This coronavirus is no joke. The NBA has cancelled its season, the F1 in Melbourne will go ahead but without spectators and the US has closed its borders from Europe. Even Tom Hanks has contracted it while filming on the Gold Coast.
Tracks had attempted to reach out to the WSL over the past couple of weeks as to how the League would act but received no response.
Now we can report that the WSL has cancelled all events for the entire month of March including the Corona Piha Pro, Corona Open at Snapper, and Red Bull Airborne event.
Just minutes ago, the WSL announced the news with this press release:
Due to the rapidly evolving situation with COVID-19 and out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our athletes, fans, and staff, the World Surf League (WSL) has made the decision to cancel all events yet to commence at all tour levels, worldwide for the remainder of March, including the opening event of the 2020 Championship Tour (CT) on the Gold Coast in Australia. Additionally, we are canceling the Papara Pro Open Tahiti.
This decision is based on guidance from the World Health Organization, who has declared that COVID-19 is now a global pandemic, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, governments and local public health authorities where our events are being held.
"Coronavirus is having massive consequences for sporting events and gatherings of all kinds around the world, and we are no different," said WSL CEO Erik Logan. "We did not take this decision lightly as we are aware that it has a significant impact on the surfing community. However, the health and safety of our athletes, fans, and staff are paramount. From the standpoint of social responsibility, we also take very seriously the role our events might play in accelerating the spread of the virus. We've been in close contact with our athletes and we feel strongly that this is the right thing to do right now."
"The fluid nature of this situation is forcing us to evaluate things day-by-day, and even hour-by-hour," Logan said. "As this continues to evolve, we'll continue to adapt, endeavoring to make the next right decision each day."
Based on the information we have at this time, we are not currently canceling any additional events beyond this time frame. That said, the situation continues to evolve, and we are closely monitoring and evaluating the status of our upcoming events, including our next CT event at Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia.
The WSL is carefully considering the impact of these cancellations on our tours and we will provide further information in due course.
For all events currently in progress, we have implemented a range of safety protocols as well as protective guidelines for athletes and staff. These include information on travel advisories and restrictions so anyone traveling can plan their travel routes to and from our events to best limit their potential exposure; additional hand-washing facilities and hand sanitizer at events; and minimizing surfer and fan interactions.
List of currently canceled or postponed events:
· Papara Pro Open Tahiti, French Polynesia – canceled
· Piha Pro Junior, New Zealand – postponed
· Corona Piha Pro, New Zealand – postponed
· Seat Pro Netanya, Israel – postponed
· Barbados Surf Pro, Barbados – postponed
· Corona Open Gold Coast, Australia – canceled
· WSL Awards – postponed
· Red Bull Airborne Gold Coast, Australia – canceled
· Jack's Surfboards Pro, USA – postponed
· Longboard Pro Espinho, Portugal – postponed
· Caparica Surf Fest Pro, Portugal – postponed
· Central Japan Open, Japan – postponed
· Krui Pro, Indonesia – postponed
While no surfers, coaches or staff from the WSL have yet tested positive to the virus it looks as though the WSL are taking every precaution it can to ensure the health and safety of everyone are taken seriously.
The announcement makes us wonder whether the remainder of the CT season will be postponed indefinitely. We’ll know more in the coming weeks.
