ATHLOS announces it will move to a team-based model in 2026 with multiple meets

I wish the men were involved in something like this. Seems like a weird choice to leave out an entire gender. Athlos is doing interesting stuff, but the team competition only really works if you can get the shoe brands on board, and maybe they are. Idk.

I thought GST should have used a team format rather than an individual format.

There'd be wailing from feminists if someone started a men only track league.

Does this mean there will be field events? These meets without field events feel anemic and kills the TV coverage.

Athlos got some big sponsors last year. If corporations are on board maybe limited fan interest and slow times won't matter to their business model.

!!

It will all depend on what singers are having concerts in what cities on what weekends. Ohanian needs to lock them into doing a second small concert now if he wants to pack stadiums.

I know the entire concept is "female-only" but if they really want to start a league, they need to have both genders. A women's only league will not be successful.

That is a good point. I was impressed they got Tiffany & Co on board. So that is definitely a way to make some money, but sponsors will also be paying attention to fan interest/viewership numbers moving forward.

I think the better analogy is World Team Tennis.

It's kind of a made up team concept that features some of the bigger stars. It never became a big deal and doesn't really exist any more. If you go to their website, it talks about the 2021 schedule.

My main thought - you can't force a made up team concept on an individual sport. It now seems once every 10 years somebody comes along and thinks they can solve track's problems by trying to do this. The only way that might sort of work is if you did a USA vs the World concept like the Ryder Cup. But heck, many of these women won't even run on a real team with an Olympic gold medal on the line - the mixed gender 4 x 400. The NBA has these made up teams for the all-star game and even that isn't a success.

So let's don't act like anyone at the end of the season is going to care about some made up team thing. If we are going to have a fun exhibition, let's make it obvious what it is. I'm not opposed to a Superstars type competition after the regular season is over. Both sexes.

Back before NFL, NBA and boxers guys made $20+ million a year, they used to do superstars in the offseason where they did things like weights, swimming, track and field, etc.

I'd be happy to see a mini decathlon with Warholm, Mondo, Lyles, etc. 400, 100, shot put, long jump, high jump, etc.

Oh wait. I'm only supposed to care about women.

Actually, a superstars competition for women might work. Many of them need the money. Most pro women athletes don't make a lot. So you do a superstars with some of the most prominent female sports stars. A soccer player, WNBA, track, MMA, etc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstars_(American_TV_program)

I hope this succeeds and does well, and I'll probably watch it. But, like Grand Slam, I feel like this is missing what fans really care about in sports. What fans want are real stakes, where everyone in the sport clearly wants to win and has an equal chance to qualify and someone is crowned the best. These independent leagues are disconnected from what is the most important competition in our sport (the Olympics/World Champs) and the athletes clearly don't take them as seriously. Winning a lot of money isn't enough on its own to generate stakes that fans care about. The only way leagues like this could generate real stakes is if they manage to replace the World Champs as the most important competition in track.

Comparing it to American sport leagues, each individual game may not be that big of a deal, but each game still has real stakes because winning those games is how you qualify for the playoffs and then the championship. I know we like to complain about time trials at BU, but even those meets have real stakes because runners are trying to hit qualifying standards for the championships.

A team format in track only works for college and high school because the fans are already attached to the school. It is harder to create team loyalty from scratch.

This is why WCBB is far more popular than WNBA. WCVB is far more popular than LOVB or PVF.

This is why WSL has become so popular so fast. Fans already have their loyalty to Chelsea or Arsenal. The same with Liga F and Barcelona.

Track fans do not have any attachment to teams beyond HS and college.

I like the idea of a 150m exhibition race down the Vegas Strip: Gabi vs Sydney vs Sha’Carri with a few others thrown in. Maybe a pole vault competition in front of a Vegas landmark as well.

I am also intrigued by a team competition, Adidas vs Nike vs Puma etc., but ultimately there is nothing in it for the brands or the athletes. Formula 1 works because it is the pinnacle of motor racing.

Ultimately, the Diamond League is a huge success around the world and the closest we will get to an ATP/WTA/PGA-type model for the sport so I don’t know why the U.S. can’t just get on board instead of trying to reinvent the wheel every few weeks.

Was a big fan of the Athlos meet in 2024 and the celebration it created around women in sports. But turning it into a series that should it succeed would take market share from all gender meets thus diminishing the ability of half of the population to succeed within the sport of Track and Field is not a positive for anyone.

Its current timing is important being after worlds, but I don't anticipate a bunch of athletes competing past their peak making a sustainable product year over year for viewership. Somethings got to give, athletes adjusting their peak window or the series eventually moving into the spring/summer time. Either way they become positioned to directly compete with the Diamond League and any other meets in the traditional spring season.

I like the team concept in college/high school, but see very little loyalty to an arbitrary group of athletes in the pros. I would, however, be excited about brands sponsoring entire teams as many viewers/runners have emotional connections to brands that could create loyalty.

They copied what Vin Lannana did back in 2017 (?, seems so long ago) when Tracktown USA had 4 teams representing 4 cities with athlete managers and a draft. Those were excellent meets!

I have no interest in watching half of a track meet.

How could this succeed, assuming succeed means actually making some money? I think it succeeds if they make it a spectacle/concert type thing that people are willing to shell out money for in person, or if enough corporate sponsors want to pay up to be involved so they can brag about supporting women's sports. I can't see this doing well on TV, so it's about getting butts in seats. I guess they did a decent enough job of that last year, but let's see if they can do it at multiple events in a year.

I don't think they'll care about the runners being in peak shape or not. As long as they don't get hurt, no one will care about the times. We all need to accept that letsrun message board posters are not the target audience here.

I have zero interest in a post-worlds race series where people are just there for a check. At least GST races are preparing competitors for later DLs, USAs, Worlds, etc.

One aspect is being overlooked. A league like that has a much greater chance than Grand Slam Track of drawing the top Europeans, especially if the dates are staggered logically. I noticed that Femke Bol and Gina Lueckenkemper immediately "liked" the Instagram announcement from Athletics Weekly.

Also, I thought the initial iteration of World Team Tennis was superb. I attended several of those matches in the late '70s. It had a wrestling feel as the so-called bad boys like Connors and Nastase really played their role to the fullest, causing irate frenzy in the stands.