THE FIRST THIEF. Is the newly announced USATF Tour for 2026 the wrong solution to the real problem?

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I didn’t know what to make of yesterday’s press release about the USATF Tour. Rich Perelman, a longtime sports watcher, wrote this article yesterday. We reprint here with permission.

THE FIRST THIEF. Is the newly announced USATF Tour for 2026 the wrong solution to the real problem? By Rich Perelman, used with permission.

≡ NEW “USATF TOUR” ≡

2026 announced on Monday.USATF Tour” is “Unify World Athletics-tagged matches, as well as those seeking World Athletics tags, with the aim of expanding sponsorship opportunities, improving athlete development and providing a consistent experience for fans and viewers.”

According to the statement.

“In 2025, 19 World Athletics Continental Tour matches, two Grand Slams and one Diamond League match in the United States battled for attention in 15 weeks. This disorganized approach creates unnecessary competition for athlete participation as well as ticket sales, broadcast windows and viewership. landscape by defining a strategic national calendar, joint marketing and media support and consistent competitive benchmarks”.

Really? Let’s see.

World Athletics Continental Tour Checkout 2025 calendar – still high – showed that in the 15-week period from March 23 to July 12 this year, there were 16 Continental Tour matches in the US, 10 of which were Silver (S) level, four Bronze (B) and two Challenger.

●: March 29.TEN in San Juan Capistrano (S)

●: 05 April.: Miramar Invitational in Miramar (S)
●: April 11-14Oklahoma at Ramona (B)
●: April 23-26.Drake Relays in Des Moines (S)
●: April 24-26.: Penn Relays in Philadelphia (S)

●: May 03Save 10,000 in Nuts (S)
●: May 17Atlanta City Games in Atlanta (S)
●: May 24Track Fest in Los Angeles (S)
●: May 24USATF Throws Festival in Tucson (S)
●: May 30-31Music City Track Carnival near Chattanooga (Challenger)

●: June 5.: Mile Festival in St. Louis (Challenger)
●: June 14-15.: Portland Track Festival in Portland (B)
●: June 26-28.: Iron Wood Track Festival in Rathdrum (B)

●: July 11.Los Angeles Cup at Wilmington (B)
●: July 11-13Ed Murphy Classic at Memphis (S)
●: July 12Los Angeles Sunset Tour (S)

This period also saw two Grand Slam matches in the United States, in Miramar and Philadelphia, and the Diamond League Prefontaine Classic on July 5.

The interesting aspect of the 16 Continental Tour matches is not their distribution over time, as suggested in the USATF statement, but their nature, which is designed to serve specific aspects of the sport;

●: 4: deal with throw events only
●: 3: do only distance racing
●: 2: engage only infrequently running 10,000 m
●: 2: are largely sprint events

It’s 11 out of 16, meetings designed to support athletes and events that are often overlooked in larger, commercial meetings; Just five were more traditional “dinner dates,” and two of those were Drake and Penny relay extravaganzas.

For 2026, USA Track & Field has already confirmed the return of two of its meets to the Continental Tour Gold level;

●: June 6New York Grand Prix
●: June 14Los Angeles Grand Prix

So whatever the USATF tour calendar layout is, it will be built around those dates, reserved for USATF.

In the 1970s, the misery of the European calendar, with no diamond league in those days, led to the creation of the “European Calendar Congress”, where matches were negotiated between match promoters who also worked together on events, athlete invitations (payments) and cross-promotion.

In the US, the USATF is not going to have much of an impact on the sport’s two schedule foundations;

● NCAA conference matches, regionals and championships
● Relay meets, especially in Florida, Texas, Mt. At SAC, Drake and Penny

Those meets will occupy their traditional spots on the calendar and be anchored by high school and college participation rather than the pros. Wouldn’t it be better to get the right people in a room to figure out the best way to highlight sports on a 52-week basis – programming?

The USATF Tour announcement was released on October 20th and has until October 31st, Halloween, to apply via a short questionnaire. Whether it will be a trick or (hopefully) a cure remains to be seen.

Rich Perelman
Editor:

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