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≡ GRAND SLAM TRACK ≡
Showing a rarely-seen flexibility in track & field, Grand Slam Track announced Thursday that its schedule for the next-up Philadelphia Slam on 30-31 May and 1 June has been condensed into a two-day meet on Saturday (31st) and Sunday (1st) only.
Per Grand Slam Track founder Michael Johnson:
“[W]’ve taken time to celebrate the successes we’ve achieved in our inaugural season, but also have looked for ways to improve Grand Slam Track in real time.
“We’ve said all along we want to listen to our fans, athletes, and coaches, and having heard feedback from various key stakeholders, we’ve made the decision to condense our schedule in Philadelphia into two, high-octane, and intense days of combat racing. We want to be the most flexible, adaptive, and fan-first league in sports, and we believe making these changes will improve the Grand Slam Track experience for all.”
So, where there were eight races on each of the three days in Kingston (JAM) and Miramar, Florida, 12 races will take place each day at Philadelphia’s Franklin Field:
● Saturday: 400 m hurdles (men and women), men’s 800 m, 200 m (m+w), women’s 3,000 m, 400 m (m+w), women’s 1,500 m, men’s 110 m hurdles, women’s 100 m hurdles.
● Sunday: 400 m (m+w for long hurdles), women’s 800 m, 100 m (m+w for short hurdles), men’s 3,000 m, 200 m (m+w for long sprints), men’s 1,500 m, 100 m (m+w).
So everyone is competing on consecutive days, with the short-distance entrants running 800 m and 1,500 m over two days. For the long-distance groups:
“To ensure the most thrilling and competitive matchups, the Men’s and Women’s Long Distance Race Groups will each compete in a single 3000m race. As they will only be competing in one race at the Slam, Long Distance Race Groups will compete for an adjusted prize pool, with the winner taking home $50,000.”
Half as many races; half the payout. The presentation will also change:
● The Kingston and Miramar meets had Friday and Saturday competition slots beginning at 5:42 p.m. and finishing at 7:21 p.m., and Sunday timing with the same length, but moved up a couple of hours. That means the show blocks essentially looked like this:
0:00 to 0:42: Pre-event show (42 mins.)
0:43 to 2:21: 8 races (~1:40)
2:22 to 3:00: Post-event show (38 mins.)
● Now, for the Philadelphia Slam, more races in about the same time:
0:00 to 0:39: Pre-event show (39 mins.)
0:40 to 2:22: 12 races (~1:44)
2:23 to 3:00: Post-event show (37 mins.)
Translation: less chatter between races, which viewers on social media have been clamoring for.
Ticket buyers for Friday in Philadelphia will receive full refunds; if the program goes off successfully as now planned, there should be little doubt that the final Slam, at UCLA’s Drake Stadium from 27-29 June, will also be shortened to two days.
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Grand Slam Track also announced new “Challengers” for Philadelphia, including World Indoor 800 m winner Josh Hoey of the U.S., Hobbs Kessler, the 2023 World Road Mile champion, Bella Whittaker, the NCAA Indoor women’s 400 m champ, Nia Akins, the U.S. Olympic Trials women’s 800 m winner, and Britain’s Georgia Bell, the Paris Olympic women’s 1,500 m bronzer.
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Observed: This is a welcome and unexpected update of the Grand Slam Track formula, which should help the Philadelphia Slam.
Sometimes, “less is more” and the three-day format for a new competition is a lot for casual fans to absorb. The weekend format also does not compromise the linear broadcast agreement with The CW, which was only showing the weekend days anyway.
Good for Johnson and his team for re-arranging the event to make it better for the fans, who – in the end – will determine whether this project survives.
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