THE ATHLETICS ASSOCIATION WELCOMES RETURN TO 32 EVENTS IN NEW DIAMOND LEAGUE FORMAT.

December 4th 2020 The Athletics Association Board welcomes the news that the 2021 Wanda Diamond League series will once again feature 32 disciplines.

The original decision to reduce the Diamond League disciplines from 32 to 24 in November 2019 was one of the priority issues for this association. Following a year of hard work from the Associations’ members, today’s announcement from the Diamond League really shows the power of the collective athlete voice and the importance of collaboration and unfiltered dialogue.

Christian Taylor, President of The Athletics Association said: “We are delighted that athletes' voices have been heard and the events that were removed from the Diamond League schedule a year ago have returned. Rest assured that we will continue advocating for all stadium events to be included in the future. Working groups have been developed to generate practical solutions to discover the possibilities of making this a reality. Additionally, we are pleased with the open, honest, and considerably positive dialogue with the Wanda Diamond League and World Athletics. In these challenging times, I appreciate everyone's enthusiasm, their creativity and openness because the mutual goal is for the sport to flourish and grow. We look forward to continuing these conversations across a wide range of issues.”

Vice-President of the Athletics Association, Emma Coburn, added: “About a year ago, when athletes all over the world learned that their event would no longer be in the Diamond League programme, a group of passionate athletes formed the Athletics Association with the goal to advocate for athletes and I am so proud of the work we have done so far and on this issue. I’m really pleased that athletes have a win. We Are The Sport and the association are always working to hear the voices and opinions of the athlete body and communicate those voices to the decision makers in our sport. We have more work to do and look forward to continuing our dialogue with the Diamond League, World Athletics and other global sports leaders.”

Over the past few months the Athletics Association has been engaging in regular dialogue with both the Diamond League organisers and World Athletics and its Athletes’ Commission. This engagement has resulted in tangible, positive outcomes and benefited everyone involved. We look forward to continuing and further developing our relationships. Regarding the “Final Three” format, we canvassed our members in August and published their views, and have discussed those views with both the Diamond League organisers and World Athletics.

While we may disagree fundamentally, we respect the intention of the Diamond League and World Athletics to showcase a format that they believe is for the good of the horizontal jumps and throws. We also appreciate the confirmation that “Final Three” will be reviewed at the end of the season and evaluated against an agreed set of criteria, after which a decision will be taken about inclusion in the 2022 series.

Representatives of the Athletics Association have agreed to form a working group with Diamond League organisers, broadcasters, as well as members of World Athletics’ Athletes’ Commission. This group will regularly review the format throughout the season, provide feedback and seek to ensure that participating athletes are both informed and regard given to their views. One of the first tasks of this group will be defining the criteria by which the “Final Three” format will be evaluated. We will also be requesting that the reasoning and thinking behind the format be explained to athletes well ahead of the upcoming season to give all competitors a greater understanding of how to prepare and compete under the unique circumstances.

We look forward to working together in the coming year to evaluate this format against our shared goal of presenting the sport at its best for both audience and athlete.

The Diamond League returning to 32 events is an important step on a long road and we will continue to do everything in our power to advocate for all Track and Field athletes and events, regularly speaking to our members around the world as we seek to effect change that benefits our sport.

We will be sharing our membership benefits in the near future as we prepare to take another positive step forward into 2021.

For more information please visit www.athleticsassociation.org