This is possibly the most testing time any of us has experienced and sport is as badly affected by the Corona virus as any other industry.
We are of course aware that the worldwide boccia family is concerned to know what will happen next; there are so many unanswered questions about what the future holds. BISFed monitors the best available advice daily with a view to making sensible fact-based decisions on future events. The safety of athletes. Technical Officials and spectators remains our number one priority. (So, for example, we were able to find a good solution for the Paralympic Games Test Event, using volunteers from the Tokyo 2020 team to play boccia in a closed environment, rather than boccia athletes. This allowed us to test many more possible scenarios than would have been possible in a real competition, and to that extent, we learned much more than we had expected.)
Unfortunately, the spread of the Corona virus has escalated very fast around the world since the beginning of March. The current situation regarding the first few BISFed competitions in 2020 is as follows:
BISFED 2020 ZAGREB BOCCIA REGIONAL OPEN (29 March 5 April): Postponed
• This competition has been postponed by the organisers who will attempt to find an alternative date if and when the current pandemic is under control.
• The organisers will return the entry fees to all entrants. If the competition can be rescheduled, those athletes who were registered and had paid will be offered a slot in the rescheduled competition.
BISFED 2020 LAVAL BOCCIA WORLD OPEN (23 April – 30 April): Cancelled/Postponed
• This competition has been cancelled/postponed. The organisers will attempt to find an alternative date if and when the current pandemic is under control.
• The organisers will return the entry fees to all entrants. If the competition can be rescheduled, those athletes who were registered and had paid will be offered a slot in the rescheduled competition.
BISFED 2020 NANTES BOCCIA REGIONAL OPEN (30 May – 6 June): Under review
• We are in regular contact with the organisers of this competition. At the moment no decision has been taken, but it is worth noting that the Governments of many countries whose athletes would be attending have placed severe travel and other restrictions on their citizens. We expect that such restrictions will continue to be a complicating factor in planning the competition.
Other Competitions in 2020, Including the PARALYMPIC GAMES: Under review, but proceeding as planned at this time
• Preparations for all future BISFed competitions are continuing and BISFed and the organisers will keep the situation under constant review.
• The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) continues to prepare for the Games in Tokyo in August and September, and any further announcements regarding the Games will be made by the IPC.
Boccia Qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games
As previously published by the International Paralympic Committee, to be eligible for selection by an NPC, athletes must:
• be registered with BISFed and on the BISFed Individual World Ranking List closing 30 April 2020;
• be classifiable in accordance with the BISFed International Classification System; and
• be internationally classified with a ‘Confirmed’ sport class status or a ‘Review’ sport class status with a review date after 31 December 2020.
Because neither the Zagreb or Laval competitions can proceed before 30 April 2020, there will now be no further classification opportunities before the Paralympic Games.
We will communicate any further relevant information as and when it emerges. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please send them to Katie Ribeiro at [email protected]
