Since the last IAAF Column was written at the beginning of October 2005, the most significant headlines in Athletics have come from the IAAF Council Meeting which took place in Moscow, Russia, from 12-13 November 2005.

A new global circuit of one day athletics meetings was agreed. It is to be called the IAAF World Athletics Tour, with the aim of promoting high quality, entertaining competitions as a regular “show case” for the sport. With 24 IAAF Meetings in 2006 (in 2005 there were 34) - the objective is to ensure that only the best quality competitions are staged under the IAAF brand, and at least one Meeting from each Continental Area will be included in the IAAF World Athletics Tour.
There will be two levels of Meetings within the IAAF World Athletics Tour, with different prize money structures and points for qualification towards the IAAF World Athletics Final, which will take place in Stuttgart, Germany from 9-10 September 2006. The IAAF Golden League brand and name will be retained, to form the first level of Meetings together with the IAAF Super Grand Prix. In the second level, all the meetings will be known as IAAF Grand Prix. The six meetings of the IAAF Golden League next year will open in Oslo, Norway, on 2 June 2006 and conclude in Berlin, Germany, on 3 September 2006. In addition to the ten Golden League events (Men: 100m, 400m, 1500m, Long Jump, Javelin Throw; Women: 100m, 400m, 3000/5000m, 100m Hurdles, High Jump), at least six other ‘promotional’ disciplines will be contested at each meeting. The IAAF is continuing to study a new Jackpot system for introduction in 2006.
The World Athletics Final will be an integral part of the IAAF World Athletics Tour and athletes’ qualification for the Final will be based on a system of point scoring.
The full calendar of the IAAF World Athletics Tour was published in the December 2006 edition of the IAAF Newsletter (NEWS 77 – 15 Dec 2005) which is downloadable in pdf format at www.iaaf.org

IAAF World Athletics Series venues
Three IAAF World Athletics Series venues were awarded during the Moscow Council meeting, as follows:
2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, Mombasa, Kenya (24 March 2007)
2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships, Udine, Italy (14 October 2007)
2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships, Valencia, Spain, (7-9 March 2008)

Important Date Changes
New dates were agreed for two IAAF World Athletics Series events, as follows: 1st IAAF World Road Running Championships, Debrecen, HUN: 8 October 2006
5th IAAF World Youth Championships, Ostrava, CZE: 11-15 July 2007.

IAAF Council meeting
The next meeting of the IAAF Council will be held in Osaka, Japan, 28 - 29 March 2006.
Media Deadlines fast approaching
We are fast approaching the first IAAF World Athletics Series event of 2006. The 11th IAAF World Indoor Championships, Moscow, Russia, will be held from Friday 10 to Sunday 12 March 2006. With respect to this important global occasion please note the following media deadlines: 30 January 2006: accommodation requests, 5 February 2006: accreditation requests. As usual, application forms can be obtained via your national athletics federation.

Delegates of the IAAF Athletic Press Commission during the meeting in Vigevano

IAAF Press Commission
The annual meeting of the IAAF Press Commission took place on Saturday 26 November 2005 in the Cagnoni Theatre of Vigevano, Italy. This historic northern Italian town is home to the Commission Chairman Gianni Merlo, who is of course also AIPS President. The meeting began with a minute’s silence in tribute to the memory of Boris Acquadro (SUI), IAAF Press and TV Commission Member, who tragically died on Thursday 9 June 2005, after a long battle with cancer.
IAAF General Secretary Istvan Gyulai joined the meeting for the morning session which concentrated on the general promotion and public appeal of Athletics. After lunch and a tour of the town’s picturesque Sforzesco Castle and Piazza Ducale, discussions focused on specific media issues, with the day ending with a splendid buffet dinner at the home of the Chairman.

Chris Turner
IAAF Editorial Manager