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2003 Indoor Golden
Spike Tour schedule announced
INDIANAPOLIS - Boston will serve as the site of the kick-off and the
grand
finale of USA Track & Field’s 2003 Indoor Golden Spike Tour,
and fans around
the country will be able to watch the Tour's four meets on five national
television broadcasts on NBC and ESPN2.
The Golden Spike Tour, announced Thursday by USA Track & Field (USATF),
begins February 1 with the adidas Boston Indoor Games at the Reggie Lewis
Center in Boston. It continues February 7 at the most historic invitational
meet in indoor track and field, the Verizon Millrose Games at New York’s
Madison Square Garden. On February 15 the Tour moves to the Tyson
Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The final stop returns the Golden Spike Tour to Boston’s Reggie
Lewis Center
for the 2003 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships, held March 1-2.
More
than 600 of America’s top athletes will compete in Boston, with
the top two
finishers in each event being selected for Team USA – the World’s
#1 Track &
Field Team – that will compete at the 2003 World Indoor Track &
Field
Championships March 14-16 in Birmingham, England.
On March 8-9, the USA Indoor Combined Events Championships will be held
for
the second consecutive year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill. Tom Pappas, the #2 ranked decathlete outdoors in the world in 2002,
won the 2002 U.S. indoor heptathlon crown last year at Eddie Smith
Fieldhouse on the UNC campus. The women’s pentathlon also will be
contested.
Many of the United States’ top international stars, to be announced
in
coming weeks, are expected to compete in the Golden Spike Tour. Sponsors
of
the 2003 Indoor Golden Spike Tour are Verizon, Nike, Visa and SoBe Sports
System.
“This year’s Indoor Golden Spike Tour is critical for our
athletes, given
that our national team for the World Indoor Championships is being
selected,” said USATF CEO Craig Masback. “Athletes will be
at the top of
their form, and we look forward to excellent competition at all four stops
on the Tour. Equally as encouraging is that more of our television
broadcasts than ever will be live, which will give sports fans the best
opportunity to watch track and field at its finest.”
Now in its fifth year, the Golden Spike Tour provides America’s
best
athletes the opportunity to compete in the United States and earn
substantial prize money in front of a nationally televised audience. Live
crowds at Golden Spike Tour meets typically have averaged more than 10,000
fans, with TV ratings rising as much as 25 percent in any given year for
individual broadcasts. With the return of NBC to the broadcast lineup,
ratings should continue to grow.
The 2003 Golden Spike Tour television series begins with live coverage
of
the adidas Boston Indoor Games on February 1, on ESPN2. The Verizon Millrose
Games also will be broadcast live on February 7 on ESPN2, with an NBC
broadcast of the meet on February 8. The Tyson Invitational is scheduled
to
air on February 16, with the USA Indoor Championships on March 1 on ESPN2.
Tickets for the 2003 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships are available
online at the USATF Web site, www.usatf.org. Ticket prices range from
$10 to
$20, with USATF members enjoying a 25 percent discount off that price.
For
additional ticket information for all Golden Spike Tour meets, visit
www.usatf.org.
For more information on the Golden Spike Tour, visit the USATF Web site.
2003 Indoor Golden Spike Tour Event Schedule
Date Event Site
Feb. 1 adidas Boston Indoor Games Boston (Reggie Lewis Center)
Feb. 7 Verizon Millrose Games New York (Madison Square Garden)
Feb. 15 Tyson Invitational Fayetteville, Ark. (Tyson Indoor Track Center)
March 1-2 USA Indoor Championships Boston (Reggie Lewis Center)
March 8-9 USA Ind. Combined Events Chapel Hill, N.C. (Eddie Smith
Fieldhouse)
2003 Indoor Golden Spike Tour TV Schedule
(Broadcasts subject to change. All times Eastern; check local listings)
Date Event Network Time
Feb. 1 adidas Boston Indoor Games ESPN2 6-7 p.m. (LIVE)
Feb. 7 Verizon Millrose Games ESPN2 7:30-9 p.m. (LIVE)
Feb. 8 Verizon Millrose Games NBC 2:30-4 p.m.
Feb. 16 Tyson Invitational ESPN2 8-9 p.m.
March 1 USA Indoor Championships ESPN2 6-7:30 p.m. (LIVE)
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