The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has launched its World Indoor Tour, which is to comprise four meetings in 2016.
Like the outdoor Diamond League series, the tour, which will have half of the individual indoor championship disciplines as tour events each year across a two-year period, will also include a points system and prize money.
All taking place in February 2016, the first four tour meetings are:
- Karlsruhe indoor meeting (Karlsruhe, GER), February 6
- New Balance Indoor Grand Prix (Boston, USA), February 14
- Globen Galan (Stockholm, SWE), February 17
- Glasgow Indoor Grand Prix (Glasgow, GBR), February 20
At each meeting a minimum of 12 events are to be staged. Included in the 12 events will be a core group of five or six events split across the two-season cycle.
Tour events for 2016 are the men's 60m, 800m, 3000/5000m, pole vault, triple jump and shot put, plus the women's 400m, 1500m, 60m hurdles, high jump and long jump.
In 2017 the tour events will be the women's 60m, 800m, 3000/5000m, pole vault, triple jump and shot put, as well as the men's 400m, 1500m, 60m hurdles, high jump and long jump.
Points will be allocated to the best four athletes in each event, with the winner getting 10 points, the runner up receiving seven points, the third-placed finisher getting five points and the athlete in fourth receiving three points.
The individual overall winner of each event will receive US $20,000 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, provided the member federation of that World Indoor Tour winner agrees to enter the athlete.
Further details can be found here.