Posted: January 30, 2006

Athletics: Fans can win during Visa Championship Series

The 2006 Visa Championship Series features an exciting new fan promotion that allows followers of The World's #1 Track & Field Team to get in on the action like never before.

This year track and field fans will have the chance to win $250 in weekly prize money and an opportunity to win a $5,000 grand prize in the Visa Championship Series Consumer Promotion.

Each week, fans can log onto www.visachampionshipseries.com to pick the athletes - male and female - they think will be leading the Visa Championship Series after each meet. Correct predictions will be eligible to win a weekly prize of a $250 Visa gift card and a Nike/USATF gift bag.

After Week 1, the Reebok Boston Indoor Games, 60-meter sprinter Lisa Barber leads the women's Race for the Championship with 1,203 points, and shot putter Reese Hoffa leads the men's Race with 1,183 points.

To be eligible for the second weekly prize, fans must log in and pick their Visa Championship Series leaders no later than 11:59 p.m. on February 2. Fans must log in and register their picks each week.

The two lucky fans who correctly predict the overall Visa Champions will each win a $5,000 grand prize, along with a Nike/USATF gift bag.

For more information and contest rules, visit www.visachampionshipseries.com

2006 Indoor Visa Championship Scoring System

The male and female athlete with the top overall performance in the 2006 Indoor Visa Championship Series will be named Visa Champion and each will receive a $25,000 bonus. Shot putter John Godina and sprinter Angela Daigle made history during the 2005 Indoor Visa Championship series as the first Visa Champions, winning their titles with world-leading performances at the AT&T USA Indoor Championships.

The top American male finisher and top American female finisher in each event of the Visa Championship Series, including the AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships, will have their performances assigned a point total based on the IAAF Scoring Tables of Athletics. The athlete whose single-best performance has the highest point total at the end of the Visa Championship Series will be named the Visa Champion.

Although the top performance can come at any of the Visa Championship Series meets, an athlete must compete at the AT&T USA Indoor Championships in order to be named Visa Champion. Athletes competing on the high school or college level are not eligible. Ties will be broken by determining which tied athlete had the best mark at the AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships, based on the IAAF Scoring Tables of Athletics. See complete scoring details, below

Scoring Details

* The top American male finisher and top American female finisher (excluding collegiate and high school athletes) in each eligible event at each of the Visa Championship Series meets can score points.

* Events eligible for scoring are those that are contested as championship events at the 2006 AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships and those that can be used as alternates for qualifying for the Championships (e.g., the Mile is an alternate qualifying event for the 1,500m). Events not meeting the above definition are not scored.

* Athletes score points based on their finish in the final of their event. Points are assigned based on the IAAF Scoring Tables of Athletics.

* For Indoor Championship events in which scoring tables do not exist in the IAAF Scoring Tables of Athletics - men's and women's weight throw, men's 5,000m race walk and women's 3,000m race walk - tables will be developed in accordance with IAAF standards.

* In order to be eligible to be declared the Winner, athletes must compete at the AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships.

* The male and female athletes with the highest point values for their individual performances will be declared the Winners.

* Ties will be broken by determining which tied athlete had the best mark from the AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships, based on the IAAF Scoring Tables of Athletics. If a tie still exists, it will be broken by determining which tied athlete had the next best mark during the Indoor Visa Championship Series. If an athlete does not have another mark from the Indoor Visa Championship Series, the athlete's next best mark from the indoor season will be used.

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