LANE ONE: Is the just-announced “USATF Tour” for 2026 the wrong solution to fix a real problem? by Rich Perelman, used with permission

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I did not know what to make of the “USATF Tour”, press release from yesterday. Rich Perelman, a long time keen observer of the sport,wrote this piece yesterday. We reprint here with permission!

LANE ONE: Is the just-announced “USATF Tour” for 2026 the wrong solution to fix a real problem? by Rich Perelman, used with permission. 

≡ THE NEW “USATF TOUR” ≡

The stated purpose of the Monday-announced 2026 “USATF Tour” is to “bring together World Athletics-labeled meets as well as those seeking World Athletics labels with a goal of enhancing sponsorship opportunities, improving athlete development and delivering a consistent experience for fans and viewers.”

According to the announcement:

“In 2025, 19 World Athletics Continental Tour meets, two Grand Slam events, and one Diamond League meet competed for attention within a 15-week period in the United States. This disorganized approach creates unnecessary competition for athlete participation as well as for ticket sales, broadcast windows and viewership. As the national federation, it is the responsibility of USATF to facilitate collaboration to streamline this landscape by establishing a strategic national calendar, shared marketing and media support, and consistent competitive standards.”

Really? Let’s see.

A check of the World Athletics Continental Tour calendar for 2025 – still up – showed that during the 15-week period of 23 March to 12 July this year, there were 16 Continental Tour meets in the U.S. Of these, 10 were Silver (S) level, four were Bronze (B) and two were Challenger events:

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

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

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

● 05 Jun.: Festival of Miles in St. Louis (Challenger)
● 14-15 Jun.: Portland Track Festival in Portland (B)
● 26-28 Jun.: Iron Wood Track Festival in Rathdrum (B)

● 11 Jul.: L.A. Throws Cup in Wilmington (B)
● 11-13 Jul.: Ed Murphey Classic in Memphis (S)
● 12 Jul.: Sunset Tour in Los Angeles (S)

There were also two Grand Slam Track meets in this period in the U.S., in Miramar and Philadelphia, and the Diamond League Prefontaine Classic, on 5 July.

The interesting aspect of the 16 Continental Tour meets is not their distribution over time, as suggested by the USATF statement, but their nature, created to cater to specific aspects of the sport:

● 4 deal only with throwing events
● 3 deal only with distance races
● 2 deal only with the rarely-run 10,000 m
● 2 are heavily sprint-focused events

That’s 11 of the 16, meets that were developed to support athletes and events who are often forgotten in larger, more commercial meets; just five were more of a traditional “track meet” and two of those were the relay extravaganzas at Drake and Penn.

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

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

So whatever the calendar arrangement is going to be for a USATF Tour, it’s going to be built around those dates, reserved to USATF.

In the 1970s, the misery of the European calendar – no Diamond League in those days – led to the creation of the “European Calendar Congress,” where the placement of meets was negotiated among the meet promoters, who also worked together on events, athlete invitations (payments) and cross-promotion.

In the U.S., USATF is not going to have much influence on the two schedule foundations of the sport:

● NCAA conference meets, regionals and championships
● Relay meets, notably Florida, Texas, Mt. SAC, Drake and Penn

Those meets will take their traditional places on the calendar and are anchored by high school and college participation, not the professionals. Wouldn’t it be better to get the relevant folks into a room to figure out the best way to highlight – program – the sport on a 52-weeks-a-year basis?

The “USATF Tour” announcement was issued on 20 October and meets have until 31 October – Halloween – to apply via a short questionnaire. It remains to be seen if it the concept will be a trick or (hopefully) a treat.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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