Two of America's most prominent track clubs, the Mizuno-sponsored Atlanta Track Club and the Nike-Sponsored Oregon Track Club Elite, will clash in a remote dual meet on Saturday, June 20.  The meet, called Return of the Dual, will feature a compact slate of events and have point-scoring.  The competition will also serve as a fundraiser for important not-for-profits in each community.

"As the home of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon, Running City USA is excited to hand off the baton to the home of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field," said Rich Kenah, Atlanta Track Club's executive director. "But before we do, we want to take the opportunity to bring track and field fans some exciting races, raise money for a good cause and have a little fun."

The meet will consist of 600m and 1200m races for both men and women, each featuring one athlete per club. The winner of each discipline will receive one point. The meet will conclude with a 2 x 2 x 400m mixed-gender relay made up of two athletes from each team. The winning relay team will receive three points. The team with the highest point total will be crowned champion. Athletes in Atlanta and Eugene will begin their races simultaneously, and the winners will be decided by hand times.

Both teams will compete at closed venues with no crowds present and in adherence with all local COVID-19 prevention requirements and guidelines. The meet will be broadcast live on-line, and international commentator Tim Hutchings will call the action. Viewers can watch via the Atlanta Track Club's YouTube and Facebook accounts at 7:00 p.m. EDT (4:00 p.m. PDT) on Saturday, June 20. Both streams will be available in all countries and territories as allowed.

Interestingly, the broadcast will take advantage of innovative technologies and creative solutions, including the use of zero-emission electric vehicles to capture footage of the athletes as they race. Atlanta-based Mercedes-Benz USA will be providing a vehicle on location in Atlanta. Arcimoto, an EV manufacturer based in Eugene, will be providing a Fun Utility Vehicle to use on location in Eugene. The show will be produced by TrackTown Productions.

Food for Lane County, an organization in Oregon dedicated to reducing hunger by engaging the community to create access to food, and Atlanta Mission, a community organization to end homelessness, will split the proceeds of the meet. To make a donation to these organizations and support the meet go here.

Remote competition via video feed was successfully used in the recent Impossible Games where a Kenyan team in Nairobi competed against a Norwegian team in Oslo. It was also used by World Athletics for three "Garden Clashes" which featured pole vaulters and decathletes. With the novel coronavirus surging in some places and receding in others, global travel remains severely restricted. Remote competitions can provide fans and athletes with a satisfying substitute until live competitions return.

"We are thrilled to partner with Atlanta Track Club in bringing the Return of the Dual to life," said Mike Reilly, CEO of TrackTown USA. "All three organizations involved care deeply about our respective communities, and we are proud to help raise funds for those communities with this event."

The meet hashtag is #ReturnOfTheDual.

The athlete line-ups are as follows (subject to change):

600m (Men): Dylan Capwell (ATC) vs. Nijel Amos (OTC)

600m (Women): Rachael Walters (ATC) vs. Chanelle Price (OTC)

1200m (Men): Abraham Alvarado (ATC) vs. Vince Ciattei (OTC)

1200m (Women): Yolanda Ngarambe (ATC) vs. Hanna Green (OTC)

2x 2 x 400 Mixed Relay: Avery Bartlett & Megan Malasarte (ATC) vs. Jake Heyward & Sabrina Southerland (OTC)

Alternates: Brianna Stratz (ATC), Ricky Romero (ATC), Edward Kemboi (ATC), Will Paulson (OTC)