Friday March 13, 2020
For Immediate Release:
As the world reacts to the recent outbreak of the Coronaviris (COVID-19) that was first reported from Wuhan, China on December 31, 2019, we would be negligent as an organization in not communicating our intentions and policies with respect to this public health crisis that is affecting people worldwide.
Just a few days ago the WHO (World Health Organization) declared COVID-19 a worldwide pandemic. Following that announcement, major sporting events around the world have been either postponed or canceled entirely because of the outbreak of this deadly virus. The NCAA, NBA, NHL, PGA, MLB are just a few that have been forced to give up billions of dollars in revenue to do the RIGHT thing to protect the safety and wellbeing of its employees, players, and fans who all thoroughly enjoy these sports.
Our sport has also seen some major events around the world canceled or postponed, most notably the upcoming World Cup Finals scheduled to be held in Las Vegas next month.
What does all of this mean to RMSJ and our upcoming scheduled tournaments? On March 12, 2020 both our Federal and Provincial Governments shared information with regards to mass gatherings. The Federal information can be Read Here and Alberta’s information can be Read Here.
We have had recent meetings with our local Alberta Health Inspector, and although we don’t expect attendance of our next week’s Winter Training Series Tournament to exceed the 250 people gathering, we have made the conscious decision to put the safety of our exhibitors and their families along with our employees before the financial benefit of our organization. Having said that, we have made the decision to postpone our event scheduled for next weekend (March 21-22). We will let everyone know when the event is rescheduled based on information, we receive from our regional health authorities.
We encourage everyone to abide by the guidelines as outlined by Alberta Health Services, and hope that the spread of this virus will subside in the near future and allow the world to normalize in the coming months.
Our team was planning on posting the Prize List for our upcoming Bow Valley and June Classics this week but have decided to wait a week or so to see the developments with respect to the Coronavirus and Alberta Health Services.
In the meantime, feel free to have a look at our schedules for the upcoming outdoor tournaments.
Bow Valley Classic I Bow Valley Classic II June Classic I
Thank you all for your understanding of our decision to postpone our tournament next week.
Yours Truly
John C. Anderson Caroline Jones
President Tournament Manager
