★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★
★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★
≡ NEW USATF TOUR ≡
As promised, USA Track & Field announced its new “USATF Tour” concept, “a series of independently owned and operated track and field meets in the United States that meet the criteria for a bronze, silver or gold label from World Athletics.”
Fourteen of the 17 meets listed are existing and run, as noted, independently, with three events to be staged either by USATF or in conjunction with others: two “Grand Prix” meets that are on the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold calendar, and a distance meet attached to the Gold-level meet in Los Angeles next June.
The federation, still working under constrained financial circumstances, is providing specific support for the meets:
● “USATF will provide all costs associated with drug testing, technical delegates, sanctioning and insurance. It will prioritize Tour meets when allocating travel funding for tiered athletes and supplement the costs of any additional disciplines to the program if needed.
● “USATF will also support the meets with marketing and media coverage of everything from ticket sales to performance highlights.
● “It also announced today that it will award $50,000 in prize money to the male and female athlete who earn the highest number of World Athletics performance points in their three highest-scoring competitions during the series.”
The schedule as presented last Friday:
● 28 Mar.: The TEN, in San Juan Capistrano, Ca.
● 04 Apr.: Miramar Invitational, in Miramar, Fl.
● 12 Apr.: Oklahoma Throws World Invitational, in Ramona, Ok.
● 18 Apr.: Mt. SAC Relays, in Walnut, Ca.
● 25 Apr.: Penn Relays, in Philadelphia, Pa.
● 25 Apr.: Drake Relays, in Des Moines, Ia.
● 23 May: L.A. Track Festival, in Los Angeles, Ca.
● 23 May: Tucson Elite Throws, in Tucson, Az.
● 06 Jun.: Grand Prix, site to be determined
● 13 Jun.: L.A. Distance Classic, in Los Angeles, Ca.
● 14 Jun.: L.A. Grand Prix, in Los Angeles, Ca.
● 20 Jun.: Iron Wood Classic, in Rathdrum, Id.
● 20 Jun.: ATX Classic, in Georgetown, Tx.
● 21 Jun.: Portland Track Festival, in Portland, Or.
● 27 Jun.: L.A. Throws Cup, in Los Angeles, Ca.
● 11 Jul.: Sunset Tour, in Los Angeles, Ca.
● 11-12 Jul.: Ed Murphey Classic, in Memphis, Tn.
The World Athletics Continental Tour calendar has long shown the 6 June USATF Grand Prix meet to be in New York, but no location is shown on the USATF Tour announcement. Continental Tour meets have multiple requirements, including drug testing and reimbursing athlete travel expenses, plus:
● Gold: $150,000 minimum prize money; minimum 14 events
● Silver: $75,000 minimum prize money; minimum 12 events
● Bronze: $25,000 minimum prize money; minimum 12 events
Seven of the 17 meets are in California and six in the Los Angeles area; USATF ran the Distance Classic and Los Angeles Grand Prix meets at UCLA’s Drake Stadium in 2023 and 2024.
Observed: It is clear that this is a NOT a commercial tour designed to pump up a fan base for track & field in the U.S. The two Grand Prix meets are to be televised by NBC – as in years past – and the rest are on streaming services.
It IS an athlete’s support system of meets which helps the continuation of existing competition opportunities, including for specific disciplines, as four of the meets are for throwers, five are devoted to distance races, and two for sprints. That’s 10 of the 17, plus the three famed relay meets, two USATF Grand Prix events and the Ed Murphey Classic, with a more traditional, full program.
The timing of this experiment is good, as there is no World Athletics Championship in 2026, this relieving USATF of any conflicts with qualifying dates relayed to the national championships. What happens in 2027 will be different, not only depending on qualifying for the Worlds, but the situation with USATF’s continuing financial dilemma.
¶
★ Receive our exclusive, weekday TSX Recap by e-mail by clicking here.
★ Sign up a friend to receive the TSX Recap by clicking here.
★ Please consider a donation here to keep this site going.
For our updated, 850-event International Sports Calendar for 2025, 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!
