Track and field in Canada will feature a European-style circuit this season, which will include the venerable Victoria International Classic on July 3 at Centennial Stadium.

The 23rd Victoria Track Classic will be folded into the inaugural 2011 National Track League, which will offer $300,000 in prize money. Other NTL meets will take place in Edmonton, Burnaby, Halifax and Toronto over 15 days.

“This will change the scope of our meet,” said Brent Fougner, chairman of the Victoria Classic. “The NTL will be on the IAAF fixtures list and we have already begun to send out emails to agents [of track athletes]. It’s neat that we could pull this together nationally and with this level of prize sponsorship. It will make for some good meets.”

The Victoria meet will feature a tribute to Gary Reed, the recently retired local runner who won the 800 metres at the 2007 world track and field championships and placed fourth in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

The inaugural NTL season begins with the Edmonton International Classic on June 29, four days after the Canadian trials June 22-25 at Calgary for the 2011 world championships in August at South Korea.

The NTL continues with the Harry Jerome International on July 1 at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, with the Victoria stop two days later on the Sunday afternoon of the Canada Day long weekend.

“Our [Victoria] date puts us in a good position to attract a large crowd,” said Fougner.

The Aileen Meagher Meet in Halifax is July 10 followed by the NTL Series Final in Toronto on July 13.

“I applaud Athletics Canada’s initiative in establishing a coherent national series,” said Olympic gold-medallist Bruny Surin of Montreal, in a release.

“I often get questions from young [Canadian] athletes about competitions in Europe. They usually aren’t aware of the costs and difficulties associated with it. They will now be able to get the same level of competition here at home. I hope we can continue to build this series into a lasting legacy to give our country’s athletes the most opportunities to race at home.”

In an answer to European meets, which reserve four lanes for European athletes, the NTL will reserve four lanes for Canadian competitors.

“This will help in the development of Canadian athletes,” said Fougner, UVic track coach and Canadian Olympic team middle-distance coach. “We’ve also had interest from Montreal and Moncton so there is a chance to expand the league in future seasons.”ꆱ