IWSF TC Issue

IWSF Tournament Council Issue: 639
Corona Virus actions
Date Opened 2020-03-21
Date Closed 2020-04-05
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Here is the issue


Candido asked me to post this issue.  The Corona virus is a world wide issue.  Many major professional sports leagues have canceled their seasons as a precaution.  The IWWF has made a policy statement that the National Federations ought to take appropriate actions.  USAWaterski has cancelled all events up to May 20th.  The US Masters has postponed the tournament until perhaps the fall.
Our particular issue we must consider is the series of Elite Tournaments.  We have had Moomba already.  The next scheduled Elite Tournament is April 11-12 in Chile.  The next one after that is May 30 in the USA considering that the M<asters will move.  This will be followed by tournaments in the USA and Europe throughout the summer.  
Some of the issues to consider:
Imposed travel restrictions that would not allow athletes to attend.  
Holding an event in the current environment as some professional athletes have announced that they have contracted the virus as part of being a professional athlete is interaction with the public.
The safety of the athletes and officials is our paramount concern.

Discussion
Should we postpone Elite status for 60 days and re-evaluate every 30 days for an extension of the postponement?
Should we cancel the 2020 Elite point season? (Will the tournaments be held anyway?)
We probably should seek input from the Federations/Region where the tournaments are proposed to be held
USA
France
Spain
Italy
Greece
UK

Please give your thoughts

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2020-03-21
Jacinta Carroll comments: I have been patiently waiting for this topic to be discussed.
Firstly - I hope everyone is safe and well, caring for others and doing all they can to help combat this world wide pandemic.
Given their is world wide travel bans on multiple countries, multiple airline carriers have ceased flights I believe it would be somewhat insulting to run elite events at this stage.
For example, if you run an event and only those based in AMERICA have the ability to attend (ie LA Night Jam), other internationals may lose their elite ranking and ability to qualify for events next year (MASTERS) because they cannot safely get to the event due to travel bans.
For example, if the Moomba Master was this weekend then only those already in Australia could compete due to our new boarder security rules, and as a result I would get elite points and my competitors wouldnt be able to compete for these. That is simply not fair.

No - Do not cancel 2020 elite events and points.
We cannot afford to upset any organizers who have stepped up to the plate and want to run elite events. We have so many more events this year than the previous years. We need to support these organizers and events, just not at a time that is unsafe for all involved.
These must be postponed if able, but still be worth points.

I believe a postponement is wise with a 60day window of notification that elite points are given at the specific event.

2020-03-22
Gill Hill comments: Thanks for posting this issue Bob and as you know as you know i will also be asking all the IWWF Sorts divisions to consider their own individual issues. 
In fact the holding of Elite events during this season will be controlled by the host National Federation who will have to follow the laws of their own countries.  So there is a big possibility that many of the Elite events will be cancelled.  As you state the USA has already announced that no sanctioned events can be held for a period of time, which will be reviewed.  I suspect other countries will do exactly the same.  So some Elite events will not be held.  However, i agree with Jacinta that this should be monitored on a rolling 60 day window.  
Can i also say that the same will apply to all those RL events held around the world each year, and this can have a dramatic effect on the RL also. There is the potential for athletes to come to the top of the RL just because their competition could be held, and others who will not be able to achieve scores.   I really have no solutions to this, it is unprecedented but you will need to consider if you should use a combination of 2019 and 2020 RL events for qualification purposes because of skewed RL results.
I wish you luck with your deliberations.  Best wishes to all and STAY SAFE. 


2020-03-22
Bob Corson comments: I would note to Gill that for the Worlds, a two year ranking list selection is already used.  For RL tournaments, at this point I would not see any restriction required but this should be assessed. Many RL tournaments are more local in nature.  However, mandating that they  cannot  be held might be a benefit in the current environment.  I have not heard of any other Fed making a mandate like USAWaterski.  This mandate eliminates quite a few RL tournaments that are traditionally held before the RL cut-off date.
2020-03-22
Bob Corson comments: For reference, here is a list of scheduled R tournaments upcoming:
2020-04-18 MIRANDA SKI SEASON LC Lago Los Morros- Santiago,Chile
2020-04-11 Chile Night Jump 2020 Lago Los Morros- Santiago,Chile
2020-04-09 Americas Challenger Lago Los Morros- Santiago,Chile
2020-04-09 2020 Australian National Championships Max Kirwan Lakes Mulwala NSW Australia
2020-03-28 Torneo Nacional Lago Los Morros- Santiago,Chile
2020-03-22 Torneo de Esquí RACC 2020 Rancho Avándaro, Edo. Méx.
2020-03-21 1er. Nacional de Esquí 2020 Rancho Avándaro, Edo. Méx.

As far as I know there has been no Federation announcement from any other Federation than USAWaterski.  There were R tournaments last weekend in both Australia and New Zealand. 
2020-03-22
Jacinta Carroll comments: Australian National Championships have been cancelled.
2020-03-23
Bob Corson comments: I received a copy of the notice from the Australian Federation that all tournaments after March 17 are cancelled.
2020-03-23
Candido Moz comments: Italy has suspend all type of events, there is not a fixed date yet on when everything will start over again, but for sure not in April, in the mean time we have to wait and see how things are going.
I think the same is in Spain and some others European Countries.
If organizer will be allow, from theyr state/...... regulations, they will run the tournament, so better not cancel elite points. At the end, based on the numbers of event and on how many Elite skier could have attend, we may need to consider for which purpose using those points. 
I believe a 60day window notification that elite points are given at the specific event will work.
2020-03-23
Dimos Alexopoulos comments: Same government restrictions apply in Greece since some time now, with no date announced when any type of sports events will restart.
From today there is a lock down, no people can go out of their homes, except for very specific reasons.
2020-03-23
Glen Williams comments: I hope everyone is ok out there , these are crazy times for sure . 
I believe we should postpone not cancel 
Things are moving very fast at the moment and hopefully although unlikely things will improve quickly as well . Postponing gives not canceling gives our sport some light at the end of the tunnel .
I think it is important to give us something positive to focus on . 
On the other hand we can not have elite events that most of our skiers can’t attend due to travel restrictions  
Makes sense to postpone 60 days with a review every 30 days . 
For the record the R tournament in New Zealand scheduled 10 days ago had to be postponed indefinitely . 
2020-03-23
Ryan Dodd comments: Let’s postpone elite events.
Let’s also maybe put on hold all sanctioned Ranking list events until further notice ?
2020-03-23
Larry Gisler comments: agree to pospone no cancel
2020-03-24
Robert Ritter comments: Chile suspend all tournaments scheduled for March and April.
2020-03-24
Bob Corson comments: I update the R calendar and the Elite calendar to show this change of status.
2020-03-24
Felix Loreto comments: Better posponing than cancelling.
Peru has no events until June. Still do not know if postponing or cancelling. Too early now.
2020-03-24
Felix Loreto comments: Better posponing than cancelling.
Peru has no events until June. Still do not know if postponing or cancelling. Too early now.
2020-03-24
Richard Carlson has read the issue and has no comment
2020-03-25
Geoffrey Kee has read the issue and has no comment
2020-03-25
Ricardo Botas has read the issue and has no comment
2020-03-27
Christophe Duverger comments: in France everything is Freezer right now, but posponing is the best solution....the end season will be busy...take care everybody.....
2020-03-29
James Timothy has read the issue and has no comment
2020-04-05
Dimos Alexopoulos comments: I also agree to postpone 60 days with a review every 30 days
Replied
Jacinta Carroll - Commented
Gill Hill - Commented
Bob Corson - Commented
Candido Moz - Commented
Dimos Alexopoulos - Commented
Glen Williams - Commented
Ryan Dodd - Commented
Larry Gisler - Commented
Robert Ritter - Commented
Felix Loreto - Commented
Richard Carlson - Commented
Geoffrey Kee - Commented
Ricardo Botas - Commented
Christophe Duverger - Commented
James Timothy - Commented
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