COVID-19 Statement

17 March 2020

COVID-19 Statement

Following consultation with UK Athletics and the Home Countries, and after UK government advice, Athletics NI is recommending a suspension to all athletic activity.

COVID-19 Statement

In light of the rapidly changing and unprecedented situation with coronavirus, Athletics Northern Ireland has been exploring the most suitable approach based on the guidance available. Following considerable consultation with UK Athletics and the Home Country Athletic Federations, Athletics NI is recommending the following course of action:

  • We recommend that all competitions and events are suspended until the end of April. We will work with competition providers and race organisers to find suitable alternative dates later in the competition calendar. We accept that many events will be unable to be rescheduled and that the fixture lists will be extremely congested later in the year.
  •  Athletics NI recommends that all formal club/group training sessions be cancelled for the time being. We will continue to monitor and review the situation and will update this guidance should our position change.
  •  All face-to-face education activity delivered by Athletics NI will be suspended until further notice. We will investigate alternative methods of delivering education via online methods, although this may not be practically possible. We will aim to reschedule courses to a later date wherever feasible.

 

We fully recognise the importance of physical activity during this time, and would encourage people to do so in safe and appropriate environments, keeping in mind the latest Public Health Authority and government advice.

Athletics NI staff will be working from home, but all staff will endeavour to maintain appropriate standards of work and customer engagement. All non-essential travel will be avoided, but staff are available via email and mobile. Individual staff contact details are available here: https://athleticsni.org/About

We ask for your patience during this challenging time, and assure you that we are doing all we can to ensure the safety and well-being of the athletic community. You are aware that the situation is ever changing and developing rapidly, so we will keep these recommendations under review and communicate any updates via our usual channels.

 

17th March 2020