Falling on the heels of the CARIFTA Track and Field Championship Easter postponement earlier this week, the CARIFTA Swimming Championships has become the latest sporting event to fall victim to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the announcement that the March 26th to April 7th event in Barbados has been postponed.
This marks the second postponement of the event in Barbados after the decision was made last March to postpone the April 2020 event as a precaution once a pandemic was declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
No new date has been set, Cheryl Forde, president of the Barbados Swimming Association, said yesterday.
“It is with greatest regret that I must inform you that CARIFTA 2021 will not take place in Barbados as scheduled for March 26th – April 7th,” Forde said on Thursday 28th January 2020 in a letter to other countries in the region.
“An Executive decision was taken this evening by the Barbados Amateur Swimming Association (BASA) to postpone CARIFTA 2021 after a review of the current COVID-19 situation in Barbados and by extension, in the region.
“It was agreed that a new date would be decided after the “national pause”- lockdown that is expected to end on Wednesday 17th February, and after we have had an opportunity to meet with the COVID-19 Monitoring Unit.
In the absence of a vaccine, with the new variant present in Barbados, community spread locally, the general spiking of COVID-19 cases in neighbouring countries and changing travel protocols locally and in a number of our neighbouring countries, it was agreed that it would be prudent to postpone this regional competition at this time.
She added, “We regret the inconvenience this will cause but we believe we have given consideration to the importance of keeping everyone safe in this very difficult environment. In addition, protocols outlined in the Summons would no longer apply”.
“We assure you that we will move swiftly to have them reviewed as soon as possible and will have updated information for you by the end of February, if not sooner”.
Thank you for your patience and understanding. We look forward to working together to make CARIFTA 2021 a reality.
This marks the second postponement of the event in Barbados after the decision was made last March to postpone the April 2020 event as a precaution once a pandemic was declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO).