Athletics Canada is pleased to announce the return of the National Track and Field Tour and to reveal its 2023 schedule.

The Tour, which inaugurated in 2022, is a series of high-performance track and field meets taking place across the country. This year's edition will feature eleven meets, hosted in six provinces and yielding an estimated prize purse of $255,000 for competing athletes, thanks in part to the inclusion of a number of those meets into the World Athletics Continental Tour's Silver, Bronze, and Challenger Series.

The purpose of the Tour, said Athletics Canada Director of Domestic Programs and Safe Sport Chris Winter, is to provide meaningful competition opportunities for athletes at home, to host events whereby Canadian athletes can earn valuable World Ranking points, and to help develop athletes for future National Team representation, notably the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary and 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris, France.

"We are thrilled to announce the 11 stops of the 2023 Athletics Canada National Track & Field Tour, " said Winter. "This series of World Athletics Categorized competitions will provide an excellent opportunity for the stars of our sport to showcase their talents while competing alongside, and inspiring, our next generation of athletes."

This year's tour will begin in January with the Knights of Columbus Saskatchewan Indoor Games in Saskatoon, before breaking until the Spring and resuming with the Bob Vigars Classic in London in late May. From there, the Tour will continue with competitions three through eleven and is expected to run until late July, giving athletes time to rest before the 2023 World Athletics Championship in Budapest from August 19 to 27.

All meets will offer prize money. The amount will depend on the World Athletics Category: the higher the category, the more the prize money. 

Once again this year, La Classique d'Athlétisme de Montréal will figure on the schedule, after hosting several of Canada's 2022 World Championship team members like 100m hurdler Michelle Harrison, 400m hurdler Noelle Montcalm, and 400m athletes Micha Powell and Aiyanna Stiverne at last year's edition. Meet director Laurent Godbout called the Tour essential to the development and preparation of top Canadian athletes.

"At La Classique, we aspire to provide an excellent opportunity for athletes to compete at a high level on Canadian soil and achieve their goals," he said, "and our participation in the Tour confirms the extent of effort we put into delivering quality competition for athletes."

Last year, several members of Canada's national teams competed in various Tour events to prepare for international competition. Maddy Kelly, a 26-year-old 800m specialist, sharpened her fitness at the Harry Jerome Track Classic before taking part in her first-ever World Athletics Championships in Eugene, later that summer. The Hamilton, Ontario-based athlete said she relishes the opportunity to race at a high-level in her home country again this year.

"Canadians spend a lot of time racing out of the country, but when we have races in Canada we get a turn to be prioritized," she said. "Harry Jerome was my best experience last year in terms of athlete treatment: we stayed at the nicest hotel we'd ever stayed at and prize money was delivered immediately after finishing the race, and that doesn't go un-noticed. It's super useful to have these high-calibre meets right at home."

NATIONAL TRACK AND FIELD TOUR SCHEDULE:

Find information on each specific meet at their respective event pages found here.