Following an outstanding 2023 season across Canada, Athletics Canada today announced the lineup of 11 events in six provinces that will make up the 2024 National Track and Field Tour.
The Tour, which will open in 2022, is a series of high-performance track and field meets held across the country.
The purpose of the Tour is to provide meaningful competition opportunities for athletes at home, to host events through which Canadian athletes can earn valuable world ranking points to help them qualify for the World Championships and Olympic Games, and to help develop athletes to represent the national team in the future.
“We are thrilled to announce the 2024 Athletics Canada National Track and Field Tour,” said Chris Winter, Director of Domestic Programs and Safe Sports at Athletics Canada. “This series of world ranked athletics competitions provides an excellent opportunity for the stars of our sport to showcase their talents while competing alongside and inspiring the next generation of athletes.”
This year’s Tour will begin in January with the Knights of Columbus Saskatchewan Indoor Games in Saskatoon, before taking a hiatus until the spring and resuming with the Pacific Distance Carnival and the Canadian 10,000-meter Championships in Burnaby in mid-May. From there, the round will continue with competitions from third to eleven, and is expected to last until late June, giving athletes several opportunities to meet performance standards and improve their world rankings before the 2024 Bell Olympic and Paralympic Trials in Montreal from June 26 to 30, 2024. .
2024 upgrades
2024 will see several meets rise to the top tier of the world rankings with the Harry Jerome Track Classic joining the Edmonton Athletics Invitational at the World Athletics Tour – Silver level, while both the Royal City Inferno Track & Field Festival and La Classique d’athlétisme De Montreal moved up to the Continental Athletics World Tour – Bronze level. In addition, the Bob Vigars Classic has been upgraded to the World Athletics Continental Tour – Challenge level. What does this mean? This means that these events will offer increased levels of prize money and deeper competition. In return, the IAAF will award increased world ranking points – all good things as our athletes work to qualify for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris.
“We cannot thank enough our event directors who selflessly dedicate themselves to providing world-class competition opportunities here in Canada,” Winter said. “Without these meets, our Canadian athletes will be at a significant competitive disadvantage and will be forced to look abroad for competition opportunities, incur significant financial costs as well as more travel, and miss important training as they target peak performance in Paris.”
New for 2024
Saint John, New Brunswick joins the National Track and Field Tour this June, when it hosts the Saint John Classic.
| date | he meets | location | World Athletics category |
| January 26, 2024 | Knights of Columbus Saskatchewan Indoor Games | Saskatoon, SK | National Permits Meeting (Category E) |
| May 11, 2024 | Pacific Distance Carnival and Canadian 10,000m Champions | Burnaby, BC | National Permits Meeting (Category E) |
| May 26, 2024 | Bob Figures Classic | London, Ontario | WACT – Challenge Series (Class “D”)* |
| May 29, 2024 | Royal City Inferno Track and Field Festival | Guelph, ON | WACT – Bronze (Category C)* |
| June 2, 2024 | Johnny Loring Classic | Windsor, ON | WACT – Challenge Series (Class “D”) |
| June 8, 2024 | St. John’s Classic | St. John’s, NB | National Permits Meeting (Category E) |
| June 12, 2024 | Victoria Track Classic | Victoria, BC | National Permits Meeting (Category E) |
| June 13, 2024 | Edmonton Athletics Invitational | Edmonton, AB | WACT – Silver (Class B) |
| June 15, 2024 | Harry Jerome Track Classic | Burnaby, BC | WACT – Silver (Class B)* |
| June 16, 2024 | Caltaf Track Classic | Calgary, AB | National Permits Meeting (Category E) |
| June 21, 2024 | La Classique d’athlétisme de Montréal | Montreal, QC | WACT – Bronze (Category C)* |
*World Athletics category upgrade from 2023
You can find information about each specific meeting on their event pages here.
Track and Field of Dreams
The 2023 season was one for the record books, with 16 new Canadian records established in a National Track & Field Tour event.
With world ranking points and over $250,000 at stake, the competition was intense. Three of the 2023 IAAF World Championships gold medalists will compete in Canada at the 2023 National Track and Field Tour: Camryn Rogers, Marco Arup, and Pierce LePage.
