All athletes, regardless of gender, representing the United States at an equivalent level of competition shall receive the equivalent and non-discriminatory compensation, wages, benefits, medical care, travel arrangements, and reimbursements for expenses from USA Track & Field (“USATF”).
For any athlete representing the United States, USATF has established equivalent and nondiscriminatory criteria for athletes of equivalent disciplines and levels of competition to qualify for support payments, regardless of gender, through the USATF Tier & Talent Protection Program (hereafter referred to as the “Program”). USATF’s criteria for qualifying for the Program varies each calendar year. The criteria for the current year is outlined at https://www.usatf.org/programs/elite-athletes/athlete-support. USATF reserves the right to consider merit, performance, seniority, and quantity of play in determining compensation decisions. USATF may also, in its discretion, provide more beneficial terms to athletes representing the United States in the Olympic Games or other competitions, as determined by USATF, to recognize and reward certain performance, but such additional compensation shall be available equally to both men and women for the competition. USATF may elect to provide additional funding that is not equivalent to athletes, regardless of gender, should it deem the additional funding necessary to enhance the development of a historically underdeveloped program. In these circumstances, USATF’s Joint Development Group, with the assistance of qualified experts and USATF Staff, will evaluate gender neutral quantitative data to determine the underdeveloped program in need of funding. Funding is distributed to an equal number of athletes of each gender but not necessarily among the same discipline programs. In addition to compensation and wage payments, USATF may provide athletes representing the United States with benefits as specified in the Program material provided to athletes each year. These benefits generally include:
Apparel kits
Partner discounts
While the above list is not comprehensive nor is it a guarantee of benefits to be provided, USATF will ensure that all athletes, regardless of gender, representing the United States at an equivalent level of competition receive the same benefits. This applies only to benefits provided by USATF – outside parties may provide such benefits to athletes or teams in their own discretion and USATF shall not require that the athlete or team decline if similar benefits are not offered to other athletes or teams. USATF maintains an equal number of disciplines among both genders. Additionally, all disciplines offer equivalent prize money for both genders.
USATF provides USOPC-funded Elite Athlete Health Insurance to all Program participants. A medical stipend of equal amount is made available to all Program athletes, regardless of gender. Criteria for qualifying for the Program are outlined in the link above. All athletes are provided with sport accident insurance coverage through their USATF membership, regardless of gender.
All athletes traveling to events are entitled to equivalent and nondiscriminatory travel arrangements. USATF will cover travel arrangements for athletes in accordance with the below. USATF or the USOPC arranges for the travel of all athletes representing the United States at the Olympic Games or other competitions, as designated by USATF or the USOPC. This includes air travel, accommodations, and ground transportation at the competition. All Program athletes are eligible for travel stipends for a set number of national events. The number of stipends granted is the same for all athletes. The funding provided to each athlete will be specific to the event and gender neutral. Criteria for qualifying for the Program are outlined in the link above. In special circumstances, USATF may elect to allocate funds for athlete travel outside of the national team and Program participants. In these instances, non-gendered criteria will be predetermined by USATF and all eligible athletes will be notified of their ability to opt-in to receive funds. Funding can be provided by stipend or reimbursement, case dependent.
Athletes, representing the United States at competitions designated by USATF, are eligible for reimbursements for additional baggage and implement transportation upon request. Athletes may be eligible for reimbursements if they serve on a USATF Committee. Should an athlete serve on a committee that provides reimbursements, then USATF’s Business and Travel Policy and Procedures for Committees will apply. Committee roles are voluntary and open to athletes of all genders. The aforementioned travel policy can be found at https://www.usatf.org/about/financials/business-and-travel-policy-and-procedures-committe.
Select USATF athletes may receive additional benefits. These benefits include, but are not limited to:
A Marketing Stipend
Discipline Specific Grants
These benefits are awarded at USATF’s sole discretion and are made available equally among genders. In the case of discipline specific grants, USATF makes the grant available on an opt-in basis to those eligible athletes, and unused funds may not be reallocated. In the event that more athletes opt-in than there are funds to support, the funds are divided equally among genders. In the case of Marketing Stipends, USATF may elect to award additional funding to select athletes based on non-gendered criteria such as social media following.
USATF has and will continue to take reasonable steps to advocate for the equalization of prize money, compensation, funding, and other support provided to its athletes by World Athletics. If it becomes aware of unequal support for athletes of different genders, USATF may consider the following actions as reasonable steps:
Formal letters to the international federation
Direct advocacy from the USATF member of the international federation's governing body
USATF may consider the USOPC International Relations Task Force’s recommendations for effective advocacy on the international stage in taking steps to advocate for equal pay in the international context.
USATF General Counsel – generalcounsel@usatf.org
USATF CEO – ceo@usatf.org
USATF Chair of the Board – boardchair@usatf.org
Office of the Athlete Ombuds – ombudsman@usathlete.org or 719-866-5000
USOPC Integrity Portal – https://secure.ethicspoint.com/domain/media/en/gui/53006/index.html
USOPC Integrity Hotline – 877-404-9935
USATF General Counsel USATF reserves the right to modify or amend this policy at any time as it may deem necessary. Adopted on: May 31, 2024