Slim to none.
Those are the chances of Guyana hosting the South American U-23 Championships scheduled for September 26-27.
“The prospects are not that good,” said Aubrey Hutson, President of the Athletic Association of Guyana (AAG) yesterday.
Hutson pointed out that owing to the “economic and political climate in Guyana”, the event will more than likely be postponed or cancelled all together even with the ongoing relaxation of the COVID-19 restrictions.
He further pointed out that an event with the magnitude of the SA U-23 Championships cannot be run off without all the South American countries competing and due to the alarming rate of COVID-19 cases and deaths in South America’s biggest country, Brazil, he opines that all South American competitions may be shelved until perhaps next year. To safeguard the health of athletes and others involved, most major sporting events at international, regional and national levels have been cancelled or postponed – from marathons to football tournaments, athletics championships to basketball games, handball to ice hockey, rugby, cricket, weightlifting to wrestling and more. The Olympics and Paralympics, for the first time in the history of the modern games, have been postponed, and will be held in 2021. The South American U-23 Championships could perhaps suffer similar fate. Since its onset, the COVID-19 pandemic has spread to almost all the countries of the world. Social and physical distancing measures, lockdowns of businesses, schools and overall social life, which have become commonplace to curtail the spread of the disease, have also disrupted many regular aspects of life, including sport and physical activity.
In these difficult times, the ability of sports to bring people together is missed more than ever. The industry itself may be in new territory, but with the right strategies can emerge from the crisis stronger and more popular than ever.
