPT).

This year's race will be held on May 31 and for the first time will include a junior event for the following BTF age-groups: TriStar Start (eight), TriStar One (nine to 10), TriStar Two (11 to 12), TriStar Three (13 to 14) and Youths (15 to 16).

Organisers hope this move will open up the race to the whole family.

Following the success last year of what is believed to have been the first carbon-neutral event held in the UK, CPT will once again strive to be carbon neutral in 2009.

Consultants Zero Carbon Events will be producing a full report on last year's event, which will be available on the CPT website soon.

Club chair John Petrides said: “We are very excited to be holding our first junior event as well as continuing our carbon neutral theme.

“We are delighted last year's event actually proved to be carbon negative.

“As a club, we are keen to ensure the 2009 race is committed to reducing the amount of waste generated and to recycle wherever possible.”

The 50m pool is due to reopen in April following major refurbishment, allowing the race to return to its full sprint format.

A 750m swim, a nine-lap 20k cycle on a traffic-free route around Crystal Palace Park will be followed by a 5k run which finishes on the renowned athletics track.

The race entry list has been open for just over a month and half of the 600 available places have already been taken, with organisers expecting the event to fill fast.

For more information, or to book your place online, visit crystalpalace-tri.co.uk