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Canadian Track and Field League announces four new teams

"The idea behind the four teams was to have the most Canadian-themed names possible," Lyness says

At the beginning of the year, a middle-distance runner from the University of Ottawa, Quinn Lyness, launched a new expansion in Canadian athletics with the Canadian Track and Field League: four teams of 32 athletes compete through a four-meet season, accumulating points at each meet to determine a winner. On Feb. 6, the CTFL announced the names of the four teams that will be competing for the inaugural CTFL title.

After a few weeks of voting on the CTFL website, it announced The Bears, The Spitfires, The Huskies and The Arctics. “The idea behind the four teams was to have the most Canadian-themed team names possible,” Lyness says. Unlike most sports leagues, the teams in the CTFL won’t be assigned to any cities or towns but will be represented by four ambassadors in the Canadian running community.

Introducing the new Canadian Track and Field League

Canadian Olympic medallist and sprinter Aaron Brown was the first of four ambassadors named. The other three ambassadors will be named over the next two weeks.

Andre De Grasse
Aaron Brown at the 2018 Canadian Track & Field Championships. Photo: Canadian Running

Athletes who have run the qualifying standard during the last two outdoor seasons (2020-2021) have until mid-March to register for the draft pool. The standards were set based on the top 50 performances per event last season in Canada.

Athletes who have run these standards have been contacted and their names will be entered into the pool of eligible prospects. The GMs on the four teams will then draft athletes from the prospect pool to their rosters. After the pool of athletes is finalized, the GMs will be sent a list of previous performances from all athletes, then the draft will be held in mid-April.

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The GMs will have complete control of the teams and will have the opportunity to trade athletes throughout the season and offseason. If you are interested in becoming a GM in the CTFL, there are spots open here.

Men’s 800m start at the Toronto Track & Field Centre

The league is hoping to kick things off in late May and has a meet scheduled to take place in London. The championship meet will be held at Ottawa’s Terry Fox Athletics Complex on July 20, with all three preliminary meets being held beforehand. All meets for the 2022 season will be held in Ontario or Quebec, but Lyness states that other provinces are interested in expansion for the 2023 season.

If you have more questions or want to keep up with the CTFL, you can follow them on Instagram or visit the CTFL website.

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