Athlete Information

All athletes must ensure that they have read the following before registering for the 2023 CTFL season. Included is a new and returning athlete section depending on if the athlete competed with the CTFL in 2022.

New Athletes

Selection Process

All incoming athletes that meet the CTFL's 2023 standards (listed below) and are registered with a provincial track and field organization (e.x. Athletics BC or Ontario) are eligible for the CTFL draft. Athletes will be able to register for the draft on their own or will contacted individually by the CTFL through social media. Draft registration will open on January 2nd and will close February 6th. Registration will be done through the CTFL website.

Those who register for the draft will be entered into a pool of eligible prospects. Athletes may register as a core or utility athlete. From the prospect pool, the four CTFL teams will select the necessary athletes to complete their rosters, evenly split between men and women (three men and three women per event for each team) and the remaining 10 utility athlete positions. The draft will occur sometime in late March or early April. Once an athlete is drafted, they will compete for their team that drafted them until they are released or traded. Athletes will only be able to switch teams if they are traded or released which can only be done after the championship has been completed. For athletes this only affects what team you represent at the official CTFL meets.

To be eligible to enter into the CTFL prospect pool, athletes must have achieved the following standards within the past two outdoor seasons (2021 & 2022) or the current and previous indoor season (2022) as well as be registered with a provincial track and field organization (ex. Athletics Alberta). These standards are dictated in general by the top 75 performances per event in Canada during the previous season. The converted indoor standards are slightly more difficult as the league must ensure that the athlete can achieve those types of performances outdoors. No conversions will be taken for the indoor standards. Standards are as follows:

CTFL 2023 Draft Standards

Outdoor Standards

Indoor Standards (Converted)

In addition, utility athletes will be able to compete in any track and field event regardless of if it is one of the ten CTFL track & field events offered during the 2023 season. In order to qualify however, athletes must have finished within the top 25 athletes in that event during the 2022 outdoor season. The league will use the Athletics Canada ranking pages to confirm.

Even if an athlete does meet the standards as listed above, it does not guarantee that they will be drafted to a CTFL team.

Following the Draft

Once athletes have been drafted from the pool of potential prospects, they are now a member of the CTFL. There are currently no contracts that need to be signed other a media release form, nor the need to switch clubs or coaches. Athletes are still members of their current clubs for which they register to receive their athlete ID. Therefore, your CTFL team does not replace your club or coach. The league is designed similarly to how a series of meets would be organized with athletes signing up and then competing. The difference is that athletes are now placed on teams for which they accumulate points, and in the end, some receive cash prizes.  

Core Athlete vs Utility Athlete

Core athletes are those that makeup the majority of the CTFL. Each team will have 48 core athlete positions that are required to partake in at least one preliminary event and the championship if qualified. We urge that if athletes can meet this requirement, that they register as "Core" athletes as they will be the featured CTFL athletes and will be eligible for the greatest amount of cash prizes.

Utility athletes will have originally 10 spots per team and can compete in any of the 10 official CTFL events. These spots are meant for athletes that are unable to meet the requirements set out for the "Core" athletes. Reasons for registering as a utility athlete would be due to the inability to make it to the required meets due to logistical constraints or if you plan on making a national team that would cause you to miss the required meets. As there are only 10 spots available per team, we expect that these positions will be more competitive come the draft.

Injuries

Should an athlete become injured at some point during the season, they must notify the CTFL as soon as possible. You will be asked to provide some level of proof in order to maintain your position in the CTFL for current and future seasons. Injured athletes are still eligible to win cash prizes if they are in the position necessary within the standings and will receive their share of the team cash prize if they belong to the winning team.

In the case of an injured or indisposed athlete that qualified for the CTFL championship (as they finished within the top 8 in their event) but is unable to compete, the athlete who is seeded in the next position (in most cases 9th) will take their place at the championship regardless of team affiliation.

Singlets

Athletes are required to wear their designated CTFL singlets while competing at the official CTFL preliminary and championship meets. Singlets will be paid by the CTFL in full (see financial aspects for more info). There will also be a sponsor for each team which will be present on the singlets themselves. Veteran athletes are able to add an individual sponsor to the back of singlets, but this must be done through the CTFL. 

Financial Aspects

As the CTFL is entering its second season, the league's compensation structure is flexible. Currently, athletes will be required to register and pay for their own meets although many meets give CTFL athletes discounts, and the championship meet is free. Secondly, a team singlet will need to be worn at all official all CTFL meets. The league will require all athletes to to wear their CTFL singlets at all CTFL competitions. The singlet will be covered by the CTFL in full and has a value of $50. At the conclusion of the season, athletes will have the option to either keep their singlets or auction them off. Athletes electing to auction their singlets off will be asked to sign the singlet. If an athlete's singlet is sold, they will get their initial 50% cost back, in addition to all of the profit made above the original cost of the singlet. Lastly, travel and accommodation will be at the expense of the athlete. However, unlike last season, we will be working to get discounts for the championship meet at local hotels or assisting athletes with team Air BnB's. Considering that under normal circumstances athletes would normally pay for these expenses themselves, we have chosen to compensate athletes through prize winnings.

The total prize fund will be $15,825. These funds will be distributed in three ways:

• Top 3 individual core athletes per event and gender
• 1st = $400
• 2nd = $200
• 3rd = $100

• Top 6 of the utility athletes out of the 40 utility athletes

• 1st = $250
• 2nd = $200
• 3rd = $150
• 4th = $100
• 5th = $75
• 6th = $50
• The championship team will win $1,000 to be distributed equally amongst its core athlete members

For core athletes, in order to be eligible for your full prize winnings, you must fulfill all the requirements (compete at one prelim and the championship at minimum if you qualify). Any failure to do so will result in your individual prize funding being reduced by 50% and the removal of any team prize money. For example, if you are a core CTFL athlete and finish 2nd but you only make it to the prelim (therefore not attending any prelim meet), your individual prize winnings will be reduced from $200 to $100. This rule does not apply to the team winnings as it will be removed wholly if any requirement is not satisfied.

In addition, the league will be announcing other opportunities for CTFL athletes to generate income such as, working with our sponsors, being compensated for signing products, potential media interviews, and other branding opportunities. 

As stated previously, all of the financial aspects are at the league's projections for what is the minimum. Hence, depending on the levels of financial support, the league will look to increase the amount of funding athletes can receive either by decreasing the expenses incurred or increasing the prize fund.

Free Agency

Athletes who are members of the CTFL this season will have the ability to hold their position within the league for next year pending they finish within the top 8 of their events. If an athlete does not finish within the top 8 of their events, their team's gm's will have the ability to keep the athlete or release them to free agency to be claimed by another team. If unclaimed by another team, that athlete is removed from the CTFL following the 2023 season and can register for the draft process for the 2024 season. If an athlete is injured or made a national team which caused them to miss portions of the season, the CTFL asks for a minimal amount of proof for the athlete to be red shirted, meaning they can maintain the CTFL athlete status without the need to be released to free agency. As for Utility athletes, those athletes must have fulfilled their requirements and finished within the top 30 athletes to guarantee their spot for 2024. Athletes who finish in positions 31st and below are at risk of being released to free agency if their GM's do not decide to keep them. All athletes must declare their intention to remain in the league at the end of the 2023 CTFL season if they wish to continue in 2024.

Future Seasons

As it is the CTFL's second season, we have chosen to only represent ten of our sport's disciplines. However, with additional financial support, it is possible we add more disciplines for the 2024 season. For the 2024 season, there will be another entry draft for eligible athletes to fill the remaining positions. These open positions would be created through an expansion of the league or an increase in the number of athletes per event.

Final Note for Athletes

As of right now, our funding is based on projections for what we believe to be the minimum level of financial resources we will have at our disposal for the upcoming season. However, it is more than likely that the prize fund will increase before the beginning of the season. 

We hope you consider partaking in the league as we project it will grow fast, and with it, the benefits to athletes will increase. As previously stated, those who are on CTFL teams this season will benefit from having the ability to remain in the league next year pending they meet the standards laid out above. Therefore, it is in the best interest of athletes who plan to enter the league to do so as soon as possible.

Lastly, the CTFL would like to thank all athletes. This league may be starting off small, but we aim to build upon this upcoming season to help the sport of track and field grow. We believe that the league's model will benefit athletes, with the potential to earn cash prizes and develop your personal brand, all while keeping your expenses low and competing against some of the best in the country.