As we all saw, the virus wreaked total havoc with the
closing of many winter sports events last season. At that time though there was some hope that
things would be 'back to normal' for the start of the 2020-21 season.
Of
course, these hopes were set on fire and stamped on, with many events either
cancelled or relocated and there are likely to be more to come – with large
crowds not even close to being possible, assuming fans are allowed entry at
all.
What’s
going to happen, moving forward?
The main issue right now is finding ways to stage events at
all, and this is in all sports from Nordic and alpine skiing to skating and
sliding.
Denise Herrmann, German biathlete, has said: "You try
not to think about the worst-case scenario that a whole season is cancelled. We
hope that our competitions can take place as usual".
Infections of the Covid variety have spiked again in many
countries as the run-up to the winter sports season draws closer, with alpine
skiing being the first out of the gate at their traditional Austrian site of
Soelden. With both the men’s and women’s giant slaloms being held being closed
doors, ie no fans, everyone that is there has been split into four ‘bubbles’:
- Athletes
and coaches
- Organisers
- Media
- Guests
The traditional big season-opening party will not be going
ahead this time around, and neither will the
Kitzbuehel races.
Additionally, the North American swing before Christmas has
also been put on ice, so to speak. There are doubts also about the world
championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, can have the usual 5,000 attendance
numbers. Right now, it is not looking too likely.
After the championships in Italy, the Nordic skiing worlds
are in Germany, in Oberstdorf, which is also to host the opener of the Four
Hills tournament which is planning to limit the attending crowd to 2,500 –
provided the virus makes even that small number unrealistic.
What
has been moved?
The biathlon hasn't escaped the virus either, with the early
stops having been scrapped. The first 22 races will instead be held in Finland
and Austria, to reduce travel and the risk of infection.
Also being moved is sliding – the skeleton and bob, and the
luge world championships, have been moved from North America to Germany.
Altenberg is the new destination for skeleton/bob instead of Lake Placid
and Koenigssee will host the luge
championships instead of Whistler.
Meanwhile, all major skating events have been cancelled
until Christmas. These events are short track, figure and speed skating.
The ISU (International Skating Union) wants the test events
for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing postponed too, although nothing is
currently known about the likelihood of that happening.
Of course, this could also end up applying to other winter
sports, pandemic situation depending, that could lead to a lot more changes and
alterations in the run-up to the Winter Olympics.