2013 USA Race Walking Grand Prix Series
The USA Race Walking Grand Prix begins its 10th year. It is a year-long series of Olympic Development competitions through which USATF crowns an overall champion for each competitive year based upon the National Championship schedule of events. Races are contested from 1 mile to 50 kilometers for men and women.
Individuals who are members of USATF in good standing prior to the start of each event are eligible to compete, however only US Citizens are eligible for awards. Athletes may compete as individuals and/or as members of a team. For individuals, the top 10 overall U.S. finishers, male and female, can score in each race in the Series (10 for first, 9 for second, 8 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1). A bonus of 2 points will be given to the winner if he or she breaks the national record at the race distance.
The wide range in distances gives the top race walkers in the U.S. an opportunity to compete against each other all year long and aids in developing the next group of international-level athletes. The events selected provide athletes with a geographically diverse racing schedule and sponsors with national exposure for their products.
2007 saw the addition of a junior division, for athletes under 20 years of age. In 2009 a Masters Grand Prix circuit joined the junior series.
The top three individual men and women in the open, junior, and master divisions, and the top three men's and women's teams overall, will be presented with awards and recognized at USATF Race Walk meeting at the Annual Convention in December.
USA Race Walking Grand Prix Series: Masters
The USA Race Walking Grand Prix continues in the Masters Division with 10 venues and 11 races this year. Individuals aged 30 or older who are members of USATF in good standing prior to the start of each event are eligible to compete, however only US Citizens are eligible for awards.
This year USATF will crown the top overall man and woman champions as well as awarding certificates to the top 10 individuals.
At each race individual performances will be age graded using the 2010 age grading tables. Points will be awarded to the top 10 overall U.S. finishers, male and female (10 for first, 9 for second, 8 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1).
USA Race Walking Grand Prix Series: Teams
Individuals may compete for a team only if they are registered under their team name with their association in the USATF Membership database prior to race day. All teams must e-mail a roster of USATF registered athletes, which includes the Athlete’s name, birth date, address, and USATF number, to the Grand Prix Coordinator (Dave Talcott – dwtalcott@juno.com) before the race. If this list is not received prior, the team will not score in the Grand Prix for that race. Once the team has been verified, only additions or subtractions of registered athletes need to be made. No day-of-race changes will be accepted. All USATF team-change rules apply.
The top five teams will score points in selected team-scoring events, by gender (10 for first, 8 for second, 6 for third, 4 for fourth, 2 for fifth). Place will be scored by the cumulative time of the first three finishers of each registered team. Only one team may score per club, per gender.