The USA Race Walking Grand Prix is an annual fixture and program of USA Track & Field and is managed by the USATF Race Walk Committee. It is a year-long series of Olympic Development competitions through which USATF crowns an overall champion for each competitive year. 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 composition of the circuit’s races is based upon the National Championship schedule of events with distances ranging from 1 mile to 50 kilometers for men and women. The 2017 series shall run from October 16, 2016 and conclude October 15, 2017. US Citizens who are eligible to represent the USA in international competitions and who are USATF members in good standing prior to the start of each event will score in the Grand Prix at that particular competition. Prize Money will be awarded to the top 3 overall places for both Male and Female competitors at the conclusion of the series. Athletes may compete as individuals and/or as members of a team. For individuals, the top 10 overall competitors meeting the criteria above, male and female, will score based on a decreasing point system, i.e. 10 points 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 be it Open, Junior, or Masters Age Group. The top three individual men and women point scorers in all divisions will be recognized and awarded at the USATF Race Walk meeting at the Annual Meeting in December.
To score in the Junior Grand Prix, athletes must not reach 20 years of age by December 31, 2017. It has an abbreviated schedule tailored to athletes in that age division.
To score in the Masters Grand Prix, athletes must be age 35 or older: Points will be awarded to the top 10 athletes based on the 2016 age grading tables, male and female (10 for first, 9 for second, 8 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1). A bonus of 2 points will be awarded to any individual if he, or she, breaks the national record for his/her 5-year age group at the race distance, and 5 points if a world age group record is broken.
The team series is a competition between current member clubs of USATF. Individuals may compete for a team only if they are registered under their club name with their association in the USATF Membership database prior to race day. Open teams may be composed of athletes who may otherwise compete as individuals in the junior, open or master divisions while the Masters teams are athletes 35 years of age and up. All race directors are responsible for verifying club members and including their official USATF affiliation in the official results. The top five teams, Open and Masters, will score points in selected team-scoring events, bygender (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. More than one team may score per club, per gender. The top men's and women's teams, overall, will be presented with awards. Certificates will be presented to the 2nd and 3rd place teams of each gender. Questions regarding the USA Race Walking Grand Prix should be directed to Dave Talcott at dwtalcott@gmail.com.