Spike in COVID-19 has sporting events on hold in Saint Lucia

Just when athletes and fans thought sports was slowly getting back on track in Saint Lucia, COVID-19 again reared its ugly head forcing the postponement of several events. With the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, new protocols in accordance with the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) were announced last week. Event organizers were allowed to accommodate a maximum of 500 people, but the number has now been reduced to 50 —resulting in the postponement of several events which depend heavily on crowd support. Of course Sunday’s Jounen Kweyol celebration was one of the major social events that was cancelled.

On the sporting scene, the Veterans in Sports Inc 2020 Double Elimination football tournament, was set to kickoff Sunday October 25 at Phillip Marcellin Grounds in Vieux Fort. It is temporarily on hold until further notice. CEO of Veterans in Sports Inc, Alvin Malaykhan and players were looking forward to getting back on the playing field to compete in this popular tournament.

Despite the challenges brought about by COVID-19, Malaykhan was excited about staging it, this being the 10th anniversary of the tournament and because the interest was there. During a recent interview prior to the tournament being postponed, Malaykhan who plays for the CARICOM Masters veterans team said: “Initially I think a lot of people were asking for it. We set out some protocols which were approved by the CMO so we have some protocols in place and will try our best to keep the players and the patrons safe.”

He went on to say: “There was a cry for people wanting to do something. We are mindful of what’s going on, but then we want to make sure that we do it in the safest way possible.”

Even when the CMO first approved a maximum of 500 people to attend social functions and events, Malaykhan knew it would be risky business from a financial stand point, taking into account gate revenue. He told me: “This tournament is not a money making thing and that’s why I am thanking the sponsors who came on board to support this shortened form of the tournament. It is a shortened form but when you do the figures it is the same cost as running a normal tournament, because when you put all the different protocols in place it comes at a certain expense.”

With the maximum number of people reduced from 500 to 50, one can see why it would not be feasible to stage the tournament at this point in time.

Other sporting events that were earlier scheduled but are now on the back burner include: the Creole Tennis Tournament at the National Tennis Centre, Beausejour and the start of The Rugby 10’s Series. In addition, General Secretary of the St Lucia Football Association Inc, Victor Reid, sent an email to the press that stated: “Please be informed that the St Lucia Football Association Inc has decided to postpone all matches that were scheduled to be played this weekend, Saturday October 24, 2020 and Sunday October 25, 2020 until further notice. We will continue the championship next week and if necessary convey to you additional information that may be necessary.”

Another major event which might be drastically effected due to COVID-19 is the 2020 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC). During a recent interview with DBS, St Lucia Tourism Authority Public Relations Manager, Geraine Georges said: “There are discussions to host the ARC this year. There are protocols and guide lines that have been set out for ARC this year. We do not expect to see all of the number of yachts that we have seen in the past, but we are looking forward to hosting ARC this year.

This year’s ARC is scheduled to get underway November 19 from Las Palmas Gran Canaria.