Grants & Sponsorships
There are a number of grants, sponsorships and special funds available to track athletes and to distance runners. While some of this funding is designated for those athletes who have achieved a high performance level – such as the world or U.S. Olympic ‘A’ standard in their event – other sources help to support the developing athlete. Certain grants and funds are available only to distance runners. A general, but not all inclusive, listing follows:
RRCA Roads Scholars. The Road Runners Club of American (RRCA) has awarded over $400,000 in grants since 1996 through its Roads Scholar program to assist American post-collegiate road runners who show great promise to develop into national and world class road running athletes. Grants in the amount of $5,000 per year have been awarded to four to six athletes annually since the program’s inception. The driving factor in the creation of this program was the goal of improving the state of long distance running in the United States. The program is directed towards runners who are U.S. citizens, have graduated from college, plan to pursue elite distance running as a career, and expect to earn less than $30,000 from all sources during the calendar year. Applications are due each year in late July, following RunPro Camp. Learn more about the RRCA: Roads Scholar grants.
Elite Athlete Development Grant - USATF Foundation. The purpose of the grant program is to support the pursuit of world-class performances by American post-collegian track and field athletes who have met minimum performance standards and have compelling individual financial needs. For an application to be considered, an athlete must rank in the Top 10 in the USA in his/her event in either or both of the past two years, have achieved at least the IAAF “B” standard (though most grants go to “A” standard athletes), not exceed track and field related income of $50,000 (with possible exception for very highly ranked athletes who have experienced a temporary setback in income due to injury, maternity leave, and/or sponsorship reductions or cancellation), be a USA citizen and a college graduate. For more information about the Elite Athlete Development Grant visit the USATF Foundation site at www.usatffoundation.org.
Post Collegiate Scholarship Fund. To qualify for this USATF fund, athletes must have exhausted their collegiate eligibility within the last two years and have achieved the current IAAF World Outdoor Championship “A” standard at the time of application. Athletes qualifing for the program attend the Emerging Elite Athlete Symposium conducted by USATF each year during its annual meeting. The application deadline is in the fall. Learn more about the scholarship.
Elite Athlete Medical Support Program. The USATF/St. Vincent Sports Performance Elite Athlete Medical Support Program assists qualified injured athletes by providing primary care or a second opinion and working with the athlete’s local medical support to create a recovery plan. St. Vincent is a nationally recognized hospital system and health network. Athletes will need to travel to Indianapolis to receive medical services. Eligibility is based on Tiers with athletes qualifying for this program based on a first come, first served basis. Tier 1 athletes have medaled in the most recent Olympic Games and have a Top 10 World Rank; Tier 2 athletes placed Top 8 in two most recent world championships or have Top 20 World Rank; and Tier 3 athletes are immediate post collegian in the first or second year out of college and have achieved the "A" standard for their respective event. Learn more information about the USATF Tier System. Learn more about the St. Vincent program.