by Larry Eder
Jenny Simpson, photo by PhotoRun.net
New Indoor Circuit
MONACO (MON): New indoor circuit was confirmed by the IAAF on Monday. The 2016 IAAF World Indoor Tour was officially announced on Monday and will consist of four competitions which have regularly staged IAAF Indoor Permit meetings in previous years. Karlsruhe on February 6, New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on February 14, Globen Galan in Stockholm on February 17 and Glasgow Indoor Grand Prix on February 20. The tour, which will have half of the individual indoor championship disciplines as tour events each year across a two-year period, contains several innovative features, including a points system and prize money. The individual overall winner of each event will receive 20 000 USD in prize money and, beginning with the 2016 edition in Portland, will automatically qualify for the next edition of the IAAF World Indoor Championships as a ‘wild card’ entry. That means it will allow with necessary standards to have 3 athletes per event from one country. The tour events for 2016 are men 60 m, 800 m, 3000/5000 m, pole vault, triple jump and shot put and women 400 m, 1500 m, 60 m Hurdles, high jump and long jump.
Editor’s Note: I love tours. Makes a whole lot of sense, and provides the sports fan something that they can understand. The NB Indoor GP, one of my favorite meets in the world, will be held Feb. 14, one day after the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials (in Los Angeles), and two weeks later than its normal date, will be a challenge, but we shall figure that one out. Also sad to see the Malmo Indoor meeting, held in 2014, cancelled for 2015.
