The World Athletics Continental Tour is an annual series of elite track and fieldathletic competitions, recognised by World Athletics. The Tour forms the second tier of international one-day meetings after the Diamond League except in the 200m, 3000m steeplechase, discus, hammer and triple jump, where it forms the top-tier, these events having been removed from the Diamond League from 2020. The series' inaugural season will be 2020. Comprising meetings from around the world, the Continental Tour will be divided into three levels – Gold, Silver and Bronze – whose status will be determined by the quality of competition and prize money on offer. The Gold meetings are organised globally, with investment from World Athletics, and represent the second tier of meetings in the sport. World Athletics’s investment is intended to increase the number of high-quality competitive opportunities available to showcase the sport's best athletes. Area associations will be responsible for managing the Silver and Bronze level competitions, which will number up to 100 meetings across the globe.
Format
In 2020, the pilot year of the tour, ten cities will host Gold level series meetings, offering a total of $US2 million in prize money. The series will begin on 10 May in Tokyo in the same stadium that will host athletics competition at the 2020 Olympic Games just 12 weeks later. nine of the ten meetings to gain recognition as Gold meetings have been confirmed. A total prize money purse of at least US$ 200,000 will be offered for each Gold meeting as well as World Ranking points. For the 2020 season's core disciplines - the 200m, 3000m steeplechase, triple jump, discus throw and hammer throw for both men and women - the ranking points will be allotted at the same level as the Diamond League. Wildcard entry to the World Athletics Championships Oregon 2021, available through the Diamond League for other events, will also be on offer for the best athletes in the five 'core' disciplines in the Continental tour. A minimum of $20,000 will be available for each of the core events and $10,000 for each of the discretionary events.
