Oregon22 FAQs

World Athletics (formerly International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) is the international governing body for the sport of track and field and contains 214 member federations (i.e. competing teams). World Athletics’ premier event is the World Athletics Championships, which takes place once every two years. The term ’athletics’ outside the U.S. means ’track and field.’ 

Due to COVID-19, World Athletics postponed the Championships from August 2021 to July 2022. The World Athletics Championships Oregon22 event will take place in Eugene, Oregon, at University of Oregon’s Hayward Field July 15-24, 2022. It will be the first time in history that the Championships will take place on U.S. soil. ‘WCH Oregon22’ is the official acronym for this event.

The event will be hosted in partnership with USA Track & Field (USATF), the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running, and race walking in the United States. 

This will be the third track and field championship event to be held in Oregon in the span of seven years. The IAAF World Junior Championships made its U.S. debut in TrackTown USA in the summer of 2014 and the IAAF World Indoor Championships was hosted in Portland in March of 2016.

The World Athletics Championships Oregon22 event is coming to Eugene, Oregon July 15-24, 2022. The majority of the events will take place at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon. 

Experience the Championships live in Hayward Field at the University of Oregon this summer from July 15-24! Check out the event schedule, look at 3D seat views, and buy tickets here (TicketMaster is the official ticketing partner).

The Local Organizing Committee is called Oregon22. This organization is a tax-exempt subsidiary of Track Town USA, Inc. (an Oregon non-profit corporation) that has been established to deliver the World Athletics Championships Oregon22. Oregon22 LOC is partnering with USA Track & Field, the national governing body for the sport in this country, and communities around the state to welcome the world in 2022. The City of Eugene is represented on this committee as a primary stakeholder to ensure the delivery of a world-class event that will have a lasting positive impact on our community.

• Anticipated number of athletes: 2,000
• Participating countries: 214 federations (teams) will compete
• Anticipated number of media: 3,000 accredited members of the media and broadcasters
• Total expected number of participants (combination of athletes, staff, World Athletics personnel, and media): 13,000+
• Anticipated number of volunteers: 4,000
• Competition venue: Hayward Field at the University of Oregon, with a temporary expanded capacity of ~20,000

A preliminary economic impact report, conducted by Travel Lane County with economic consulting firm ECONorthwest in the fall of 2015, estimated spending by visitors at $52 million of direct spending associated with the event itself. The report also shows direct spending by visitors and by the event totaling $138 million with a total output (value of goods and services produced) of $205 million.

As for other large-scale track and field meets, Travel Lane County reports:

• In 2016, the economic impact of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials was estimated to be $37 million
• From 2008 to 2016, track and field events hosted at Hayward Field generated more than $173 million

World Athletics Council released a statement regarding sanctions on Member Federations of Russia and Belarus.

Become a volunteer by registering to join Crew22, the WCH Oregon22 workforce. Volunteers must be at least 16 years old by the time of the Championships, and no prior volunteer (or track and field) experience is required! Some of the roles include welcoming fans to the stadium, assisting the media, and providing support to technical officials during the competition.  

Sign up for email updates to stay updated on the official Championship event, and follow @WCHoregon22 on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Follow the City’s @2022eugene Instagram and Facebook pages for coverage on how Eugene is preparing to be a Host City for the World Athletics Championships, including opportunities for the community to get involved. 

The City of Eugene’s ultimate vision for Oregon22 is to support the event, engage the community, and inspire the world. A few examples of how the organization is leveraging the event for the betterment of the community include the following projects:

• Downtown Riverfront, which includes a new Downtown Riverfront Park and redeveloping the historic Steam Plant
• 20x21 Mural Project
• 2,021 by 2021 Giant Sequoia tree planting
• Farmers Market Pavilion and Plaza

The City of Eugene is also hosting the Eugene Riverfront Festival in conjunction with the WCH Oregon22 event. Two major themes represented in the festival will be equity/inclusion and environmental sustainability. See the FAQs below for details on the festival. 

The Eugene Riverfront Festival is a free, community fan festival that will celebrate the best of Eugene and Oregon during WCH Oregon22. As Eugene welcomes the world in this once-in-a-lifetime global event, the City of Eugene and REVERE, a local event production company, are working in tandem to create an event that is the cornerstone of a “never before experienced city celebration” at the new Downtown Riverfront Park.

Activities will be happening at the new Downtown Riverfront Park from July 15-24. Schedule will be released soon.

The vision is to celebrate Eugene and Oregon, with the festival serving as a primary “experience hub” during the Championships. It is an opportunity for Eugene to welcome visitors and celebrate the diversity of cultures that make up Eugene. 

As part of the planning process, the City is honored to welcome nine incredible organizations as members of the Eugene Riverfront Festival Equity Panel. Their expertise and vision are helping to shape this once-in-a-lifetime global event. Panel members include:

• Isis Barone, Community Member at Large
• Ibrahim Coulibaly, Eugene/Springfield NAACP
• Shawn Goddard, Community Alliance of Lane County (CALC) Board Member
• Shanae Joyce-Stringer, Obsidian Soul Productions/Black Cultural Festival
• Brooks McLain, Eugene Pride Day Equality Project
• Valerie Simon, University of Oregon Center for Student Involvement Student Representative
• Mary Sollo, Lane Arts Council Community Representative
• Susan Sygall, MIUSA - Mobility International USA, CEO
• Lori Tapahonso, Lane Community College Longhouse Steward & Native American Student Program Coordinator
• Aimee Yogi, Oregon Asian Celebration

It is recommended to use a third-party site, such as Airbnb and Vrbo, to rent out your house (or a room or two). If you live in the City of Eugene, you need to register your unit to participate in the short-term rental marketplace. It’s free! Visit this website to fill out the form. Check out this blog post from Eugene, Cascades and Coast (a.k.a. Travel Lane County) for more helpful information on renting your house during WCH Oregon22. 

Businesses have many opportunities during WCH Oregon22 and to get involved:

• Travel Lane County created the Champion World Hosts program, which includes a crash course and knowledge hub for the community to be expert hosts as Eugene welcomes the world this July. Regardless of where you work, you are a part of the hospitality experience!
• Register here for the free 7-day email training program and earn a reward once you complete the quiz at the end. 
• The Eugene Riverfront Festival is seeking sponsorships. Contact Sales Lead Brian Movalson for more information: brian.movalson@experiencerevere.com or 541-953-0282.

All youth are invited to get involved in the Championships through the WCH Oregon22’s youth engagement program Making Tracks. Targeting K-12 students, the Making Tracks website has informative resources, lesson plan ideas, and activities. 

A collaborative transportation working group is tasked with moving people around the city during the ten days of the event. Information on park and rides and shuttles will be released the month leading up to the event. It is highly recommended that people throughout the region take advantage of all of the local active transportation options available, such as the PeaceHealth bike share system, Lane Transit District bus system, walking and bike trails, and more. Check out Travel Lane County’s Championships Transportation webpage to learn more.

By utilizing the hotel inventory, student apartment complexes, and the Airbnb and Vrbo market, there is supply of beds for World Athletics staff, athletes and team officials, members of the media, and spectators.  Check out Travel Lane County's Accommodations page for more information.  Experience from hosting the U.S. Olympic Trials indicates that spectators also choose to stay in communities up and down the I-5 corridor and other cities within Lane County. The compression of visitors will extend throughout the state, about a100 mile radius around Eugene. 

In advance of the World Athletics Championships and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Eugene Parks & Open Space program launched 2,021 for 2021: an initiative to plant 2,021 giant sequoia trees by 2021. While working hard to clean the air, giant sequoias also make our community more attractive, livable, and prosperous. They have been planted in shared public areas such as parks and street medians, as well as in private spaces like schools, local businesses, and homes. The 2,021 for 2021 project ultimately will boost Eugene’s urban forest and turn hosting the Championships into a more sustainable opportunity for the southern Willamette Valley. All of the trees have been planted! To learn more, please visit website linked above or email project lead Scott Altenhoff with Urban Forestry. 

City of Eugene staff decided to keep the name of this project as-is (keeping the name ’2021’ instead of changing it to ’2022’) in the spirit of capturing the excitement and enthusiasm the community held for the World Athletics Championships event prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. New projects are underway that take long-term community recovery from COVID-19 into account and will be promoted accordingly. 

In advance of the World Athletics Championships and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Eugene Cultural Services program launched the 20x21 Mural Project: an initiative that aimed to create 20 or more world-class outdoor murals leading up to the World Championships. The project has been led by a highly engaged committee representing collaboration across sectors including communications, law, architecture, small business, nonprofit, and the arts. 20×21 aims to bring color and life to Eugene’s urban landscape to foster pride and contribute to a sense of identity. To date, the project has brought 24 murals in total to the city. 

City of Eugene staff decided to keep the name of this project as-is (keeping the name ’2021’ instead of changing it to ’2022’) in the spirit of capturing the excitement and enthusiasm the community held for the World Athletics Championships event prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. New projects are underway that take long-term community recovery from COVID-19 into account and will be promoted accordingly.

The City of Eugene is a national leader in responsible event management. Between the Waste Prevention, Transportation, and Climate teams at the City, there is always a strong focus and collaborative mindset on how to achieve our city’s many sustainability goals. Eugene set the bar high at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, which earned the International Olympic Committee’s highest sustainability honor, Sport and the Environment Award. This recognition was leveraged by City staff to create the We Can! sustainable events program, which offers technical assistance and educational resources to anyone delivering an event in Eugene.  The Responsible Events Framework, developed by the City of Eugene with support from the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, serves as a tool that any event planner can use to plan a sustainable event in any community. 

The Eugene Riverfront Festival is working with sustainability operations company Kilowatt One to ensure the highest level of sustainability is achieved. WCH Oregon22 is contracting with local nonprofit BRING Recycling to deliver event services at Hayward Field. Both events will work toward achieving the highest level of certification from third-party event certifier, Council for Responsible Sport. 

The World Athletics Championships Oregon22 event will take place at Hayward Field at University of Oregon. Learn more about the venue by clicking here.